Xiomara Martinez-White from the Class of 2009 has become the first student to take advantage of a new fourth semester study-abroad program with the Graduate School of Journalism and Communications (CELSA) of the Sorbonne University in Paris, France.

The program allows CUNY J-School students to take classes at CELSA during the spring semester as well as get involved in a news internship. In exchange, CELSA will send two students to the J-School in the fall. “It’s an attractive option for CUNY students to be able to spend an extra semester getting an international perspective on the news and journalism practices,” said Associate Dean Judy Watson, who spent a month in Paris last fall teaching a journalism seminar at CELSA and organizing the exchange program.

Martinez-White, who received her M.A. in Journalism degree at graduation ceremonies in December but decided to stay on for an extra semester, hopes to build on her language and cultural skills while in France: “I was really interested in being in Paris, and in the idea of being able to take an internship abroad. By doing this, I’ll learn how to conduct myself in a different part of the world,” she said.

At CELSA, CUNY students will learn journalism from a different perspective than they’re getting at the J-School. “They would learn a more theoretical approach to journalism, and also have a general cultural background,” said Valérie Jeanne-Perrier, an assistant professor at CELSA. “They could also gain a good perspective on how European media is working.”

She also spoke about the benefits of the exchange to CELSA students. “The French media industry is ready to welcome new skills, but not everyone is trained for that. In this aspect, CUNY is very innovative for our students,” said Jeanne-Perrier, who took part in the J-School’s January Academy by leading a seminar on European-style blogging.

The exchange evolved from a connection between Agence France-Presse’s Eric Scherer and the J-School’s Prof. Jeff Jarvis, director of the Interactive Program. CELSA representatives first visited the J-School last spring, and Assoc. Prof. Sandeep Junnarkar spent a week over there teaching interactive journalism.