When Lloyd DeLamater, a 40-year-old former US State Department official, founded the American College in Paris in 1962, his vision was far ahead of its time. Whether by virtue of the decidedly international dimension of his life – born in New York, he was a war veteran, held degrees from multiple international institutions, married a French woman, and lived all across Europe in his roles as a US Foreign Service and NATO officer – or his extensive observations of postwar Europe, DeLamater was quick to grasp the need to counter a vision of the world as being made up of disparate, isolated countries and peoples. He instead sought to “bridge the gap of narrow nationalisms,” and create an institution that would connect those ready to look beyond the borders of their home countries.
The AUP project began as a series of rented rooms in the basement of the American Church of Paris with an entering class of 100 students, most of whom were Americans living across Europe. Today, we are the premiere American style institution of higher education in Europe and the UK.
While the courses offered in the early days were similar to those offered at many other US universities, the American College in Paris, or ACP as it was then known, was moved by a very different spirit and offered the unique experience of the city of Paris. Describing this first class of students, DeLamater praised not only students’ academic performance, but also their mastery of foreign language, and ability to adapt to French culture. At a time when America was busy defining “American identity,” DeLamater was promoting a learning model allowing students to forge their own identities and communities, while engaging with an international and cosmopolitan city. With the incorporation of the American College in Paris in 1962, DeLamater succeeded in establishing a place where students could push past the borders of their home countries and become engaged citizens of an increasingly interdependent world.
The History of Graduate Programs
In 2002, the University made a commitment to developing Graduate Studies as the major means for the University to attain “international visibility and distinction in international education” as then President Gerry Della Paolera affirmed.
In 2005, The American University of Paris expanded to begin offering Master’s programs across a variety of fields and specializations, always with a global outlook: the MA in International Affairs, Conflict Resolution and International Solidarity, a joint master’s with the Institut Catholique de Paris, was the first graduate program offered, which has since evolved into our very own MA in International Affairs, Conflict Resolution and Civil Society Development. As the University has evolved, some of our initial programs, of course, no longer exist.
Today, the University offers seven graduate programs, hosts over 150 graduate students and has obtained the French RNCP accreditation for our MA in Global Communications degree and Strategic Brand Management degrees. The MA in Global Communications, founded in 2006, is one of our longest standing programs founded at a time when no other university was looking at communications from a non-Western and global perspective, an approach that is still highly relevant today. Other unique, pioneering programs include the Masters of Science in Human Rights and Data Science, which positions students to work at the crossroads of the two disciplines, which have both become essential in today’s society.
Learn more about each of our graduate programs :
