DESCRIPTION OF THE

Maison française Language Assistantship/Scholarship

The purpose of this award is to bring to St. Olaf College for one year a native speaker of French who can successfully pursue a program of undergraduate studies while serving as a representative of Francophone culture on campus. The recipient will spend three-fourths of her/his time pursuing her/his own program of studies, and one-fourth carrying out duties related to the assistantship.

You are eligible to apply for this assistantship/scholarship if you meet all of the following criteria:

  • You are a native speaker of French;
  • You are between 20 and 24 years of age;
  • You have successfully completed two years of university studies (with a strong record of academic achievement) or will have attained an equivalent level of educational achievement during the summer preceding the starting date of the Assistantship/Scholarship;
  • You can furnish proof of having scored 550 or above on the TOEFL examination (paper-based version) or 213 or above on the computer-based version of the TOEFL, or 80 or above on the IBT (Internet-Based TOEFL).
  • You are willing to assist faculty in the Department of Romance Languages with class-related activities and organize activities in the Maison française which will acquaint the residents of the house and other students of French with the culture and civilization of your country.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS, NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN AWARD! Neither your receipt of this announcement nor your submission of an application guarantees that you will be awarded this Assistantship/Scholarship. Each year several aspirants apply, but only one is selected. All applicants will be notified of our final decision.

Terms of the Assistantship/Scholarship Award

  • The French Language Assistant must register for three full-credit courses during each regular semester and one course (on campus) during the January Interim, and must earn grades of C- or better in at least two of them each semester. The French Language Assistant may not take courses in her/his own language or national literature for credit.
  • Aside from successfully pursuing her/his own studies, the French Language Assistant's principal duty is to speak French at all times when in the Maison française and to encourage the other residents of the house to do the same. In addition, she/he is to help plan, organize, and carry out (with the faculty member who is the adviser to the Maison française and the other students in the House) a minimum of five activities per year, the purpose of which is to acquaint the house residents and other students of French with elements of Francophone culture and civilization, particularly those of the French Language Assistant's own country. She/he is expected to host the French Conversation Table and Culture Table, each of which meets once a week and, in addition, to perform other tasks as assigned her/him by the Department of Romance Languages. The French Language Assistant will have no formal teaching duties, nor will she/he have any supervisory duties in the Maison française regarding discipline and the like. However, as a paid representative of the College, she/he is expected to behave in a manner befitting the position and to uphold all college regulations.
  • The French Language Assistant should recognize the special character of St. Olaf College as a Christian liberal arts college and should be in general sympathy with its objectives.
  • The French Language Assistant must agree to be in residence at the Maison française of St. Olaf College from the end of August to the end of May, including the January Interim. The only exceptions to this rule are the vacations formally scheduled in the College catalog.  Classes officially begin the first week of September. The work period of the Assistantship Scholarship officially begins after completion of the appropriate forms (including, the application for a U.S. Social Security number, other forms required for immigration and tax purposes, and a St. Olaf Student Work Authorization).
  • The French Language Assistant is responsible for paying for her/his international travel from her/his home country to Minnesota and must arrange her/his travel schedule so that she/he can arrive in time for an orientation program which begins approximately a week prior to the beginning of the school year, normally September 1. (She/he will be informed by International Student Services of the date residence halls will open.) The most practical arrangement for traveling to Northfield is to arrive at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. If the French Language Assistant informs the Office of International Student Services of her/his flight number and the day and hour of her/his arrival (approximately two weeks in advance of the travel date), she/he will be met at the airport and brought to campus.
  • The French Language Assistant will receive full room and board (board at the College cafeteria and room at the Maison française), fees, and tuition (frais d’inscription).  This full scholarship is compensation for the French Language Assistant’s activities as cultural ambassador of her/his home country, speaking French with house residents, and planning and participating in required house activities (the last two are required of all house residents).

In addition, the French Language Assistant may earn up to will $2,300 in the form of a student work award. In order to earn this award, the student must work approximately ten hours per week for the French Section.  Duties performed as a condition of the Assistantship/Scholarship, include, but are not limited to:

  1. Leading weekly French language and/or culture tables
  2. Leading out-of-class conversation groups for French classes
  3. Limited preparation time for groups (reading required materials for groups) – Usually a maximum of 1 hour per reading assignment
  4. Meetings with supervisors (department chair, language supervisor, supervising teacher for a specific course)
  5. Giving talks in classes
  6. Preparing materials for classes / the department (bulletin boards, handouts, recordings and videos for listening comprehension, etc.)
  7. Other tasks assigned by department

Compensation received by the French Language Assistant is considered to be taxable income in the United States; unless your home country has signed a tax treaty with the United States, taxes will be deducted monthly from the French Language Assistant’s earnings.  (You will be eligible to apply for a refund of taxes paid, and the Office of International Student Services can assist with applying for tax refunds.)

Room and board is not provided during periods of vacation, such as those at Christmas and Easter. Also, the College will not furnish textbooks. The cost of purchasing textbooks and other study materials, and of paying for such things as private music lessons, will be borne by the French Language Assistant. All travel, both to and from the United States and within the United States, is at the expense of the French Language Assistant.

  • The French Language Assistant will likely wish to attend cultural events and to travel while in the United States. Therefore, she/he should plan to bring personal funds for recreational, incidental, and traveling expenses. The compensation received by the French Language Assistant may not be enough to meet these expenses. Most importantly, the French Language Assistant should plan to have sufficient personal funds available to cover expenses for the month of September, as compensation (in the form of a check) will not be issued until October at the earliest.  Afterward, the French Language Assistant will receive monthly compensation, as long as completed time sheets have been turned in by the French Language Assistant in a timely fashion.
  • The French Language Assistant must be covered by medical insurance while in the United States. Insurance may be purchased in the French Language Assistant's home country or through the International Studies office at St. Olaf at a cost of approximately $40-45 per month, but the policy must be in force when the student arrives in the U.S.  The Immigration Department of the U.S. Government requires that international students purchase medical insurance that carries a repatriation clause, one that assures transport home in the event of serious illness or death.
  • The Assistantship/Scholarship is not renewable.

General Information about St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College, a Christian liberal arts college owned and operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, is located in Northfield, a town of 17,000 people situated 40 miles south of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in the state of Minnesota. Co-educational and open to all qualified applicants, it enrolls approximately 2,900 students, virtually all of whom live in residence halls on campus.  All College buildings are non-smoking; use of alcohol and drugs on campus is strictly prohibited.

The faculty and administration of St. Olaf College are firmly committed to international education. Not only do international students compose an important part of the student body, but a great many of St. Olaf's American students spend a regular academic term in any of a number of foreign countries. Consequently, an international academic spirit is present on campus.

As a liberal arts college, St. Olaf offers courses in the sciences, the humanities (including foreign languages), the social sciences and the fine arts. It is not a university, with separate schools of medicine, engineering, law, etc., and it does not offer majors in business administration, computer programming or other technical fields, though courses are available in economics and computer science.

The academic year at St. Olaf College is divided into two semesters of four months, one in the fall and one in the spring, separated by a one-month term, called the Interim, in January. Academic life at St. Olaf is demanding, and students work hard to fulfill course requirements. Since examinations, essays and other written work are required on a frequent basis, daily attendance in class and daily preparation for class are essential to achieving success.

How to Apply

If, after reading this announcement, you believe yourself to qualify as a candidate for this assistantship /scholarship and you wish to apply for it, please follow the steps listed below.

  1. Write and submit a personal statement (lettre de motivation) in French or in English addressed to Dr. Wendy Allen, Chair, Department of Romance Languages.
  2. Submit at the same time proof of your TOEFL score, two letters of recommendation (which may be written either in French or in English), and a copy of your official transcript of credits.  Send these documents to:
                                                    Dr. Wendy Allen, Chair
                                                    Department of Romance Languages
                                                    St. Olaf College
                                                    1520 St. Olaf Avenue
                                                    Northfield, MN  55057-1098, U.S.A.
                                                    Fax:  507 786-3732   Email:  wallen@stolaf.edu

Note:  If you have taken the TOEFL within the last two years, you may send those results with the above-mentioned materials. If you have not yet taken the TOEFL, please arrange to do so at the earliest possible time, and inform us of your test date. Your TOEFL score must be sent directly to St. Olaf by the testing service. Your application will not be complete until your TOEFL score has been received by St. Olaf.

Once all of the above-mentioned application materials have been received and reviewed, you will be notified of the Selection Committee’s decision.  Should it be favorable, you will then - and only then - be asked to make formal application for admission to St. Olaf College.  This application will require the completion and submission of the St. Olaf College Application for Admission: International Students form and the Certification of Finances form.  Applicants for the French language assistantship/scholarship do not pay the application fee required of other international students.

The awarding of the French Language Assistantship/Scholarship requires that the recipient be admitted as a full-time student to St. Olaf College.  This decision resides with the Office of Admissions of St. Olaf College.

 

(Revised 02/22/2010)

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