Picture this: you are sitting outside of a café in France, the weather is cool, and the streets are not crowded. You are sipping a cappuccino and watching the leaves fall as people dressed in sweaters pass you by. You are a Georgia Tech-Lorraine student spending your fall semester taking courses for your degree, in France. Sounds perfect, right? 

While Georgia Tech-Lorraine, Tech’s campus in Metz, France, is open to students in the fall, spring and summer semesters, fall semester at Georgia Tech-Lorraine has a certain charm, making it stand out among the rest. For starters, and as hinted at above, the weather is nice and cool (remember: this is France – there is little to no air conditioning!) making it ideal for walking the streets of France, Italy, Spain, or wherever the students’ weekend travels may lead. 

Fall in France also means fewer tourists and, therefore, cheaper and easier travel! Since most tourists tend to visit Europe in the summer months, reserving a ticket on the train or grabbing a ticket to the popular tourist attractions becomes easier and less expensive in the fall. 

Another major reason that past Georgia Tech-Lorraine fall students rave about their semester of choice is the Christmas markets which take over Europe in December. The markets offer students cultural immersion in the form of classic French holiday street food and shopping among locals and are always a highlight of the fall students’ time abroad. 

Need more convincing? Well, while French language skills are not required for studying at Georgia Tech-Lorraine, as each of the courses is taught in English primarily by Tech professors, the Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS) France: French Immersion Program is offered at Georgia Tech-Lorraine in the fall semester only. By taking two or more intermediate level French courses while at Georgia Tech-Lorraine, students are eligible to be a part of this program which allows them to go on extra excursions led by French-speakers and volunteer weekly with local businesses or groups focused on sustainability in the region. This serves as an extra step into immersion for students working toward a French major or minor, or just hoping to improve their language skills. You can read more about this specific program at sls-france.gatech.edu. 

These are just a few of the reasons that fall is a great semester to be at Georgia Tech-Lorraine. If this sounds like an opportunity that your student would be interested in, please visit our website at lorraine.gatech.edu or head over to our YouTube channel to hear more about Fall 2018 student Hyewon Jung’s experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS8SRH4EU1c. 

Georgia Tech-Lorraine Fall 2020 applications are open now through March 1, 2020.