Personal Erasmus Report – Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III Miriam Salomons, IRIO
For my semester abroad, I indicated Montpellier as my first choice so I was very thrilled to hear that I had been assigned to Université Paul Valéry Montpellier III (UPVM3). When I look back now, I can say that I’ve had a very good time there and that I would recommend going there. Nevertheless, there are some things that are useful to know in advance, which I will try to list in this report.
I’ve done the following courses:
Course title Code Amount of
ECTS Department
Histoire Contemporaine E15HI5 3,5 Histoire
Introduction à l'ethnologie E11ET5 4 Ethnologie
Multiculturalisme: citoyenneté et
identité E51AE5 4 AES
Ecologie, anthropologie et philosophie du développement
durable
E3PB1BI5 6 Biologie-Ecologie-Environnement Cours de civilisation française
contemporaine CIVIFR1 4 Erasmus+
Cours de français langue
étrangère FLE 4 Erasmus+
Cours de cinéma français (histoire et esthétique du cinéma
français
CINEFR1 4 Erasmus+
In total, this amounts to 29,5 ECTS. Officially, the RUG has a contract with the AES Department at Paul Valéry, which means that you have to take 75% of the courses within that department (which offers courses mainly on micro-economics and administration). However, I was very lucky to have a coordinator that was very flexible with that rule, so she approved all of the above courses (of which only one really is an AES course). The last three courses are especially for Erasmus students and they are interesting but also very easy. Further, I found the course on contemporary history the most interesting and challenging one, despite the fact that it was a first-year course. The nice part about this subject was that it was an overview of French history from the French Revolution until the Second World War, which is of course rather interesting to hear from their perspective. Also, it was the only class that was interactive and more RUG-like in terms of assignments that I had to make and it also challenged me to work with the language. The course on Multiculturalism was most closely related to my studies in Groningen (IRIO) and the ecology course was the most boring one in my opinion.
In general, it was a very different teaching style than I we enjoy here in Groningen, since there was very little interaction and there was no use of PowerPoints etc. On the contrary, students just have to write down what the teacher says and try to memorize this for the exams. For me, it was just
interesting to see that even in Europe there are such big differences regarding the level of education, but I still learned a lot I thought it was refreshing to have some more concrete (ready-made)
information instead of the sometimes rather abstract concepts we need to study at the RUG. The information and help provided by the host institution was a quite meagre sometimes. I would recommend to prepare yourself for the inefficiency and lack of clarity that you will encounter with the university, especially in the beginning when you have to pick your courses. For example, I didn’t even know my schedule the Friday before the week that the lectures started but in the end I figured it out with some help of fellow Erasmus students and the Erasmus Office. I think it’s important not to get too frustrated or stressed, because after a while everything will work out. Besides, they are also much more flexible and understanding towards students when they aren’t so well organized. The RUG is also very helpful and I was very satisfied with the quick and elaborate responses I always received when I had questions.
I enrolled myself for CROUS accommodation, which are student residences facilitated by the
different universities in Montpellier. I lived at Boutonnet, one of about 7 different locations of CROUS in a 10m2 room (with toilet and shower) for €244. The price/quality ratio was very good (also
compared to private rooms in the city), and I think Boutonnet was the best choice for me because it was the most beautiful cité universitaire (as they are called), the rooms were recently renovated and especially the location (just between Paul-Valéry and the city centre) was perfect. However, the places at these locations are limited and the rooms are also quite small and minimalistic, but it was fine for four months. One practical tip: if you are placed in one of the CROUS accommodations, be aware of the fact that you have to take care of everything you need; there is a shared kitchen (without an oven or a microwave) but you need to purchase your own kitchenware and there are no blankets etc.
Furthermore, you can apply for CAF, which is a financial support provided by the french government which will reimburse around 30% of the rent of your room. Apply for this as soon as possible (even in august when you’re going in september) because then you will receive more money and it is also a0 very time-consuming (and for me quite frustrating) procedure.
Generally, I think I spent around €400 a month for general expenses and trips to cities/nature in the weekends. Also, having a beer and doing the groceries is more costly than it is in the Netherlands, but you can have good meals at the university for €3,25 a day which helps to economize a little. Concerning public transport, the tram network is very convenient, and students can buy a subscription for €28 a month (at a TaM office) to move around freely.
Until now, I only discussed the serious side of my stay abroad for I think it’s good to know these things in advance, but for me the experience and the nice people I met and the extremely wide range of activities to do or sites to visit in its the surroundings were much more important.
Montpellier is such a beautiful Mediterranean, vibrant and cultural city, it’s a pleasure to just walk around its little streets or to have a drink at one of its multiple cafés. Also, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) organizes lots of activities which makes it very easy to meet new people.
One will notice that culture is very important to France, as there is free live music everywhere (even at the university in between lectures), there are many festivals/manifestations in the centre and I would recommend going to the movie theatre Utopia (it’s cheap and it helps improving your French).
And needless to say, the climate and the proximity to the beach are also very enjoyable.
All in all, I’m very enthusiastic about Montpellier and about its friendly inhabitants and I think it’s a very nice city to go on an exchange to when you don’t attach too much value to the level of education but rather to the experience as a whole.
