Fast Facts
DATES: June 18 - July 17, 2026
GENERAL LOCATION: Arles, France
ENROLLMENT CAPACITY: 20
FOCUS: Photojournalism and Graphic Design
PARTNER UNIVERSITY: University of Jamestown
PROJECT COST: $5,995 + airfare
INCLUDES: accommodations with host families; daily breakfast and dinners 4 nights a week; welcome dinner, farewell dinner; 20 hours of beginner/intermediate French language instruction; program activities; travel insurance. Academic Credit is optional. DOES NOT INCLUDE AIRFARE.
The Arles Project
Mentored by a team of award-winning professors with international experience, students will explore Arles, one of the most beautiful cities in the South of France. With its rich history, diverse population, and international photography and world music festivals, Arles provides an inspiring backdrop for aspiring foreign correspondents and others seeking opportunities to report overseas.
Arles is a haven for archaeologists, ecologists, photographers and art specialists, and it provides a microcosm of French life and culture. Students can report on environment, food, the arts, social issues, or other topics of their choosing.
The City
Situated at the apex of the delta formed by the Rhône river and the Mediterranean sea, Arles became a strategically important provincial capital of ancient Rome, and several impressive ancient Roman monuments remain, including an arena that still hosts concerts and bull races. Its proximity to the Camargue salt marshes has made it a premier location for the study of Mediterranean wetlands.
The city also attracted some of Europe’s most famous artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, who produced an astounding collection of more than 300 paintings and drawings of the city and its environs during the 15 months he lived there.
Photographers: Arles is a major center for photography and we will attend the inspiring Rencontres d’Arles international photography festival, which brings photographers from all over the world to Arles. You’ll get to shoot ancient monuments, intimate street scenes and the Camargue marshlands, where wild horses, bulls and flamingos roam free.
We will also be there for Les Suds, à Arles, a weeklong world music festival that takes over the city’s historical buildings, squares and streets.
During this four-week program, you will learn how to:
- research and report a story in a foreign setting
- interview sources with the help of an interpreter
- produce text, photos and/or multimedia content for publication under the guidance of an experienced mentor
Cultural Activities
- Arles Saturday Market is one of the largest open-air markets in France and a treasure trove of story ideas. Here you’ll meet farmers, fisherman, craftspeople and cheesemakers from across the region.
- Arles has some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the region – and without the crowds you’ll find in Rome. You’ll visit the classical theater, the arena, the necropole or cemetery and the remains of the Roman baths, some of which date back to the first century B.C.
- The LUMA Foundation and its distinctive Frank Gehry-designed tower and garden offers artists new perspectives for creation, collaboration, and presentation of their work to the public.
- a Van Gogh Walking Tour, which allows you to retrace the artist’s steps and see the gardens, streets and monuments that inspired him.
Travel Opportunities
Students will have two three-day weekends free to explore Arles on their own or take day trips to nearby picturesque medieval villages and the Camargue, a nature reserve famous for its white horses and pink flamingos. You’ll also be able to plan a weekend getaway to Paris, which is just 4 hours away by the high-speed TGV train.
The famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance.
Academic Credit
Students have the option to earn three credits of an upper-division journalism elective for this course. The credits will be issued by the University of Jamestown, and we will work with you so they are easily transferable to your university. Transfer credit ultimately depends on a student’s home university. The cost for three academic credit is $450 (See the FAST FACTS at the top of the page for Program Cost).
Housing
Program participants will stay with host families in Arles. Accommodations include daily breakfast and dinner will be provided daily four nights a week.
Host families provide :
- Single or double bedrooms
- Shared or individual bathrooms
- All breakfasts and four dinners per week
- Sheets, towels and laundry facilities
Host families are carefully selected and regularly visited in order to ensure students’ safety and comfort. The network of host families is made up of different family types: young families with children, couples without children, empty nesters, etc. Students are asked to provide detailed information about their housing requirements when signing up for our program. Arles à la carte then carefully matches students with host families, taking into consideration any allergies, health or diet requirements and specific living requests.
Our host families all live in the center of Arles within a 20- to 25-minute walk of the Arles à la carte language center, and everything in town is easily accessible on foot, from the historical monuments to the main shopping streets.
Equipment
Students should bring their own laptop computers and mobile phones, as well as digital or video cameras and audio recorders if they have them.
Language Instruction and Interpreters
All language instruction and interpreters will be furnished by Arles à la carte, a language school in the center of the city. Lessons will include classroom instruction in small groups, as well as outside-the-classroom activities, such as shopping in the market or ordering in a cafe. No French language background is necessary; instruction will be provided at the beginner level. An intermediate class may be offered, based on enrollment and demand.
Arles à la carte’s bilingual staff will help students set up interviews and provide interpreting services.
Students
The program is open to English-speaking college students and recent graduates from any school. Most of our students are journalism, creative writing or communications majors; those majoring in other subjects are welcome as well. Experience working for a college or professional publication is helpful but not required. The program is open to English-speaking students and recent graduates from around the world.Students from many universities have participated in past ieiMedia programs, including:
American University, Arizona State University, Baylor University, California State University Fullerton, California State University Long Beach, Carleton University, Colorado State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgetown University, Humboldt State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Ithaca College, James Madison University, Louisiana State University, New York University, Rider University, Rutgers University, Ryerson University, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, State University of New York at New Paltz, Syracuse University, Temple University, Truman State University, UCLA, University of Arizona, University of British Columbia, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Kennesaw State University, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Northern Iowa, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Tech, and Washington and Lee University. We’ve also had students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad participate.
Graduates
Graduate students are also invited to apply. We’d be happy to talk with you about supervising an independent project that would qualify for graduate credit at your school – or to offer this experience as a graduate internship.
Faculty Director
Bruce Strong
When he’s not in the field, Bruce spends time helping others learn to tell stories that matter. At Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, he teaches various video, audio, photography and multimedia courses and serves as the new Alexia endowed chair, presiding over its annual international grant competition and other projects. Bruce considers teaching a rewarding and enlightening journey, and he is proud of his students, many of whom have won top honors from NPPA, POY, World Press and BOP, even while still students. He also mentored back-to-back College Photographer of the Year winners, Matt Eich and Travis Dove. In 2010, Bruce was honored with a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award from Syracuse University and the National Press Photographers Association’s Robin F. Garland Educator Award. Bruce also lectures and leads workshops for a variety of groups, including NPPA’s Multimedia Immersion Workshop and the Maine Media Workshops. He also has been sent by the U.S. State Department to teach visual storytelling and photography to photojournalists in Oman and Mauritius.
Bruce is most proud of his two young adult sons, Jack and Cole, and loves adventuring through life with Claudia, his designer/writer/professor wife.
Faculty
Claudia Strong
In what has turned out to be a delightfully varied communications career, Claudia Strong began as a newspaper journalist after earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, then moved to the design side of the newsroom before eventually entering the freelance world. She’s now happily working at the corner of words and visuals at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she’s in her 14th year teaching various graphic design and writing courses to undergraduate, graduate and military students.
Originally from Chile and fluent in Spanish, Claudia embraces all sorts of adventures, most recently an intense five-week mountaineering program in the Austrian Alps, and a 10,000-mile road trip across Canada with her husband, their trusty Mazda 3 and a tent.
View complete faculty biographies on our Arles Faculty Page.
APPLICATION, PAYMENTS, AND WAITLISTS
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia! If you have questions about applying, you can also start a conversation with us by clicking the Get Started button. Please refer to the Application Deadline Details for more information.
PAYMENT DEADLINES: see Payment, Cancelation and Refund Policy for information on deposit deadlines and amounts.
ENROLLMENT CAPACITY AND WAITLISTS: ieiMedia projects have a defined capacity limitation for applicants. Since there is a limited number of applicants who can attend, you can only be guaranteed a spot when you (1) have paid your Application Fee and (2) made payments on time according to the Costs and Payment Schedule. If a program has reached capacity OR you have not met the requirements for enrollments, you will be placed on the waitlist until requirements are met and capacity is available.
ACADEMIC CREDIT
Academic credits can be earned for this ieiMedia Project. Requesting course credit is optional. This course offers an option to earn three credits of an upper-division journalism elective. The cost for academic credit is $150/credit. Students choosing this option must indicate so in their application. After applying, student will find procedures in our Student Portal to request academic credit through our school of record, University of Jamestown. NOTE: Students on a quarter system will be able to transfer as four credits at no additional fee. Transfer credit ultimately depends on a student's home university. Please check with your university for procedures to follow when transferring credits to your institution.
Application Details, Travel Advisory, Financial Aid
Application Deadline Details
Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia!
If you do not have the necessary access to submit your application, please reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com to speak with an advisor.
Get started now to reserve your place or contact the ieiMedia Director of Admissions at: admissions@ieimedia.com
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Our formal deadline has passed, but we are still accepting applications for summer 2025 as long as spots remain available. Please review our application instructions and reach out to admissions@ieimedia.com if you have any questions. We are here to support you through the application process and are so excited to learn more about your interest in studying abroad with ieiMedia!
Travel Advisory
ieiMedia will be monitoring The US Department of State Travel Advisories and will provide status updates to those who sign up for the project regarding important information.
Financial Aid
Students studying abroad for the summer term have limited financial aid options, but Pell grant recipients are encouraged to apply and receive our help in applying for a Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship which can award up to $5,000. Check with your school’s financial aid office and your study abroad offices to find out if other assistance is available. For more information on financial aid, get started by connecting with us here.
QUESTIONS? Contact the ieiMedia Director of Admissions at admissions@ieimedia.com You can also schedule an ieiMedia advising session.
Past information session recordings and slides can be viewed here.