Mobility, Society, and Governance in North America

Montreal, Canada

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Location

With three and a half millions inhabitants, Montréal is one of the major North American cities. Strategically located, Montréal is one hour by air, and a few hours by car, from New York, Boston and Toronto. Its weather is truly continental, with contrasted seasons.

Montreal Originally a small French colony, Montréal is now a flourishing modern metropolis; today, it is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world. English is also widely present, an aspect of British heritage that has helped make Montréal an active centre of trade. Subsequent waves of immigrants from more than 80 countries have added their energies, traditions, and languages, giving Montréal a multi-ethnic character, where over 135 different languages are spoken.

The largest French-language higher education establishment on an English-speaking continent, the UdeM is a unique point of synthesis and link between two worlds -- the European and the American. From the outset, it has participated in the dialogue of cultures, and played a significant role on the international scene, a fact borne out by the co-operative projects the Université de Montréal is involved in with various organizations and governments, and by the presence of thousands of post-doctoral fellows and students from around the world that it welcomes every year.

Click here for more information on the city of Montréal.

Program of Study

A select number of Notre Dame students can participate for one semester in the program Mobility, Society, and Governance in North America, a consortium of six colleges and universities. The fall semester begins August and runs through December; the spring semester runs from February through June. The program is open to students from all colleges at Notre Dame with at least two years of French. All classes in this program are taught in French but papers can be written in English. In addition, the Université de Montréal offers a free summer immersion course in French, lasting six weeks, for students accepted in this program.

The main objective of the MSG-NA program is to create a group of young professionals and researchers endowed with a comparative and transnational vision of the processes that characterize the NAFTA region, in the hope that this vision will allow them to find innovative solutions to the challenges facing the three countries of North America. Students in the MSG-NA Montreal program will benefit from the strengths at the Université de Montréal in Migration Phenomenon and Amerindian Cultures.

The MSG-NA program focuses on four sub-topics: Border and Environmental Management, Democratic Process and Institutional Reform, Immigration, Cultural Identities, North America after NAFTA (paying particular attention to economic and social welfare). A major part of the academic work in the MSG-NA program consists of taking 4 courses related to the four sub-topics. Students must choose 3 out of their 5 courses from the approved course bank or must have alternative courses approved by the Project Director. Additionally, each student will be assigned a faculty advisor that will strive to include the student in research activities and professional internships. Students in the MSG-NA program will become a part of a virtual community with the other students participating at each of the partner institutions. Finally, students in the program will have the opportunity to participate in an all expenses-paid summer workshop in Mexico.

Participants are chosen by members of the Kellogg Institute and the Office of International Studies, and acceptance into the MSG-NA program is highly selective.

Eligibility for the Program

Students from any discipline may apply. Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA with a “B” or better in French language courses. All candidates must have completed at least 4 semesters of French by the time of their travel abroad. A FREE intensive French immersion program (level 1-3) is available to accepted students during the summer before their study-abroad semester.

MSG-NA Costs and Fees

Students accepted into the MSG-NA programs will pay Notre Dame tuition only, which covers the following:

Tuition for the program of study
Notre Dame credit and grades for courses taken abroad

As opposed to other University study abroad programs, students in the MSG-NA program do NOT pay Notre Dame room and board fees nor the $600 international studies fee (which are used in other programs to cover airfare, field trips, and room and board at the study abroad site).

In the MSG-NA program, each student is responsible for paying for his/her own airfare, field trips, and room and board at the study abroad site. Each MSG-NA student will receive a $3,000 stipend to put towards these and any other necessary expenses.

Students may incur other expenses, such as passport and visa fees, along with other incidental costs specific to the program of study. For financial aid purposes, the cost of attendance will be calculated based on estimated program costs as determined by the Office of Financial Aid.

Additional Information

There is much more we can tell you — about this location, vibrant religious, cultural and recreational life of this community...about the student housing, transportation, health care and much, much more. It is, after all, the details that make this program so appealing. Interested? Just click here for additional information.