Short course - French for international relations (SCT2)
Period
Dec. 2026
Duration
1 week
Required levels
B1 minimum
VISA
No
The short course in French for international relations is intended for students and professionals who wish to complement their study of French with a specialisation in international relations: future diplomats, international civil servants and, more broadly, anyone who will be working in a French-speaking international environment or in contact with French speakers.
Thematic short course programme, December 2026
In one intensive week in Paris, participants are introduced to the specific features of French in international professional life. They deepen their understanding of France’s place in Europe and the world through a series of thematic lectures, visits to Paris’s “places of power” and a negotiation simulation in French.
Course Objectives
- Get to grips with the particular features of French in international professional life: vocabulary, registers and communication situations specific to diplomatic and international circles.
- Understand France’s place in Europe and the world: power and influence, European integration, the French-speaking world, the diplomatic network, military action.
- Discover Paris’s “places of power” on the ground and put what you have learnt into practice in a negotiation simulation in French.
- Prepare, where appropriate, to continue with specialised study on the semester of French for international relations (SFP2).
Target audience
Students and professionals who wish to complement their French training with a specialisation in international relations: future diplomats and international civil servants and, more broadly, anyone who will be working in a French-speaking international environment or in contact with French speakers (international organisations, embassies and missions, NGOs, local authorities, internationally oriented companies).
Detailed Programme
Session from Monday 14 to Friday 18 December 2026: one week of classes, Monday to Friday. Total hours: 28, including 8 hours of visits and workshops.
| Teaching | Hours | Organisation |
| Language classes | 10 h | 2 hours each morning, Monday to Friday: French for international relations |
| Thematic lectures | 10 h | 5 lectures of 2 hours, Monday to Friday |
| Visits, outings and workshops | 8 h | 2 half-days of 4 hours |
| Total | 28 h | 1 intensive week, course not eligible for a student visa |
Language classes take place in the morning. The times of the lectures, visits and workshops are communicated to students before the start of the session.
Topics covered in language classes
Professional speaking
- Introducing yourself and your institution
- Taking part in a meeting and defending a position
- Preparing and conducting a negotiation
Professional writing
- Institutional emails and letters
- Minutes of meetings
- Talking points
Specialised comprehension
- Vocabulary and registers of diplomacy
- Analysis of the international press
- Study of institutional speeches
Thematic lecture series
International relations “the French way”: France in Europe and the world
- Power and influence: what place for France in the world today?
- France and the European Union
- Colonisation, decolonisation and the French-speaking world
- The French diplomatic network around the world
- France’s military presence and action in the world
Immersion: two half-days of practice and fieldwork
Thematic visits and outings
Discovering the “places of power” in Paris: the institutions where France’s international action is decided and conducted.
Workshop
Negotiation simulation in French: putting the language and thematic knowledge acquired during the week into practice.
Highlights
- An intensive week in Paris combining language classes, lectures and immersion.
- A 10-hour lecture series devoted to France in Europe and the world.
- Two half-days in the field: Paris’s “places of power” and a negotiation simulation.
- Small groups of 18 students maximum, encouraging interaction and participation.
- Teaching in line with the CEFR recommendations.
Assessment & Certification
- Application of what has been learnt in the negotiation simulation.
- Certificate stating the hours attended, issued at the end of the session.
Prerequisites and Admission Requirements
- This course is open from B1 level, subject to a sufficient number of participants.
- An online placement test assigns a level to students.
- Minimum age: 18; secondary school leaving diploma or certificate.
- Comply with the residence formalities in France, depending on each student’s situation.
Course Materials
Course textbooks, audio and visual materials, exercise books, access to online resources, thematic document files, cultural documents and materials for group activities and the negotiation simulation.
Visa
This course does not meet the criteria for student visa applications (outside the European Union). Students who need one can opt for the SFP2C semester (up to 240 hours).
Further study
This session can be followed by the semester of French for international relations (SFP2C), from January 2027: up to 240 hours over 12 weeks, course eligible for a student visa.
Tuition Fees and Registration Procedures
Tuition fees
€1,250
Annual registration fees of €100 are payable in addition.
Registration procedures
- Take the online placement test.
- Pay a deposit of 40% of the tuition fees, together with the annual registration fees of €100.
- Receive the certificate of registration within two weeks of payment of the deposit and receipt of the administrative documents: identity document, translated secondary school leaving certificate, identity photo.
- Pay the balance no later than one month before the start of the course, i.e. by 14 November 2026.
Detailed information on registration procedures can be found here.
