Kent’s Paris School of Arts and Culture is a specialist postgraduate centre in one of the most culturally rich cities in the world. We offer advanced, flexible Master's programmes across the arts, including in architecture, history of art, film, and creative writing. All courses are taught in English and the modules capitalise on the city's vast heritage and culture.
Our programmes
Our diverse Master’s programmes in the humanities allow students to
learn and experience a subject in the place where so many art forms evolved.
Enhance your craft while experiencing the city that so inspired the
Impressionists, modernists, Lost Generation, beatniks and the Nouvelle Vague.
City as classroom
Your classroom is Paris itself. The content of our courses is designed to take advantage of your location and growing familiarity with the City.
Study trips to museums, art exhibitions, archives, cinemas and architectural riches are an integral part of your studies. Led by internationally-respected academics, these trips give you the chance to illuminate theory with experience. As a 'resident' of Paris you can return to these sites throughout your studies, developing your understanding and giving you the chance to reflect.
The School is based in the Columbia Global Center (known as Reid Hall) in the district of Montparnasse. Montparnasse has always attracted writers and artists; it was home to Hemingway, and Picasso and Modigliani had studios there. It is next to the Latin quarter, a district teeming with student life focused around the historic Sorbonne.
Reid Hall is where the majority of your seminars take place. Built in the 18th century and used as a teaching centre since the early 20th century, it is a global research and study centre shared by partner institutions. This creates a dynamic atmosphere, with a wide range of academic and cultural lectures and conferences.
Teaching in Paris has been a real highlight of my career so far.
Interdisciplinary approach
At the Paris School of Arts and Culture we bring together programmes across a variety of disciplines, facilitating cross-disciplinary teaching and learning. You can take additional modules outside of your subject area. This may be possible as part of your programme, or, if not, you can usually sit in on modules that interest you. Studying together in this way, our students develop a broader view of their subject.
To complement your studies, we run a series of workshops, lectures, roundtable discussions and symposia. We also organise regular seminars and talks, in collaboration with partners including the Columbia University Global Centers, University of London Institute in Paris and the American University in Paris.
As a student at Reid Hall, you can also participate in the academic community fostered at Columbia Global Centers and the activities organised by the fellows of its Institute for Ideas and Imagination.
Staff and students at the Paris School of Arts and Culture talk about the arts and culture available when studying in Paris
Academic excellence
Kent is one of the UK's leading universities. Our programmes in Paris are informed by our commitment to research excellence, drawing on the expertise of leading academics in the arts and humanities from across the University. With specialist knowledge of resources in both Canterbury and Paris, our academics bring your subject to life.
We offer a range of modules, which makes it possible to tailor your programme to your own interests. There are programmes where you study solely in Paris and others where you split your time between Paris and our Canterbury campus. Some programmes offer full or part-time study and it may be possible to start your studies in September or January or to take an extended (120 ECTS) programme.
All modules offered in Canterbury and Paris are designed, taught and assessed by University of Kent staff, so you can be confident that your MA will be intellectually and academically coherent. The modules you study in Paris are specifically relevant to the experience of studying in the city. See the Paris Module Collection for details.
Earn a degree from a renowned British university while studying for a term or a year in Paris, guided by specialist academic staff and in the company of students who share your passion for art and culture.
View of Montmartre from Musée d'Orsay
Excellent facilities
Paris is your campus, and many academic resources integral to your programme of study are dotted around the city.
Reid Hall, where most of your seminars take place, provides modern study and support facilities, including a multimedia room for viewing films, in beautiful 18th-century buildings. Some seminars take place off-site in a location specifically chosen to enhance the treatment of ideas and concepts. Most modules also include an exciting range of study trips to various settings in Paris designed to further enhance your understanding of material covered.
We have excellent online library resources via the University of Kent's Templeman Library, inter-library loan, and e-book access. As Paris School of Arts and Culture students, you become members of the American Library in Paris and France’s premier research library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The University also organises your membership of specialist libraries and archives related to your subject. And, you can take advantage of English and French-language study centres – and improve your French.
Whatever your career goal, a postgraduate qualification from the University of Kent equips you with an impressive portfolio of skills, specialist knowledge and practical experience to help you succeed in a competitive job market.
By living and studying overseas you have shown potential employers that you are independently minded, ambitious and confident, all attributes graduate employers look for. Some students undertake an internship while in Paris, which is a great way to gain valuable work experience. Our staff are happy to help with this. Our alumni have gone on to a range of careers including, journalism, teaching, political administration and further study.
We ensure you develop transferable skills and provide a series of workshops to improve your networking, interview and writing skills. We also have a specialist careers adviser who visits the School regularly. And, of course, the resources of the University's Careers and Employability Service in Canterbury are available to you, including the possibility of Skype consultations with advisers.
