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University of Kent at Paris becoming an increasingly popular destination for postgraduate students
Less than two years after it was launched, the University of Kent at Paris (UKP) is becoming an increasingly popular destination for postgraduate students from around the world.
This is mainly because UKP offers a unique opportunity to obtain a valuable postgraduate qualification in one of a range of innovative cross-disciplinary programmes while studying at two of Europe’s most historic cities: Canterbury and Paris. Other reasons attracting students include enhanced personal development and career prospects, as well as the opportunity to exchange cultural ideas and information with fellow postgraduates. This year’s cohort includes students from the Republic of Ireland, UK, Japan, Nigeria, USA, Denmark, Portugal and Greece.
Professor Peter Read, Academic Director of UKP, explained: ‘Students who enrol on a Paris programme spend the Autumn Term at the University’s Canterbury campus and the Spring Term at Reid Hall, our academic centre in Montparnasse. They then write a dissertation on a topic of their choice, established in consultation with a tutor, so as to achieve overall, in one year of study, an internationally recognised Master's-level qualification.’
The MA Programmes
The MA programmes on offer include Film Studies, Modern History, Modern French Studies, English and American Literature, Postcolonial Studies, Comparative Literature and, for 2011-12, Creative Writing (subject to approval). All teaching at UKP is in English, except for the MA in Modern French Studies, but students are offered optional French classes before they leave for Paris.
Kosuke Fujiki, who is spending the 2011 spring term in Paris, said: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from my first term at Canterbury and now I’m settling into Paris. The Paris programme was the reason I was attracted to the University of Kent more than any other UK university. To be able to live and study in two of Europe’s most inspiring and historic cities is truly a unique and wonderful experience for someone like me, who comes from the small island of Okinawa. I cannot recommend the programme enough.’
Danish student Marie Bach Pedersen explained that her main reason for choosing Comparative Literature at UKP was that, after graduating with a degree in Nordic Language and Literature, she had a desire to ‘broaden her horizons’ within her academic field. ‘So the opportunity to study Comparative Literature in two different countries in one year was ideal for me, not least because it also meant that I had a chance to improve my French language skills – although with the MA classes taught in English, I was confident that my education would not be compromised.’
Greek student Anna Zoannou learned about UKP during an education fair in Athens last year. For her, this UKP MA means that ‘I have finally lived in Spain, England and France, all three of the countries – not including my own – whose languages I speak. I’m sure this will help me in the future when I am looking for a job.’
Professor Read added: ‘All the modules taught during the spring term are designed to be specifically relevant to the experience of living and working in Paris, and students are encouraged to integrate the city's cultural resources into their studies. The programme is currently in its second year and the feedback is encouraging. Some of those who graduated in November last year have been told by employers that their experience living and working in Paris, and their UKP MA qualification, have been major factors in the appointments they have obtained. We are everyday receiving applications from all across the world – including the UK, USA, Eastern Europe and China.’
UKP’s first group of students all graduated at Canterbury Cathedral in November 2010.
Further information at www.kent.ac.uk/locations/paris/index.html