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From https://bobcatmoran.tumblr.com/post/674306859235213312

Since most of Les Amis are (ostensibly) students, it helps to have a grasp of what that actually looked like in 1820s/30s France. There weren’t a ton of choices for courses of study, so I’ll only be talking about the law and medical schools here, because those are where we know at least some of the Amis are studying.

both schools have two months of vacation, 1 September to 1 November
possible days off: Sundays, 1st of the year, fête du roi (November 4 for Charles X, May 3 for Louis-Philippe,) Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Shrove Monday and Shrove Tuesday, feast day of Saint-Louis, presumably Christmas?*
*these are the days off for the colléges royaux, not the universities, but since they’re mostly religious holidays, I think it’s reasonable to assume that at least some of them would be the same?

LAW SCHOOL
students must be at least 16 years old at registration
3 years of courses to be a licentiate, plus one optional year to obtain a doctorate
year 1, 1st trimester: natural law, international law, general public law. 2nd trimester: first course in the French Civil Code. 3rd trimester: history of Roman law and French law
year 2, 1st trimester: institutes of Roman law. 2nd trimester: second course in Civil Code. 3rd trimester: course in civil procedure
year 3, 1st trimester: third course in Civil Code. 2nd trimester: course in commercial law. 3rd trimester: course in administrative law.
however, it was completely possible that this process could take more than three years due to failing examinations, losing inscriptions, etc.
what happened to Bossuet was a real thing. Professors had to do a roll call twice a month. If a student answered for another student, they lost their inscription. If they failed to answer twice in three months, they lost their inscription.

MEDICAL SCHOOL
two sessions, winter (1st Monday of November - 31 March) and summer (first Monday of April - 31 October) (vacation occurs during summer session)
dissections limited to the winter session, for obvious reasons
two weeks off for Christmas and between sessions
four years of courses with 16 terms, plus one year for examinations and thesis
year 1, winter session: anatomy, physiology, chemistry. summer session: medical pathology or hygiene, external pathology, botany.
year 2, winter: anatomy, physiology, practical medicine. summer: hygiene, pharmacy, external pathology, external clinics.
year 3, winter: practical medicine, external clinics. summer: materia medica, internal clinics.
year 4, winter: internal clinics, history of medicine, internal pathology. summer: legal medicine, clinique de perfectionnement, midwifery.
Some notes on the internat, since we know Combeferre was an interne:

In order to get hands-on hospital experience, students could take the highly competitive examinations for the externat and internat in November. Internes were lodged in the hospital, monitored patients, did night duties, assisted surgeons and physicians, and could act in their place in case of emergency. They received a stipend of 500 francs a year. Externes were not lodged in the hospital and performed more minor tasks, and were not paid.

must be at least 18 and provide proof of enrollment to take the exam to be an externe
internes are chosen from the existing pool of externes in a separate examination
must have at least one year of service as an externe to take the exam to be an interne
role of externes lasted two years, role of internes lasted 4 years
internes moved around to different hospitals to learn the different specialties and experience in both medicine and surgery
about 100 externes, 20-40 internes appointed each year. Selection of internes was highly competitive and political, aspiring students sought support from professors and doctors to gain an advantage.
I strongly recommend all of these sources to anyone hoping to go into more detail on this topic, they’re a wealth of information and I couldn’t put everything into this post.

Medical Students in England and France, 1815-1858

Florent Palluault, 2003

Code universitaire, ou Lois, statuts et règlemens de l'Université royale de France

Ambroise Rendu, 1835

A General View of the Present System of Public Education in France

David Johnston, 1827

Medical Guide to Paris: A description of the principal Hospitals of Paris

Félix Séverin Ratier, J. Rutherford Alcock, 1828
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Combeferre

March 2022

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