Program Site
The Studio Art Program in Aix-en-Provence in Southern France is offered at the Marchutz School of Drawing and Painting, located on the Tholonet Road, just outside Aix-en-Provence, near the Chateaunoir where Cézanne lived and worked. The Marchutz School, founded by German artist Leo Marchurtz in 1971, is now under the auspices of the Institute for American Universities.

Academic Program Highlights
The Marchutz School takes an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to studio art. Painting and drawing, study in museums, and reading/ writing assignments encourage students to explore the correspondences between natural and artistic forms. In the studio,figure drawing portraiture, landscape and still-life painting are interrelated with copying, member work, and sketchbook journals. Group and individual critiques and integral to the student's week. In seminars, students are asked to seek connections in their work with that of other artists and critics. Music, poetry and theater are often compared to painting, sculpture, or architecture. Studio disciplines and aesthetics are taught separately, but presented as a unified corpus. Studio, writing, history and criticism combine to form one "seminar in seeing."

The faculty considers each student as a working artist regardless of his/her level of experience. Whether beginning or well advanced, the student who will thrive at the Marchutz School is serious and committed. Students must enroll in the Studio Seminar (6 credits), the Art Criticism Seminar (3 credits) and one art history class (3 credits). Museum and painting excursions are also required. Marchutz students may choose one or two French language courses from the Centre d'Aix curriculum at the Institute for American Universities.

Program Duration
September - December (Fall)
January - May (Spring)

Application Deadlines*
July 1 (Fall)
December 1 (Spring)

*Note: Contact Rio Salado College for exact dates.

Transcripts
For all courses taken at the Marchutz School of Drawing and Painting where there are equivalent courses in the MCCCD, the official record for those credits will be posted on the MCCCD, Rio Salado College, transcript.

Eligibility
A 2.5 GPA is required, along with transcripts and two letters of recommendation. The program is open to students at freshman through senior standing.

Student Life
Students are housed in French homestays, which provide breakfast and dinner five days per week; semi-independent lodging is available in limited supply. Cinemas, restaurants, cafes and discotheques, as well as a variety of sporting events, are available to students in the town of Aix-en-Provence.

Costs
The cost of a semester may vary as changes occur in the economies and currencies of the U.S. and France. The factors listed below are used to calculate program costs.

  • Tuition at Rio Salado College (assessed according to the student's residency status).
  • Program costs in France, including instruction, housing, application and orientation fees, insurance, books and field trips.
  • Transportation to France.
Financial Aid
Any financial aid for which students are eligible during the course of their study at Rio Salado College, including Pell Grants, can be used toward the cost of the program in France.

For More Information
Office of International Education
Rio Salado College
2323 W. 14th St.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 517-8416
(480) 517-8849 Fax
Contact: Erma Abeyta, Director of International Programs
OIE@riomail.maricopa.edu