Perpignan, France

Perpignan, France

Learn multimedia and international reporting skills from a team of media professionals and create a website about the Catalan city of Perpignan in Southern France. You’ll earn 3 upper-division journalism credits from San Francisco State University’s College of Extended Learning that you can transfer back to your home campus.

During this four-week program, you’ll learn

• the ins and outs of journalistic blogging and international reporting.
• how to shoot and edit video.
• how to speak a little French (the class will be divided into Beginner and Intermediate-level groups).
• how to work with an interpreter.
• how to work as part of a production team to create a multimedia website.

Check out the site students produced in 2011 at inPerpignan.net.

Academic Credit

Students will earn 3 transferable, upper-division journalism units from the San Francisco State University College of Extended Learning. The course is called JOUR 667 International Reporting and may be considered an advanced journalism elective by some journalism or mass communications departments.

The Schedule

The program begins with a two-day orientation, including a tour of the city, visits to some local attractions, a welcome dinner and a field trip to Collioure, a charming seaside town near Perpignan. Classes generally run Monday-Thursday the first two weeks of the program. In the the third week, students will continue some classes, but they will spend more time in the field interviewing sources and recording video. The final week is dedicated to editing stories and videos and posting them to the Web.

The program includes several cultural activities, such as tours of local media offices, music or dance performances and interviews with local officials.

The City

Perpignan Street Scene

Perpignan lies in the Languedoc region of southwestern France, 8 miles west of the Mediterranean and 19 miles north of the Spanish border, within sight of the Pyrénées. The city, which passed back and forth between French and Spanish rule over the centuries, features a charming, pedestrian-friendly historic quarter; a daily market; several arts festivals in the summer and lively night life.

Major attractions include the Castillet, a 14th century gateway that now houses a museum, and the medieval Palais des Rois de Majorque (Palace of the Kings of Majorca). The city is rich in Catalan culture; though French is the primary language, you may occasionally hear Catalan spoken in the street and you’ll see the red-and-yellow-striped Catalan flag flying all over the city. Many attractions in France and Spain are only a short train ride away.

Travel Opportunities

Students will have two three-day weekends (the second and third weekend) free to explore the area around Perpignan or to travel elsewhere in France or Spain. The medieval city of Carcassonne is two hours away by train, Barcelona is about three hours away, and Paris can by reached by the high-speed TGV train in five hours. Several lovely beach towns, including Collioure, Argelès-sur-Mer, Torreilles and St. Cyprien, are just a few minutes away by bus or train. Those who want to tour extensively can plan travel time before or after the program.

Perpignan Area

Students

Perpignan Students

The program is open to up to 20 English-speaking college students and recent graduates from any school. Students from many universities — including New York University, UCLA, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Temple University, Arizona State University, Gonzaga University, University of Arizona, University of Montana, Loyola University Baltimore, San Jose State University, Humboldt State University, San Diego State University, Rice University, University of Nevada-Reno and Baylor University — have participated in past ieiMedia programs. We’ve also had students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Trinidad.

Most of our students are journalism or communications majors but those majoring in other subjects are welcome as well. Non-journalism majors should have a strong interest in reporting and some experience working for a college or professional publication. The program is open to English-speaking students from around the world.

Faculty

Perpignan, France

Our faculty come from leading universities and news organizations. In 2012 our faculty will include:

Program Director

Ron Hollander taught journalism in Beijing for two years on a Fulbright, and in Austria, directed the J-Program at Montclair State University where he teaches. has been on-staff at Newsday, NY Post, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Cablevision, and freelanced for The New York Times, Baltimore Sun, CBS This Morning, Washington Post, and many others.

Faculty

Michael Dorsher, a former washingtonpost.com homepage editor and Fulbright Scholar in Montréal who teaches journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, will teach reporting.

Sharon Kessler, a nonprofit multimedia director and former copy editor at The Washington Post and Minneapolis Star Tribune, will be a visiting journalist.

Kacey Morrow, a filmmaker and graphic designer, who teaches video, motion, web, and interaction design at Western Washington University, will teach video production and web this summer.

Courtney O’Brien-Brown (Video) graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Film and has undertaken post graduate studies in Writing, Editing & Publishing and Digital Design. She has worked in film post production for seven years, recently on features such as Knowing, Singularity and Iron Sky. Prior to these, she worked on animation projects Animalia and Wakkaville. She has worked in a variety of editing, visual effects and post production positions. In 2009, she edited a short film which won the ‘Today Award’ at the Berlin International Film Festival. Courtney has worked with The Perpignan Project in 2010 and 2011 and is fluent in French.

Accommodations

Students will share studios in Citea Perpignan, a modern apartment-hotel just outside the gates of the city center. The units are air conditioned and have two single beds, a desk and a small kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave and cookstove, as well as a private bathroom. Dishes, cutlery, pots and pans and a coffee maker are provided. The rooms have high-speed Internet service and cable television.

Equipment

The program will provide digital video cameras and computers with video editing software for teams of students to share. Students should bring a digital camera and they are encouraged to bring a laptop computer and digital audio recorder.

French Language Instruction

Most classes – except French language – will be taught in English. In your reporting you will work with interpreters. The program includes 30 hours of French language instruction at the ALFMED language school, the home base for the program. Students will be divided into two levels – beginning and intermediate.

Interpreters

When reporting you will work with interpreters.

Program Cost

The cost is $4,995 plus airfare. The price includes housing, equipment, instruction, chartered bus transportation to and from the Barcelona airport, basic travel insurance, special programs and activities.

Financial Aid

Students studying abroad for the summer term have limited financial aid options. Check with your school’s financial aid office to find out if assistance is available.

Check out the Perpignan Facebook photo album from 2010.

Application Process

Students must fill out the online application and submit a letter of recommendation from a professor or employer and college transcripts, along with a $500 deposit. Deposits will be refunded only if a student is not accepted into the program.

For more information, fill out our contact form.