The caesura
Timetable for applying for a gap year
What is a "caesura"?
"A gap year is defined as a period during which a student, enrolled in an initial course of higher education, temporarily suspends his or her studies in order to gain personal or professional experience, either on his or her own or supervised by a host organization in France or abroad [...].
It is stated that a gap year is not a parallel path to a diploma course, and cannot replace the acquisition methods provided for as part of the course, such as the end-of-study project, internships in a professional environment or foreign language teaching."
Césure program - University of Montpellier - CFVU of November 18, 2019 - DFE.
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When and for how long?
A gap year is possible between the different levels of the university curriculum, between L1 and M2.
It must be for a minimum of one semester, and a maximum of one academic year.
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When can I request a gap year?
- Training in a field different from that of the registration course ;
- Civic service commitment (voluntary civic service commitment, voluntary service, European voluntary service, fire department civic service);
- Setting up a business as a student-entrepreneur ;
- Personal experience ;
- work experience: work experience can be assessed on the basis of an employment contract (fixed-term contract), a volunteer contract or an internship agreement.
If you are applying for a gap year for an internship, your application will only be accepted for ONE internship lasting a maximum of 6 months within a semester.
The gap year cannot begin before September 1 (1st day of the academic year), and cannot go beyond August 31 (last day of the academic year).
Putting together your gap year file
=> Proof of enrolment or Scol'Pass for the academic year during which you wish to take a gap year
=> A copy of both sides of your identity card
=> A curriculum vitae
=> A cover letter (motivations, objectives, etc.)
=> As many letters of commitment as there are host organizations (volunteer, civic service, etc.)
=> A letter of support for the project from a teacher-researcher in the teaching department (at the target level)
=> A detailed month-by-month program for the gap year
AND
=> The gap year agreement (signed by the student and the academic supervisor only) and the gap year application form.
These two documents will be sent to you in July.
Gap year for travel abroad
If I wish to travel to a foreign country, I must first find out what the risks are via the Ariane portal. If the country is in the red ("Formally inadvisable") or orange ("Unadvisable except for imperative reasons") category, the gap-year request will be refused, except for imperative reasons.