The major in French introduces students to the literature, culture, and thought of France and the Francophone world, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Students may also explore Creole and Cajun languages in linguistics classes and field work. The junior year and semester abroad programs are integral to the majors in French and Italian and are also encouraged for non-majors.

PLACEMENT

Entering freshmen are placed at the appropriate level by assessment of their high school records. Successful completion of French 2030 or H2030, placement above the 200 level, a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement examination or a score of 640 or better on the College Board examination fulfills the language requirement for graduation.

THE FRENCH MAJOR 

Eleven courses,  34 credit hours

Group I: Required Core Courses (15 credit hours)

FREN 3150 Advanced French Grammar and Composition (3)

FREN 3140 Phonetics (3)

FREN 3170 French Media and Oral Performance (3)

FREN 3210 Introduction to Literary Analysis (3)

FREN 3250 French Society and Institutions (3)

Group II: Required Advanced Courses (7 credit hours)

FREN 4010 French Short Story (4): this is a Writing course

FREN 5950 Senior Seminar (3): this is a Capstone course

Group III: Electives at the 4000 or 6000 level (12 credit hours)

One of these advanced electives must be a Literature course.

Students who are double majoring may eliminate one of these electives, thus reducing the total number of credit hours required for the major to 31.

For one of these advanced electives, students may substitute a 3000-level course taught in English by the Department (e.g. FREN 3110 French Cinema) OR an advanced course in a related field (e.g. a course in French Art, French History, French Politics).

A senior thesis written for Honors in French can count as one of these electives.

5000-level courses taken abroad that have been approved as counting toward the FREN major are generally included among the Group III electives.

NB:   FREN 4560/4570 (Internship Studies) does not count toward the major. The typical Internship involves 60 hours of work, carries 1 credit hour and is graded on an S/U basis.

In order to complete the major, the student must have taken at least five French courses taught on this campus.

The Senior Seminar is offered in the fall semester only. It is required of all French majors, even those who are double majors. In other words, the Capstone experience is a requirement of the major.

THE FRENCH MINOR (six courses, 18 credits)

Three required courses:

• FREN 3170 - French Media and Oral Performance

or

• FREN 3140 - French Phonetics

and

• FREN 3150 - Advanced Grammar and Composition
• FREN 3210 - Introduction to Literary Analysis