American University of Paris

Infobox University
name = The American University of Paris


motto = Knowledge, perspective, understanding.
established = 1962
type = private
calendar = semester
president = Gerardo della Paolera
faculty = 105 [ [http://www.aup.fr/main/about/facts.htm Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.] ]
students = 1,000 [ [http://www.aup.fr/main/about/facts.htm Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.] ]
undergraduates = 900 [ [http://www.aup.fr/main/about/facts.htm Facts at a Glance. Retrieved 2008-03-28.] ]
postgraduates = 100
city = Paris, Ile-de-France
country = France
campus = Urban, eight buildings
publictransit = Rue St. Domonique
website = [http://www.aup.fr/ www.aup.fr]

The American University of Paris (commonly referred to as AUP) is a private, independent, accredited, nonsectarian, liberal arts and sciences university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is the oldest American institution of higher education in Europe. The university campus consists of eight buildings, centrally located in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank near the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, and the Seine [ [http://www.aup.fr/main/about/campus_paris_area.htm Campus Map. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.] ] .

The university's language of instruction is English, although students must prove a level of proficiency in French prior to graduation. [ [http://www.aup.fr/insert_content/1new/admissions_language_req.htm French Language Proficency Requirements. Retrieved 2008-03-29.] ] The university has approximately one thousand students, representing over a hundred nationalities, with an average student-to-faculty ratio of eighteen to one. The university's faculty members represent over fifteen nationalities, with eighty percent holding doctoral degrees.

The university sponsors more than two hundred lectures and seminars every year, exposing students to a wide range of topics. Additionally, the university has hosted ten international conferences, inviting an aggregate of over a thousand scholars, including Gary Becker, Nobel Prize-recipient of Economics in 1992, and Michel Rocard, the former Prime Minister of France. [ [http://www.aup.fr/news/pastconf/default.htm AUP News & Events, Past Conferences. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.] ]

Accreditation

The American University of Paris is accredited in the United States by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The university is a non-profit educational institution incorporated in the State of Delaware and licensed by the State Board of Education as an institution of higher education [ [http://www.msche.org/institutions_directory.asp Middle States Commission of Higher Education. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.] ] . The university is also recognized in the United States as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is declared to the [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectorat#Le_rectorat Recorat de Paris] as an "établissement privé d'enseignement supérieur libre".

The "Institut de Commerce International et des Sciences de l'Information" (ICISI) which includes the Departments of International Business Administration, International Economics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Science is recognized by the French Ministry of Education as an "Etablissement d’enseignement technique privé" [ [http://www.aup.fr/main/about/accreditation.htm AUP Accreditation. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.] ] ."

Academics

Undergraduate programs

The university offers 12 majors and 32 minors in its undergraduate program, along with courses covering a wide array of other liberal arts offerings, including Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Drama, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Sociology, and Languages, including German, Italian, and Spanish. Its academic departments include:

*Department of Comparative Literature and English
*Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Science
*Department of Economics
*Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures
*Department of Film Studies
*Department of History and Social Sciences
*Department of International and Comparative Politics
*Department of International Business Administration
*Department of International Communications
*Department of Language Research and Teaching
*Department of Psychology

Graduate programs

The university offers six graduate programs from two schools:

"Graduate School of Business"

* [http://aup.fr/graduate/maia/default.htm Master of Arts in International Affairs] , Conflict Resolution, and Civil Society Development (dual-degree with the Institut Catholique de Paris)
* [http://aup.fr/graduate/magc/default.htm Master of Arts in Global Communications]
* [http://aup.fr/graduate/gsb/emsf/default.htm Executive Master of Science in Finance] (Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam preparation is integrated into the EMSF program)

"Graduate School of Government"

* [http://aup.fr/graduate/mpp-maia/default.htm Master of Arts in Public Policy and International Affairs]
* [http://aup.fr/graduate/gsg/mpa/default.htm Master of Public Administration in Strategic Public Policy] (in collaboration with New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service).
* [http://aup.fr/graduate/meis/default.htm Master of Arts in Middle East and Islamic Studies]

trategic Alliance with New York University

In 2006, The American University of Paris and New York University announced a strategic partnership allowing students at both universities to attend and obtain degrees from either institution [ [http://www.nyu.edu/public.affairs/releases/detail/1110 New York University, Office of Public Affairs. "NYU and the American University of Paris Announce Start of a Strategic Partnership". Retrieved on 2008-03-28. ] ] . The two universities are working on plans to develop a major new educational facility in Paris. This development, which would be undertaken on an island in the Seine at the southwest edge of Paris, Ile Seguin, would entail the construction of an academic building with classroom space, office and meeting space for faculty and administrators, a library, cafeteria, and lounges [ [http://www.amb-usa.fr/events/2006/051906.html The Embassy of the United States - Paris, France. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.] ] .

Campus

The university is clustered among eight historic buildings in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, on the Left Bank. One of the university's buildings houses [http://www.aup.fr/gallery/collection/default.htm The Combes Gallery] . The gallery's cultural mission is to present works of art created by the university's students, alumni, and faculty, as well as to highlight the university's cultural diversity through the exhibition of works by professional artists from different backgrounds and cultures.

tudent Life

Located near the Eiffel Tower, and within walking distance of the Champs-Elysées, the Louvre, and the famous Quartier Latin, students are able to fully participate in the intellectual, cultural, and social life of the "City of Light".

AUP in Film, Television, and The Arts

Dan Brown featured the university in his novel "The Da Vinci Code". The university and its campus were the location for a lecture on symbolism, by lead character Robert Langdon.

Alumni

Individuals of note who have attended the university include:
*Jim Bittermann
*Shauna Sand - BA International Business Administrtion
*Andrea Casiraghi
*KC Concepcion
*Amanda Hallay
*Tara Jarmon
*Allison Kaden
*Michael J. Varhola
*Michael Weatherly
*Tom Ford
*Corentine Quiniou

References

External links

* [http://www.aup.edu American University of Paris]
* [http://www.nyu.edu/public.affairs/releases/detail/1110 New York University and American University of Paris strategic partnership]
* [http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/directory/brief/drglance_FR0001_brief.php U.S. News & World Report 2008 profile]
* [http://www.aup.fr/gallery/ The Combes Gallery]