French Bootcamp Experience
An unforgettable opportunity to travel to France is available to PVCC students. On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Assistant Professor of French Kris Swanson hosted a presentation on the 2026 Community College in France Summer Bootcamps. This program gives students the chance to spend two summer weeks studying abroad in France. However, speaking French is not a requirement to take part in this international education experience.
The bootcamps are a collaboration between the U.S. Department of State and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Transatlantic Friendship and Mobility Initiative. The bootcamps aim to make education abroad opportunities more accessible for underserved and underrepresented students. Because of that mission, these bootcamps are meant to be attainable both academically and financially. As Swanson said during the presentation, “For the past four years, the program cost has been $2,400.” That fee includes tuition, housing, meals, pickup at the airport, and local transportation, but does not include airfare and insurance. Both PVCC and the French Embassy offer scholarships to help students reduce costs. Swanson went on to say, “The last couple of years, I think every PVCC student went and did this program for two weeks for the price of airfare.” With these financial opportunities, the French bootcamps are made much more accessible.
This abroad program is made possible through participating French universities that invite U.S. community college students for a great opportunity to travel and learn. Each year, the focus of the camps is sustainability. Multiple camps will take place simultaneously in different regions of France. 2025’s bootcamps took place in Nice, Paris, Angers, Strasbourg, and Saint-Etienne. Each location features educational workshops, historical and informative sites, and training in the bootcamp’s specified industry. Students who have previously taken part describe it as an empowering experience. According to Swanson’s presentation materials, an anonymous 2022 PVCC participant said that, “I met interesting people, experienced a new culture, and was able to learn more about myself in the process.”
Important dates to remember for the bootcamp will begin in either late November or early December, when it is expected that applications will open. Around this same time, further information from the French Embassy will also be available. Until that is made public, the following deadlines are based on 2025’s bootcamp and are not definitive dates. The expected deadline for the application is set for the end of January. Following submission and review, acceptance notifications will be released in mid-March. Students who are accepted into the bootcamp depart for their two-week French adventure in either June or July.
Interested students with further questions should contact Kris Swanson (KSWANSON@pvcc.edu).
