ésam Caen/Cherbourg

Events

webmaster — 2019-04-10T08:15:57Z

Partners

France Jacquel-Blanc — 2019-03-06T12:57:24Z

Germany	Kiel	Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel
Offenbach am Main	Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main
Mannheim	Hochschule Mannheim
Hamburg	Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
Münster	Fachhochschule Münster
Münster	Kunstakademie Münster
Belgium	Mons	Ecole Supérieure des Arts
Brussels	ESA Saint-Luc
Brussels	Ecole de Recherche Graphique
Bulgaria	Veliko Turnovo	St Cyril and Methodius University
Canada	Chicoutimi	Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Toronto	Sheridan College
China	Beijing	Central Academy of Fine Arts
Estonia	Tallinn	Estonian Academy of Arts
South Korea	Seoul	Hongik University
Spain	Barcelona	ESDAPC
Las Palmas	EASD Gran Canaria
Madrid	Centro Universitario de Artes TAI
USA	Lowell	UMass Lowell
Baltimore	Maryland Institute College of Arts
Hungary	Budapest	Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences
Budapest	The Hungarian University of Fine Arts
Iceland	Reykjavik	Iceland University of the Arts
India	Bengalore	Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
Italy	Bologna	Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna
Brescia	Accademia di Belle Arti di Brescia Santagiulia
Florence	Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze
Macerata	Accademia di Belle Arti Macerata
Rome	Istituto Pantheon
Palermo	Accademia di Palermo
Latvia	Riga	Art Academy of Latvia
Riga	Latvian Academy of Culture
Lithuania	Vilnius	Vilnius Academy of Art
Macedonia	Skopje	St Cyril and Methode University of Skopje
Mexico	Cuernavaca	Universidad Internacional
Morocco	Casablanca, Rabat	Art'Com Sup
Netherlands	The Hague	Royal Academy of Art
Norway	Bergen	Bergen Academy of Art and Design
Poland	Warsaw	Academy of Fine Arts of Warszaw
Czech Republic	Prague	Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design
Romania	Cluj Napoca	University of Art and Design
United Kingdom	Belfast	University of Ulster - Belfast school of art
Plymouth	Arts University Plymouth
Slovakia	Banska Bystrica	Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica
Switzerland	Sierre	EDHEA
Turkey	Istanbul	Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

Incoming students

France Jacquel-Blanc — 2018-10-05T10:06:48Z

Application for exchange students

To be able to apply to study at ésam Caen/Cherbourg as an exchange student, your home university must have a valid agreement with our school in your area of study. Talk with the International Office in your home university for guidance and useful information.
A dossier must be submitted to ésam International Office with the following documents :
• CV
• cover letter
• portfolio (10 to 15 works)
• a photo
• Copy of ID/Passport
• application form

Application deadline :
Autumn semester : 15 May
Spring semester : 15 November

International booklet
Fact sheet 2025-2026
Course list 2025-2026
Academic calendar
ECTS grading scale
Life in Caen

Application for international students

If you wish to study at ésam Caen/Cherbourg, you have two options depending on your situation :
• You wish to enter the first year of studies : you must comply with the common rules for all applicants and pass the entrance exam. For more information, please check the Admission page.
• You wish to enter another year of studies : you can apply through Campus Art, or directly to the school's commissions. If your application is accepted, you will be contacted for a phone interview.
Foreign students should have a minimum level of B2.

Accommodation

Halls of residence :
CROUS (Centre Régional des Oeuvres Universitaires et Sociales) provides rooms or small apartments in student's halls of residence. Esam has a yearly booking for 9 square meters' rooms in the résidence Grémillon in Hérouville-saint-Clair. These rooms have private restrooms and common bathrooms and kitchen. The rent is 264,50€ per month. If you are interested in this solution you need to contact the international office : ri@esam-c2.fr
If you would like to book another CROUS hall of residence, you can do so starting July 11th on the CROUS website, but be aware that accommodation is not guaranteed since international students do not have priority.

Private accommodation :
You can check ads on websites such as Lokaviz and contact directly the landlords.
You can also contact the "Erasmus Student Network Caen".
The Esam Caen/Cherbourg Community Facebook group can publish ads.
The Etudiants de Caen Facebook group.
There are also private halls of residence.

French courses

All courses at ésam Caen/Cherbourg are taught in French.
The Language training department of the University of Caen provides all year long French language programs designed to meet all needs and levels : full-time and part-time training, evening classes, upgrade courses before the academic year, summer courses, DELF/DALF certification.
The evening classes cost 150€ per semester (to be paid by the students).
More information

Erasmus and Internationals in Caen also allows foreign students to practice French through their mentoring system and multilingual meetings.

DUEF for art studies purpose

ésam Caen/Cherbourg and the University of Caen have developed a joint one-year preparatory programme in order to prepare foreign students for Art studies in French.

Candidates are selected on the basis of their study project and are preregistered both for the preparatory training (DUEF - Diplôme Universitaire d'Etudes Françaises) and for immersion at ésam Caen/Cherbourg. They must justify an acquired A2 level of French at the time of registration.
During the DUEF, the students follow French courses in order to reach the B2 level (as required by the French universities) as well as “French for art studies purposes” modules. These modules prepare the students for future art courses by developing their language skills in accordance with the studies at ésam Caen/Cherbourg and by proposing progressive periods of immersion in the school. At the end of the preparatory year, provided they succeed, students are awarded the DUEF for both B1 and B2 levels and they can pass the entrance exams for ésam Caen/Cherbourg.
More information on the University of Caen website
To apply you must register on Campus Art

International projects

France Jacquel-Blanc — 2018-09-27T09:59:58Z

Saison France-Romania 2019

In the frame of the "Saison France-Roumanie", with the support of the French Institute and the Normandy Region, ésam Caen/Cherbourg and Spațiu Intact art center in Cluj-Napoca have organised the presentation of the work of five French artists (Louise Aleksiejew, Thomas Auriol, Leticia Martínez Pérez, Antoines Medes, Léa Tesson) and five Romanian artists (Mircea But, Andrei Ispas, SJ Revo Kim, Cristian Opriș, Lucian Popăilă). "Papanache Camembert" exhibition took place in ésam Caen/Cherbourg gallery from November 30th to December 21st, 2018 and "Camembert Papanache" in the gallery of Spatiu Intact art center in Cluj-Napoca from May 7th to June 10th, 2019. Carried out by artists/academics Florin Ștefan and Benjamin Hochart, this project aimed at showing the vivacity and, to a certain extent, the artistic coherence between the French and the Romanian scene.

Press release for the show in Caen
Pictures of the show in Caen
Pictures of the show in Cluj-Napoca

Partnership with Bubahof, Prague

Since 2018, ésam Caen/Cherbourg has a partnership with Bubahof organization, located in Prague, in order to foster students mobility as well as international experience for graduates and cultural and artistic projects involving research. On a yearly basis, Bubahof provides an accommodation and a working space in its premises for artists, researchers, curators and staff from ésam Caen/Cherbourg.

Short residencies:

In 2018-2019, the following people stayed at Bubahof for a short residency : Maria Giovanni, Cyprien Desrez, Lou Parisot, Emile Orange, Enora Bource, Izypt, Justine Viard, Marion Phalip and Emilien Blanchard.

More information

Yearly call for applications:

Launched in 2018, this artistic residency offers a chance for a young graduate of ésam Caen/Cherbourg to spend three months (July-September) in Prague thanks to Bubahof association and MeetFactory art center.

Winners of the call:

2018: Amalia Vargas
2019: Mélissa Mérinos
2020: postponed due to the sanitary crisis

"Artist in Residence" Normandy/Hordaland

Based upon the 25-year old collaborative partnership between Normandie region and Hordaland County Council, a residency program has been developed with ésam Caen/Cherbourg and Bergen School of Art and Design in order to promote young graduates abroad.
Each year the program alternates between sending a young French artist to Norway and a young Norwegian artist to France, for a three-month residency supported by Normandy and Hordaland.

Winners of the call:

2011: Alexis Debeuf (France)
2014: Amber Ablett (Norway)
2015: Margot Cannevière (France)
2016: Johanna Lettmayer (Norway)
2017: Jade Ronat-Mallié (France)

"Artist in Residence" Normandie/Manitoba

Based on the Normandy/Hordaland model, this program was launched in 2016 with ésam Caen/Cherbourg and Brandon University, supported by Normandie region and the Manitoba Arts Council.

Winners of the call:

2016: Adrien Lefebvre (France)
2017: Colleen Granger (Canada)

Study trips

France Jacquel-Blanc — 2018-09-27T09:59:55Z

Thanks to the school's policy for study trips, the students get access to national and international places and events, in order to enrich their cultural references and networks for the future.

Every year, first-year students get to spend one day of visits in Paris. During their second and third year of studies, they travel for a week to another city or a major cultural event in France or in Europe and they also get to use a 150€ scholarship for a trip abroad.

These trips are organized distinctively between the departments (Fine Arts or Graphic Design).

2018-2019 :
Berlin (Hamburger Bahnhof, Pergamonmuseum, KW...)
Chaumont (International Graphic Design Biennial)

2017-2018 :
Venice (57th Biennial "Viva Arte Viva")
Lyon (14th Biennial "Mondes flottants")
Basel (Cartoon Museum, Haus der Electronischen Künste, Swiss Architecture Museum, Papier Museum)

2016-2017 :
Brussels (Wiels, Villa Empain, Comics Art Museum, Fine Arts Museums), Bruges (Groeninge museum), Charleroi (Photography museum), Mons (Triennale de l'Affiche Politique)
Lille (Fine Arts museum, Museum of Modern Art, Contemporary Art and Art Brut in Villeneuve d'Ascq, La Piscine museum in Roubaix)

2015-2016 :
Lille and Lens (Louvre, Fine Arts Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Contemporary Art and Art Brut in Villeneuve d'Ascq, La Piscine museum in Roubaix)
London (National Gallery, White Cube Gallery, Tate Modern, British Museum, Serpentine Gallery)
Milano (Triennale Design Museum, Design Gallery Milano, Fondazione Prada, Castello Sforzesco, Museo del Novecento)

2014-2015 :
Lille (Fine Arts Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Contemporary Art and Art Brut in Villeneuve d'Ascq, La Piscine museum in Roubaix)
Madrid (Museo del Prado, Museo Reina Sofia, Casa de Velazquez, Museo ABC)
Berlin (Hamburger Bahnhof, Martin Gropius Bau, Photography Museum)

2013-2014 :
Rouen (Fine Arts Museum)
Dublin (National Print Museum, Irish Musemu of Modern Art, National Gallery of Ireland...)
Venice (55th Biennial "Il Palazzo Enciclopedico")

2012-2013 :
Karlsruhe (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) and Metz (Centre Pompidou)
Bologna (Childrens' Bookfair)
Basel (Art Basel, Liste Art Fair, Kunstmuseum, Kunsthalle, Tinguely Museum)

Outgoing students

France Jacquel-Blanc — 2018-09-27T09:59:53Z

Erasmus+ program :

The school has been applying the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) since 2005, with the aim of promoting mobility inside the European Union. ECTS acquired by the students during their mobility are fully recognized by the school for the validation of their diploma.

For whom ?

You must be registered at the school during the year of your mobility, and you must have obtained all ECTS of the semester prior to your departure ;
All Master students do an exchange semester or an internship mobility during the Spring semester of the first year ;
Mobility is also possible during the second year of the Bachelor degree ;
The length of stay is one semester ;
Following your application, cancellations are not allowed except for serious cases (justified) ;
You must follow all courses provided by the host institution and comply with its rules ;
People with disabilities or difficulties can benefit from an additional Erasmus+ grant. For more information please contact the international relations office.

Where, when, how ?

To find out where you can go, you can check the partners list.

In order to apply for a semester abroad, you need to prepare the following application documents :

Resume ;
Personal statement ;
Portfolio (between 10 and 15 works)

The deadline for application depends on each partner school. To find out the deadline for the school you are interested in, please check the partners table.

During your mobility (study period or internship) you can receive financial aids : check the list