Glossary
- Academic unit (composante) :
Refers to a subdivision of the university (for example, a teaching and research unit (UFR), a teaching department, a faculty, etc.).
- ADUM :
Acronym: Accès Doctorat Unique Mutualisé
information, services and communication portal for PhD students.
- Alumni :
plural of the Latin alumnus meaning "student", this term becomes alumna in the feminine form. Sorbonne University alumni are students who have taken our courses, whether they graduated from the university or not. More broadly, this means that students, PhD students and teaching and research staff who come to our university on a mobility programme can join our alumni network. Access is free of charge.
- Amphitheatre :
spacious lecture room with tiered seating.
- ANEF :
Acronym: Administration numérique pour les étrangers en France
the Digital Administration for Foreign Nationals in France, it is a centralised national teleservice dedicated to administrative immigration procedures.
- ANR :
Acronym: Agence nationale de la recherche
agency that funds public research and research partnerships in France.
- Assurance Maladie :
branch of the French social security system that covers a portion of healthcare costs (consultations, hospitalisation, medication, etc.). It is compulsory and free of charge for the vast majority of foreign students, PhD students and lecturers and researchers registered at a French university.
- ATER :
Acronym: Attaché temporaire de l’enseignement et de la recherche
a contractual staff member who has teaching duties in addition to their doctoral studies, in accordance with Decree No. 88-654 of May 7, 1988.
- Bank card :
Acronym: carte bancaire - CB
means of payment issued by your bank for online or in-store transactions.
- Bank overdraft (découvert bancaire) :
a negative bank account balance. This may be allowed by your bank.
- BIATSS :
refers to librarians, engineers, administrative staff, technicians, social and health staff. At French universities, this covers all administrative personnel other than lecturers and researchers.
- CAF :
Acronym: Caisse d’allocations familiales
French agency that offers financial aid, particularly for accommodation, to foreign students studying at a French university under certain conditions. This assistance mainly includes personalised assistance (Aide Personnalisée au Logement - APL), which aims to give applicants access to lower-rent housing, subject to criteria such as holding a valid residence permit, signing a personal lease and renting subsidised accommodation.
- Carpooling (covoiturage) :
taking a trip in a car shared with other passengers You can book trips on carpooling platforms.
- Carte vitale :
health card issued by the French social security authority that enables holders to access healthcare benefits health professionals and institutions in France.
- Casual job (petit boulot) :
temporary and flexible employment not requiring specific qualifications.
- CIFRE :
Acronym: Conventions industrielles de formation par la recherche
Industrial agreements for research training are schemes that enable French companies to take on PhD students to carry out research projects in partnership with or under the scientific supervision of a university laboratory. These projects lead to a doctoral thesis.
- CiuP :
Acronym: Cité internationale universitaire de Paris
campus located in the south of the 14th arrondissement of Paris that every year welcomes students, PhD students, lecturers and researchers from all over the world to France. It is composed of 47 buildings that provide 7,000 residences and personalised support services such as assistance with administrative formalities and integration, French lessons, etc. to make settling in and living in France easier. Each year, Sorbonne University reserves accommodation at the CiuP for its incoming mobility programme students.
- CNRS :
Acronym: Centre national de la recherche scientifique
French public scientific research body.
- Coffee break (pause-café) :
interrupting an activity to take a short break.
- COFRA :
Acronym: Conventions de formation par la recherche en administration
Research Training Agreements in Public Administration, these are a French scheme that enables students to carry out research for their doctoral theses with public administration bodies. The public administration body recruits a PhD student on the basis of a 3-year project contract and entrusts them with the research work that leads to a thesis. They are equivalent to CIFRE theses.
