Marseille

The Marseille Field Study and Internship Program is a French-language program centered on a full-time internship or research placement as the means for linguisic immersion, cross-cultural learning, a better understanding of a chosen subject, and personal growth.

The Panier district, "La Cité Radieuse" by Le Corbusier, and Calanques National Park

Studying in Marseille is an incredible opportunity to learn and grow in a vibrant, culturally rich environment. The city is situated in a stunning Mediterranean landscape, shaped by the energy of successive migrations and the unique blend of cultures that make it a truly special place. Despite the impact of globalization, Marseille has retained its unique character and is a stimulating social laboratory. It's the only major European metropolis to have its own nature park, the breathtaking Parc National des Calanques, which adds to its allure. Studying in Marseille is an experience you'll never forget!

Professor Constance Moréteau, an expert in arts and culture will be teaching at IFE in Marseille

Group of students

MARSEILLE AND PROVENCE IN THE MODERN ERA (19th-21st centuries)

Using examples from the Marseille and Provence regions, this course provides an introduction to contemporary French history. Designed for non-specialists, the sessions provide a general overview of political, economic, and social developments since the beginning of the 19th century, focusing on the basic chronological landmarks and key figures of each period.

Whether the succession of political regimes, the onset of industrialization, or the migratory phenomenon, local events are examined through the prism of national and international contexts. This historical perspective provides the key to understanding the contemporary state of the city and, more broadly, of the South of France in the Mediterranean region.

Typical site visits include the Marseille History Museum, the City Archives, the Vieille Charité Cultural Center, ...

(Syllabus)

MARSEILLE, FROM GLOBAL TO PROVINCIAL: The transformation of a Mediterranean port city in the post-industrial era

This course draws on the resources of social geography, economic history, political sociology and anthropology to describe and make visible the transformations that have taken place in Marseille since the crisis of what experts have called the "industrial-port system". Ten thematic class meetings will open students to a detailed knowledge of the city through its history and social boundaries, while introducing them to the methods of urban anthropology, methods they can reproduce for analyzing other cities.

Typical site visits include a guided tour of the Panier neighborhood, a meeting with the non-profit resource center for cultures and memories of exile, Ancrages Marseille, meetings with urban renewal activists,...

(Syllabus)

CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC DYNAMICS IN MARSEILLE TODAY: Cultural policies, artistic scenes, actors and audiences

With a strong identity based on its local contexts, the Marseille arts scene has nonetheless enjoyed a striking international and national reputation since the 1970s, distinguishing itself from the Parisian scene. Key features include a large number of artists, the second-largest number of theaters in France, and a rich network of non-profit organizations in various fields (visual arts, theater, street arts, music, etc.), led by the artists themselves. Marseille's status as a primarily Mediterranean city, a "city of refuge" and a former port open to the world and to French colonies, facing Algiers, has undoubtedly had an impact on the cultural perception of the city and on the cultural projects undertaken.

This course familiarizes students with the actors, geography and spaces of artistic creation and cultural programming in Marseille, via a back-and-forth look at local, regional, national and international levels.

Typical site visits include a guided visit of the Mucem (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations), a day trip to Arles (LUMA Foundation, Actes Sud publishing house, etc), shows at local theaters,...

(Syllabus)

THE MEDITERRANEAN IN THE MODERN WORLD (19th-20th centuries)

This course is an introduction to Mediterranean Studies, aimed at non-specialists and taking a long-term perspective. Class sessions compose a thematic exploration of the specificities of a complex region, a cultural and economic crossroads that is also an interface between land and sea. Unity versus diversity, appropriation versus cooperation, or common trajectories versus inequalities, such contrasts and conflicts characterize the Mediterranean area and more than ever call for this region to be examined in relation to the rest of the world.

During the sessions, students will work with first-hand sources (manuscripts, prints, iconography, films) and cartographic data (diagrams, sketches). They will be invited to discuss these documents critically and thus discover the methods of historical research and geographical reflection.

Typical site visits include a guided tour of the port of Marseille, a hike in the Calanques (Mediterranean geology and ecology), ...

(Syllabus)

Fabien Bartolotti

Fabien Bartolotti holds a PhD in contemporary history, teaches at the University of Aix-Marseille, and is a member of the research group TELEMMe (Time, Space, Language, Southern Europe, Mediterranean). The author of a thesis on the port of Marseille in the second half of the 20th century, he pursues research on the history of maritime, industrial and imperial economies, with a particular focus on environmental and technological issues. He recently contributed to the AMIDEX research project "MARS IMPERIUM - Imperial Marseille: history and (post)colonial memories from the 19th to the 21st century" and co-edited the book "Marseille's port history in the making: spaces, functions and representations, 17th to 21st centuries" (2021).

Constance Moréteau

Constance Moréteau is a research coordinator at Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEA) of the University of Aix-Marseille, where she in charge of development for the "Arts & Sciences" research program. She has been a fellow at the INHA (National Institute of Art History) for the program "Social History of Art, Artistic History of the Social World", at the Terra Summer Residency and at the Getty Research Institute. Constance has also conducted research at the University of Paris where she coordinated the symposium "The Transfigured Cathedral. Views, myths, conflicts".

Michel Peraldi

Michel Peraldi is a sociologist and anthropologist. Senior Scientist Emeritus at IRIS (Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Issues), a joint research institute of the CNRS (The French National Institute for Scientific Research) and EHESS (The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences), he is also an associate researcher at the LEST (Laboratory of Economics and Sociology of Work - CNRS), in Aix-en-Provence. Michel Peraldi work focuses on metropolitan areas and informal economies, migration dynamics and transnational mobility.

Students during their internships

As a former IFE student, I can't think of a better place to study abroad than in France's oldest and most vibrant city. The same reasons that made me pick Marseille for my current home also make it an excellent choice for students open to experiencing a unique part of the world: multicultural, highly influential in French and European popular culture, bursting with life. I only wish Marseille had been an option when I was part of the program.

Meg Besser. IFE Paris alumna (Fall 2009), currently based in Marseille

Marseille: not only a world city, but a world-in-a-city. Big, bustling and cosmopolitan, Marseille has been filling its streets with the peoples of the world for millenia. One of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, Marseille is also - clearly and colorfully - the capital of Provence.

It is hard to imagine an area of interest that could not be pursued via an internship in Marseille and its region. Culture, cultures and contemporary arts abound, other languages (Arabic, Italian, Provençal...), environmental movements or agroecology in the diverse surroundings outside the city, grassroots social and cultural activism, urban experimentation and bold architecture, food and wine, a European-class university for research in the social and natural sciences, innovative start-ups, Mediterranean studies, Greek and Roman archeology, local and regional policy agencies,...

And a chance to work and make friends in a society with its distinctive ways and attractive savoir-vivre. 

The internship experience was very related to medicine, my interest, and the connections I formed there led to a Fulbright research grant two years later at the same lab of my original internship. The experience I had with IFE was invaluable to my professional goals in the medical field.

Andrew. Biology, French

Oral defense of internship paper: Catherine, on the protection against inforced or involuntary disappereance in ASEAN

WHAT IS THE CONNECTION, CONCRETELY, BETWEEN RESEARCH AND INTERNSHIP?

A lengthy, engaged internship presents a unique opportunity for access to data, interviews, documents, and other key sources of information and insight that would otherwise go untapped.

Also, a student-intern who performs pertinent research while on the job becomes a more engaged and knowledgeable intern.

Internship opens up research access; research makes the internship experience more valuable.

Finally, some internship placements themselves are focused on research, whether in science labs, social science institutes, think tanks or policy centers.

HOW IS THE RESEARCH TOPIC CHOSEN?

Once student-interns are comfortable on the job, they consult with their internship mentor and their research advisor to develop a topic of value and interest to the student-intern and to the host organization.

WHO ARE THE IFE RESEARCH ADVISORS?

IFE pairs each student with a university teacher, researcher, or professional in the student’s field. Research advisors are trained by IFE in the nature and format of the project.

DO STUDENTS FIND IT DIFFICULT TO WRITE A LONG PAPER IN A SECOND LANGUAGE?

Students are in class and on the job for many weeks before they begin to draft their paper. During that time - in class at first and then on the job - they have carried out a number of written assigments in the host language. Advisors and IFE staff are available to help.

SUMMING UP

Combining guided field research with a lengthy internship experience enhances both.

(Course Syllabus - Research)

DATES 

Asturias

SPRING 2025: January 20 - May 23

FALL 2025: August 20 - December 19

Marseille - Paris - Strasbourg

SPRING 2025: January 16 - May 23

FALL 2025: August 20 - December 19

Application Deadlines

For Fall semester programs: April 10th

For Spring semester programs: October 10th

PROGRAM COST

Tuition fee : 7950 €

(for all Field Study and Internship Programs - Asturias, Marseille, Paris & Strasbourg)

This covers:

• Full participation in all required program elements as well as in IFE-sponsored co-curricular events and activities.
• Mandatory insurance
• Housing service
• Fee for a transfer transcript (if required by sending institution).

This does not cover:

• Room and board
• Airfare and visa fees
• Medical insurance

Please note:

• For many of IFE’s partner institutions, IFE bills program costs directly to the institution. Students at these institutions continue to pay home tuition.
• For students paying IFE program costs directly, some need-based financial aid is available for those cases where there is a difference between the total cost of a semester at IFE (tuition, room and board) and the total cost of a semester on the home campus. Contact admissions@ife-edu.eu with questions. 

HOUSING COSTS

Asturias

• Homestays with full meal plan: 3280 €

Marseille

• Studio in a student residence without meals: 3900 €
• Homestays with some meals: approx. 3700 €

Paris

• Student residences without meals (with kitchen access): 3400 €
• Student residences with partial meal plans (10-13 meals/month + breakfast): 3800 €
• Female-only residences with partial meal plans (20 meals/month + breakfast): 4500 €
• Female-only residences without meals (with kitchen access): 2200 € 
• Homestays with some meals: approx. 5000 €

Strasbourg

• Student residences without meals (with kitchen access): 3200 €
• Homestays with some meals: 2500 € - 2900 €