Dates
May 29 – June 15, 2026Subjects
Arts Management, Sociology, Consumerism, French CultureDeadlines
Dec. 1: Apply Early & Save $100Feb. 5: Regular Deadline
Program Overview
The KIIS Paris I program offers Paris as its classroom, with a selection of courses designed to immerse participants in the city’s artistic treasures, intriguing history, respected literary traditions, and other cultural riches via direct interactions. With its captivating history, as well as its reputation for good taste, fine cuisine, high fashion and legendary sports, Paris has something for everyone.
Note: Studying abroad likely is more physically strenuous than you are used to at home. KIIS study abroad programs typically involve approx. 5-10 miles of walking (approx. 10,000-20,000 steps) or the like in a day, including the possibility of walking, hiking, and climbing stairs in heat and humidity, over elevations at higher altitudes, and over rocky terrain. See Health & Wellness for more information.
Program Directors
As KIIS celebrates its 50th anniversary, I celebrate the fact that I have been involved with this wonderful organization for twenty of these years. I have the privilege of having had a very satisfying career as a History professor and international educator, but nothing has been more gratifying than teaching on the Paris I program and then directing and co-directing it. As a French native, it is always a renewed wonder to rediscover my home country through the eyes of students who first experience it. I look forward to sharing France with you.Dr. Francois Le Roy
Born and raised in Germany, I also spent formative years in France and have directed or co-directed KIIS programs in Berlin, Munich, and Paris since 2000. For me, the greatest thing about study abroad is sharing the cultures and places I love and watching how students grow to love them, too.Dr. Sylvia Henneberg
Photo Gallery
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Courses
All courses are taught in English and are 3 credit hours. You may enroll in 1 course.
French 105 is a basic survey of French culture and society from the French Revolution to the present, with emphasis on values, behavioral characteristics, social and political structures, and achievements of the French-speaking people. The course highlights selected edifices, artists, writers, and movements in an attempt to provide an introduction into the character, society, and history of France in general and Paris in particular. The course will be taught in English.
Graduate Credit available
Tourism is a significant industry throughout the world. It has the power to transform communities, economies, and environments. In this course, students will focus on cultural tourism, which examines the art, architecture, lifestyle, festivals, rituals and creative tourism. Utilizing case studies and field observations, students will consider how tourism and tourist practices can augment or diminish one’s understanding of another’s culture.
This course is a study of Paris as a global “capital of culture” and influences it has had on how people think about and consume culture around the world. We explore sites of both material and non-material cultural production and consumption in Paris, including the world’s first department store, the city’s renowned shopping districts, La Galerie Dior, and l’Opéra Garnier. We explore social and environmental implications, and the impacts of fast fashion and the industry’s harms.
All KIIS course credit is awarded by Western Kentucky University. Prior to your KIIS program, please speak with your home campus academic advisor and/or study abroad office to determine course equivalencies. Grades will be transferred to your home institution in mid-August after the completion of the program. Course offerings are subject to change according to enrollment. For more information, visit Transcripts & Grades.
Program Excursions
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Neighborhood Walk
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La Galérie Dior and Musée Yves Saint Laurent
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Evening River Cruise
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Art Museums
Group Flight
ESTIMATED COST $1,900 - $2,000
The Paris I program offers a group flight option where you can travel to/from Paris with other students and faculty. If you choose this option, KIIS will purchase a roundtrip flight ticket for you. The flight cost will be added to your final program fee on April 1. The group flight will depart from Cincinnati or Louisville.
If not selecting the group flight, you are responsible to purchase your own round trip airfare.
The flight to Paris is overnight arriving the following morning. On the return, the flight from Paris to the USA departs and arrives on the same day. Visit Flights and Passports & Visas for more information.