Student Status

Policy number: AA002EN
Review date: Fall 2023
Issuing office: Academic Affairs

Full-time, degree-seeking students may petition the Registrar to change their status to part-time after at least one semester of full-time enrollment and before a new semester begins. 

Full-time students may audit one course per semester in spring and fall. Students may audit courses in summer for a reduced tuition fee. Audit petition forms must be submitted to the Registrar during the Drop/Add period at the beginning of each semester. Audited courses will appear on students’ transcripts. 

Students registered in fewer than 12 credits per semester, including courses audited, are considered part-time students. Part-time students must be 18 or older and have successfully completed secondary education. Non-native speakers of English must also submit TOEFL scores of at least 101 on the iBT (or equivalent). 

Part-time students are not eligible for student visas (except if their status is due to a registered internship within the context of full-time study) and The American University of Paris cannot assist students who do not have the correct visa in gaining French resident status. Part-time non-degree seeking students (the latter two categories detailed below) do not qualify for financial aid from the University or a convention de stage in order to work in a French company. 

Three categories exist for part-time study: 

• Part-time degree-seeking students must apply through the AUP Admissions Office by submitting the regular application along with supporting documents to be considered for acceptance into the University. This status is deemed exceptional as the University encourages full-time study. These students have the right to academically related AUP services (advising, registration, etc.) but do not participate in Orientation, are not eligible for AUP housing (or other non-academically-related student services). They may pre-register for their classes. They may petition the Registrar for full-time status at the beginning of any semester. 
• Part-time, credit-seeking, non-degree students are welcome to enroll in courses on a space-available basis provided they have satisfied any applicable prerequisites. These students must submit the part-time study application along with an official copy of their last transcript, and can pre-register for their classes. If they wish to change their status to degree seeking, they must apply to the University through the AUP Admissions Office. 
• Auditor Status (Auditeur Libre) is designed to meet the needs of the adult community in the Paris area. Persons accepted in this category may audit up to 11 credits per semester. Auditors pay reduced tuition (for all but participatory art, language, science, computer science, or 4000-level courses) but do not accumulate academic credit. The grading of exams, assignments, term papers, etc., for auditors is left to the discretion of the instructor. Auditors apply to the Admissions Office as part-time, non-degree-seeking students. 

Visiting students may apply to attend AUP for a semester or a year.