phd in french online

• University of Pennsylvania
• School of Arts and Sciences
• Penn Calendar

Doctoral Program

  I. Requirements for the Ph.D.

• Course Work
• Required Courses
• Foreign Language Requirement
• Credit for graduate work done elsewhere
• Master's examination
• Qualifying evaluation
• Field Statement
• Ph.D. examination
• Dissertation

II. Advising and Evaluation of Students

Iii. study and teaching abroad, iv. funding, i. requirements for the ph.d., 1. course work ..

Students will be required to complete satisfactorily 17 courses, for a total of 17 course units (CUs). All students should take at least one course in each period of French literature. The choice of courses should also reflect a diversity of theoretical, critical, and methodological approaches. Papers should be presented following MLA guidelines and, in at least half of the French courses, should be written in French. Students may take up to three courses outside of French, either in another language or in another field pertinent to the prospective area of specialization. Comparative literature courses that are not cross-listed with French but partially deal with French texts should be discussed with the instructor and the Graduate Chair; such courses may be given French credit, depending on the amount of reading and writing done in French. Students are expected to meet each semester with the Graduate Chair to discuss seminar selection and for approval of extra-departmental courses. 

Normally a student will register for eight courses in the first year and three courses per semester for four additional semesters, or until all course requirements are met. Please find below a typical breakdown of coursework, including seminar electives and required courses covering exam preparation and pedagogical training. 

Typical format:

Year 1- Educational Fellow

Fall Semester: 4 courses (including the FIGS proseminar, FREN 7770)

Spring Semester: 4 courses (including the M.A. exam preparation course (FIGS 5000) and the FIGS anchor course)

M.A. Exam (end of the Spring semester)

Students are strongly encouraged to satisfy one of their language requirements in their first year.

Year 2- Teaching/Research Fellow

Fall Semester: 3 courses (including a Literary Theory course and FREN 5990)

Spring Semester: 3 courses 

Year 3- Teaching/Research Fellow

PhD exam (beginning of the Fall semester)

Fall Semester: 3 courses

Spring Semester: no mandatory courses

Dissertation proposal

Students should have earned 17 course units by the end of their 3rd year.

Year 4- Educational Fellow

Dissertation research and writing

Year 5- Educational Fellow

Dissertation writing and completion 

Dissertation Defense

2. Required courses .

As indicated above, five specific courses are required of all graduate students: FIGS 5000 ("Reading for the M.A. Exam"), FIGS 7770 (the FIGS Proseminar), French 5990 "Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching"), and a Literary Theory course. 

A total of seventeen (17) graduate courses are required for the Ph.D., to be distributed as follows:

1. The FIGS Proseminar, FIGS 7770, an introduction to graduate life—a course taken in the first semester of the first year.

2. A FIGS anchor course—a content course (topic varies every year) taken in the second semester of the first year.

3. The M.A. Exam Preparation Course, FIGS 5000—taken in the second semester of the student's first year.

4. FREN 5990 (Teaching and Learning)—a course taken during the first semester of the student's second year to support and implement their service as teaching fellows.

4. A Literary Theory course— taken in the student's first or second year.

6. A minimum of 9 electives in French & Francophone studies is needed (cross-listed courses included). Courses will be chosen in consultation with the Graduate Chair. Depending on their content, courses from other departments may also count, with the approval of the Graduate Chair.

7. Up to 3 courses outside French & Francophone studies in another field pertinent to the student's area of specialization.

Students are permitted to continue coursework past 17 course units with Graduate Chair approval. 

3. Foreign language requirement . 

In addition to French, students are required to demonstrate reading knowledge of another foreign language, normally one that is used significantly in their chosen field of specialization. The foreign language must be selected with the approval of the Graduate Chair. Students are encouraged to satisfy the foreign language requirement early in the program and in any case before they sit for the Ph.D. exam at the end of the third year.

This requirement may be satisfied one of three ways:

• A reading examination in a modern language, which will consist of a translation of about thirty lines of prose from a literary text and thirty lines of modern criticism (two hours with a dictionary). Reading exams are offered twice a year, once in October and once in March. The dates will be announced by the Graduate Coordinator. 
• Successful completion of a one-semester Latin course, in which the student has fulfilled all course requirements such as tests, quizzes, and homework assignments. The student will need to produce a letter from his or her instructor that attests to satisfactory performance in the course.
• Successful completion of a summer course for reading knowledge, offered tuition free by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences during the first summer session of each year. Reading courses are usually given in French, German, Spanish, and they are sometimes given in Latin. Students are expected to complete all course assignments and pass the final exam in order to fulfill the language requirement.

Alternative options to satisfying the   language requirement may be approved by the Graduate Chair on a case-by-case basis.

Please note: Students specializing in Medieval or Renaissance studies need to fulfill a Latin requirement in addition to the other language. The Latin requirement may be fulfilled one of two ways:

• Successful completion of a one-semester Latin course, in which the student has fulfilled all course requirements such as tests, quizzes, and homework assignments. The student will need to produce a letter from his or her instructor that attests to satisfactory performance in the course.
• A translation exam in Latin, which will consist of one passage by a classical author and one passage by a Medieval/Renaissance author.

4. Credit for graduate work done elsewhere (Transfer of Credit) .

French & Francophone Studies students can transfer a maximum of three graduate-level courses from a previous degree program toward their total of 17 required courses for the Ph.D. Requests for transfer of credit are reviewed by the French & Francophone Studies faculty and the Graduate Chair at the beginning of the student's second year in the program. Requests for transfer of credit must be accompanied by the appropriate documentation. Students must submit course descriptions, bibliographies, syllabi, papers, exams, and/or any other materials requested by the French & Francophone Studies faculty and the Graduate Chair.

5. Master's examination .

An oral exam based on the Master's Reading List (a corpus of 25 texts) will be given at the conclusion of the spring semester of the student’s first year (2nd semester). Students are granted one credit unit to prepare for the exam. 

The oral exam will last approximately one hour and will be conducted by the examining committee partially in French and partially in English. It is designed to test students' general knowledge of the Masters Reading List and attendant sociohistorical contexts. The grade for the oral exam will be pass/fail.

6. Qualifying evaluation .

In order to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, students must pass successfully a qualifying evaluation. At the beginning of the second year, the faculty will evaluate all aspects of the student's performance during his or her first year in the program, namely:

• All written assignments completed for courses
• Contribution to class discussion
• Performance on Master's examination

After all criteria are considered by the graduate faculty, the student will be informed that he or she has:

- Passed the evaluation and is invited to continue studies toward the doctorate. If all Graduate School requirements have been met, the student will be awarded a Master's degree in his or her second year.

- Passed the evaluation and is eligible for a terminal Master's degree. A student who is judged eligible for a terminal Master's degree will be required to finish the third semester of coursework in order to receive the degree.

- Failed the evaluation and is asked to withdraw from the program at the end of the semester in which the evaluation takes place.

7. Ph.D. examination .

The Ph.D. exam will be taken in fall of the third year (or the 5th semester). It will be devised by an examination committee organized by the student in consultation with the student’s primary advisor and the Graduate Chair. It will consist of the following:

• A take-home exam essay, to be completed within four days. The exam will be on a topic formulated by the student’s advisor (in consultation with the committee).  The topic will be in the student's field but will not be directly related to the proposed dissertation topic.  It will be based on the texts from the student’s field of specialization on the Ph.D. reading list (e.g. 17th-century Theater, 19th-century realist novel, 20th-century poetry). It will be written in the language to be used for the student’s dissertation and the length of the answer will be approximately 15-20 pages. The grade for the written Ph.D. examination will be pass/fail.
•  An oral exam to follow within one week will further probe questions from the written exam and also address texts from the Ph.D. Reading List, which will consist of the comprehensive general list as well as 20-25 texts relating to the student's chosen specialized field. The exam will last about one and one-half hours and will be conducted mainly in French. The grade for the oral Ph.D. examination will be pass/fail.

8. Dissertation Process .

The presentation of a dissertation is the final requirement for the Ph.D. Candidates must be thoroughly acquainted with all University regulations governing the writing and presentation of a dissertation and should refer to the Doctoral Dissertation Manual .

a. Dissertation Proposal

Following successful fulfillment of the Ph.D. Examination, the candidate will shape a dissertation project and writing schedule. A Dissertation Chair and a Dissertation Committee will be chosen through a selection process involving the candidate, the FIGS Graduate Chair, and the French & Francophone faculty. The committee will consist of faculty members and at least 2 of which have to belong to the Graduate group. Whatever the composition of their Committee, all students are encouraged to consult informally and widely with the faculty beyond the Committee, both inside and outside the department. In consultation with the Committee, the candidate will prepare a draft of the dissertation proposal, which will serve as the basis for an informal oral presentation of the dissertation topic to the French & Francophone faculty in the Spring of their third year.

b. Dissertation

The presentation of a dissertation is the final requirement for the Ph.D. The dissertation must represent the organized result of an investigation into some area or aspect of literature or culture that was previously unknown or at least insufficiently explored. Candidates must be thoroughly acquainted with all University regulations governing the writing and presentation of a dissertation, and should refer to the Doctoral Dissertation Manual. (Copies are available at the Graduate Division, 3401 Walnut Street, Suite 322A, or from the Graduate Coordinator.)

c. Dissertation Defense

A public, oral presentation of the dissertation will take place during the semester in which the student will graduate. The defense is open to all members of the University community. The defense will include both a short presentation given by the student and an oral examination of the thesis material.

Upon entering the graduate program in French and Francophone Studies, each student will be advised by the Graduate Chair for French and Francophone Studies. Thereafter, the Graduate Chair will continue to review graduate student course registration and give general advice, but students are encouraged to consult other faculty members as well. When a general area of concentration is identified as a possible source of a dissertation topic, the appropriate professor will become, de facto, the student's principal advisor, and, normally, the dissertation supervisor.

After each course, students will receive a "Graduate Progress Report" which will evaluate their work in the course and will also record whether they wrote their papers in French or in English. In addition, the faculty may meet with students individually each year to provide an assessment of overall performance with respect to grades, class participation, quality of written material, and teaching. Because the faculty does not wish to encourage any student who may not be able to complete the degree with distinction, students who have not shown adequate command of oral and/or written French, have failed a course, have a grade point average lower than 3.5, or have generally performed below expectations may be placed on departmental probation, asked to finish the requirements for a terminal M.A., or asked to leave the program.

Advisor/Advisee Expectations

It is expected that graduate students in French and Francophone Studies will take advantage of our exchange programs with the Universities of Paris and Geneva. In most cases, students will spend their fourth or fifth year abroad according to whichever exchange program best fits their research needs. The exchange program with the University of Geneva allows students to take course work and write a substantial paper in fulfillment of the D.E.S. degree. The exchange programs with the Universities of Paris generally require students to teach and allow for independent research. Information on the different programs is available from the Graduate Coordinator. While abroad, students are expected to make steady progress on their dissertation research and writing and to maintain regular contact with the Graduate Chair and the dissertation advisor.

First-year students are invited to apply for competitive selection to attend Bryn Mawr College's Institut d'Études Françaises d'Avignon. The Avignon program, held in June and July, is a six-week course of study in which students take two graduate-level seminars: http://www.institutdavignon.fr

Students in their third year and above are invited to apply for competitive selection to attend Dartmouth's Institute of French Cultural Studies. The Dartmouth program, held every other year, is a summer program organized around a specific topic and designed for advanced graduate students and junior faculty:  http://www.frenchculturalstudies.com

Students interested in applying to the Avignon or Dartmouth programs should consult with the Graduate Coordinator and the Graduate Chair.

All students admitted to the Graduate Program in French & Francophone Studies receive a Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, which guarantees five years of financial support (tuition remission, Penn's health insurance, and a 12-month stipend) to students who continue in good academic standing. The fellowship requires a two-year teaching assistantship as service to the department.

In addition, the Graduate School has made funds available to the Department to subsidize students' travel and research expenses as follows:

• Up to $500 per conference for a limited number of students delivering papers at scholarly conferences, to be awarded competitively on a yearly basis. A student may receive up to three such awards from the department during his/her graduate career. Students should first apply for Graduate Student Travel Subvention through the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), which grants a maximum of $500. Students are then eligible for up to $500 beyond the SAS award if their travel expenses exceed that award.
• Financial assistance for a limited number of students undertaking short-term research abroad or summer academic programs to be awarded competitively on a yearly basis. Funds may not be used solely for the purposes of enhancing language proficiency.
• Up to $600 each for students attending the MLA Convention for the purpose of job interviews (awarded once to all such students).

Please see the Graduate Coordinator for application details.

Students can also apply for travel grants from GAPSA .

Students who have finished all pre-dissertation requirements and who no longer receive fellowship support are eligible for a lectureship. These awards provide a stipend for every course taught and may cover the dissertation tuition. The Department also has a small number of one-year, non-renewable full-time lectureships reserved for recent graduates.

Both forms of financial support described above are awarded on the basis of academic merit.  For need-based financial assistance, such as student loans, please contact Student Financial Services at (215) 898-1988; E-mail:  [email protected] .

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Department of French & Italian

Graduate program in french.

The aim of the Ph.D. program in French is to train scholars and university teachers of French language, literature, and culture in a thriving and diverse intellectual environment.

The academic structure of the program enables students to acquire a broad understanding of the whole field of French and Francophone studies as well as a secure grasp of their own field of concentration and prepares them to develop independently as scholars and teachers. Doctoral students will gain a solid knowledge of the foundations and evolutions of French and Francophone literature through diverse theoretical approaches and interdisciplinary areas.

Students accepted into the Ph.D. program enjoy financial support for five years, although readmission each year depends on satisfactory performance. They also hold part-time Assistantships in Instruction. Generous financial support is available for a wide array of professional training, including scholarly research, language learning, and conference presentations.

Applicants to the program should consult our own FAQs in addition to the appropriate sections of the Graduate School website .

Director of Graduate Studies: Professor André Benhaïm 331 East Pyne Building 609-258-7332 [email protected]

Ph.D. Program in Modern French Studies (FRMS)

Our Ph.D. program combines training in literary, cultural and language studies with individualized research to open new, innovative understandings of the French-speaking world of yesterday and today. 

Related Links

• Application fee waiver
• Ph.D. Handbook (PDF)
• French Program Graduate Funding
• French Graduate Placement

The Ph.D. in modern French studies at the University of Maryland offers comprehensive training in French and Francophone studies, including teaching, research and professionalization. The program offers seminars in French and Francophone literature, culture and film, in addition to French language and linguistics. With the guidance of internationally recognized faculty specializing in a range of genres and issues and reflective of the diversity and complexity of the French-speaking world, students develop competencies in innovative research methods and approaches such as critical theory, gender and sexuality studies, colonial and post-colonial studies, cultural and media criticism, ecocriticism and digital humanities, among others. The French Ph.D. program fosters collaborative work across disciplines, languages, media, centuries and fields. Students may pursue graduate certificates in affiliated programs such as women, gender and sexuality studies, comparative literature and digital humanities, as well as participate in Graduate School field committees in film studies and in medieval and early modern studies. Students are encouraged to pursue independent and innovative thinking through individualized curricula and research projects with the support of the French program’s intellectual community.

Students are normally granted full funding for four years, with the possibility of an additional year, contingent upon availability of funds. Annual renewal of financial support is based on satisfactory performance and progress in the program. The program also provides thorough pedagogical training and teaching experience in French language, literature and culture courses.

Students who have graduated from our program have pursued careers in higher education and beyond. For a complete list of Ph.D. graduate placements .

Admissions Information

Entry into the Ph.D. program is open to students who have already completed an M.A. in a field related to French studies. Students with a B.A. in French or a related field should begin with the M.A.

All foreign applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination (Test of English as a Foreign Language).

Course Requirements

Ph.D. students are required to take for credit a minimum of eight courses beyond the M.A. at the 600-level or above.

All students must take one course in each of the three following core categories: 1. History of Ideas 2. Issues in Literature 3. History of the French Language

Apart from those core courses, with the help of the director of graduate studies and their advisor, students will create an individually-tailored program of study that best matches their interests to complete the course requirements towards their degree.

Additionally, graduate teaching assistants are expected to take a 1-credit practicum in their first semester (FREN709) and FREN611 (The Structure of the French Language) in their second (spring) semester.

For additional information, please see the Graduate Student Handbook.

Language Requirement

All Ph.D. students are required to demonstrate a sound reading knowledge of one other language in addition to French and English. Students should choose a language that provides an appropriate background for the projected dissertation. The fulfillment of this requirement is one of the prerequisites for advancement to candidacy.

For additional information on how to fulfill this requirement, please see the Graduate Student Handbook.

Entering students are advised in their first semester by the director of graduate studies or by some other designated professor. By the end of their second semester, students should choose a permanent advisor and register this choice with the director of graduate studies. Final responsibility for meeting Graduate School requirements and deadlines rests solely with the student.

Qualifying Examinations

In order to advance to candidacy, Ph.D. students are required to pass two Qualifying Examinations consisting of:

 a) one two-part Comprehensive Examination; and  b) one Prospectus Defense.

In both cases, the committee will be composed of three members of the French faculty. An additional fourth member from outside the department is possible for the prospectus defense if the topic warrants it.

A ) The first Qualifying Examination is a two-part comprehensive exam, first written, then oral, taken over two consecutive days. It assesses whether students have acquired sufficiently broad knowledge of French and Francophone literature as well as of a range of theoretical approaches to be able to successfully take on the dissertation project. This exam should be taken by the end of the student’s third semester in the Ph.D. program. If students choose to submit their written response in English, the oral portion will be in French, and vice versa.

For the written part of the examination, students will have four hours to respond to one of two questions based on the standard Ph.D. reading list. The exam is taken without notes, in an examination room with a computer provided by the department.

For the oral part of the examination, which lasts approximately an hour, students will be asked to discuss their written response and the reading list with their committee.

To obtain the current reading list for the Ph.D. examination, contact the director of graduate studies.

B) The second Qualifying Examination is the oral defense of a written dissertation prospectus (approx. 5,000 words) and accompanying bibliography. The prospectus is a formal project proposal for the dissertation. The prospectus should lay out the proposed area and object of study, explain the relevant context, a research question, how your project is inscribed within the larger field (what has and has not been done in this area), a theoretical approach and a description of the methodology to be adopted, as well as a bibliography.

*Please note that, following a successful prospectus defense, doctoral students are required to submit the most recent version of their dissertation draft as an email attachment to the three departmental members of their Dissertation Committee one year date-to-date after their prospectus defense, and every six months thereafter until the submission of the final version of their dissertation two weeks prior to the defense date. As a rule, students will receive written feedback on these drafts within four to six weeks.

Dissertation

Doctoral dissertations must receive the preliminary approval of the three departmental members of the Dissertation Committee before being submitted to other readers. All readers must be given at least two weeks in which to read the dissertation. At the beginning of the semester in which the dissertation will be defended, the dissertation director will ask the dean of the Graduate School to approve the Examining Committee. At least one member of this five-person committee (normally the dean's representative) will be external to the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and one may be drawn from another university. A date will then be set for the oral defense, which can be expected to last about two hours.

Application Instructions

Application deadline is January 15 for admission in the fall and may be submitted here . Before completing the application, applicants are asked to check the Admissions Requirements site for specific instructions about the Ph.D. program .  

As required by the Graduate School, all application materials must be submitted electronically through the Graduate Application Portal :

• Non-refundable application fee for each program
• Statement of Purpose. The statement should address relevant aspects of your educational experience, the focus of your academic interests and reasons for applying to our program.
• Unofficial transcripts of your entire college/university record (undergraduate and graduate), including records of any advanced work done at another institution. Electronic copies of these unofficial transcripts must be uploaded along with your online application.
• Three letters of recommendation. In your online application, please fully complete the information requested for your recommenders and ask them to submit their letters electronically.
• Two samples of critical writing in French. While we encourage you to submit your best writing sample, we prefer a writing sample in your declared field of interest. If you are submitting an excerpted selection, please include a brief description or introduction to the selection. The MLA citation format is preferred.
• Description of Research/Work Experience (optional)
• Publications/Presentations (optional)
• Academic CV/Resume

  Completed applications are reviewed by an admissions committee in each graduate degree program. The recommendations of the committees are submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will make the final admission decision. To ensure the integrity of the application process, the University of Maryland authenticates submitted materials through TurnItIn for Admissions .   For questions related to the admissions process, prospective students may contact the Graduate School.

Information for International Graduate Students

The University of Maryland is dedicated to maintaining a vibrant international graduate student community. International applicants are encouraged to contact the office of International Students and Scholars Services (ISSS), a valuable source of information and assistance for prospective and current international students. Admitted international students will receive instructions about obtaining the appropriate visa to study at the University of Maryland which will require submission of additional documents. International students admitted by the Graduate School are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visa in order to enroll.

English Proficiency Requirement

Non-native speakers of English must submit TOEFL exam results to the Graduate School with their application. Based on these results, students may be advised to take a written expression course from the Maryland English Institute or a basic writing course given by the English Department. This course will not count towards the degree.

Please see the Graduate Admissions Process for International applicants for more information.

Program Contact

Director of graduate studies, sarah benharrech.

Associate Professor, French Affiliate, Classics Associate Professor, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

3104 Jiménez Hall College Park MD, 20742

This Guide is provided by the Department of French to describe the graduate program in French Literature and the Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures (with an emphasis in French). It serves as a summary of the requirements and regulations (both divisional and departmental) pertaining to the various degrees. Questions about any aspect of the procedures outlined here may be addressed to the Graduate Advisors or the  Graduate Student Advisor  in French. This version of the Guide is intended for those students who were admitted Fall 2024 and after. Students admitted Fall 2022 and before may consult the Guide to Higher Degrees in French HERE . Students admitted Fall 2023 may consult the Guide to Higher Degrees in French HERE . Students admitted Fall 2024 may consult the Guide to Higher Degrees in French HERE .

Program Information: Ph.D. in French

Purpose of the Ph.D. in French . The purpose of the Ph.D. is to enable students to undertake original research, to engage in scholarly and critical writing in the field, and to prepare for careers in college/university-level teaching and various professional industries. The M.A. is the first phase of the French Department’s graduate program for students entering with a bachelor’s degree. It is thus assumed that students continuing in the Ph.D. program after completing the M.A. phase will have acquired a broad knowledge of the most important works of French from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, including knowledge of Old French. Students arriving with an M.A. degree or equivalent from another institution will be asked to validate the comprehensiveness of their knowledge of French literature and language in ways to be determined in consultation with the Head Graduate Advisor; they may be asked to take the M.A. examination, to undertake additional coursework, or a combination of the two. Students who enter the program with a master’s degree should take their Ph.D. Qualifying Exams before or during their fifth semester in the program (sixth semester for those entering without a master’s degree). Overview of the Ph.D. in French. To a large extent, students design their own programs of study, within guidelines set out by the Department and with the advice and assistance of faculty members. The guidelines are meant to ensure the necessary professional specialization in a field within French studies, to point toward the area of an eventual dissertation, and to prepare the student in a general way for research in that area. Throughout the program, each student will explore and develop a clear understanding of three areas of study within or relating to French literature. Each of the areas, while related to the others, obliges the student to view the discipline from a different perspective. The areas of study for the Ph.D. in French are: 1. a historical period in French literature; 2. an open list; and 3. a question of interest extending over a period of three centuries.

Students outline their proposed program of study in these three areas by submitting a Ph.D. Program Proposal (see “Ph.D. Program Proposal” below). Study Abroad. Graduate students in French are encouraged to spend time studying in France or in another francophone region or country and may apply to participate in the Department’s exchange programs with the École Normale Supérieure, the Université Paris Cité or the Université de Tours. It is expected that during this time they will pursue their program of advanced study or research. Course Requirements . Students are expected to plan, with the aid of their Graduate Advisors and any other appropriate members of the faculty, courses of study which enable them to accomplish the goals and requirements of the Ph.D. program. All entering graduate students enroll in a 1-unit Proseminar course (French 200A) in their first year at Berkeley, regardless of whether the student has previously earned an M.A. from another institution. Students taking the M.A. are also required to take a second 1-unit Proseminar course (French 200B) in their first year at Berkeley. The Proseminar is designed to give new graduate students a broad view of the Department’s faculty, the courses they teach, and their fields of research, as well as institutional resources. In addition, it introduces students to practical aspects of the graduate career, issues that pertain to certain fields of research, and current debates across the profession.

Ph.D. candidates will be expected to complete at least 10 courses apart from the French 200A Proseminar and, where relevant, the French 200B Proseminar—for a letter grade—at Berkeley prior to advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. (Advancement to Candidacy occurs with the constitution of a dissertation committee follo wing the passing of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations). At least 8 of the 10 courses are to be taken at the graduate level (above 200), with the student taking at least six graduate courses in the first three semesters of the program (see also “Course Requirements for the M.A. phase”). On petition to the Head Graduate Advisor and if circumstances warrant, students may be granted permission to have an extra undergraduate course count toward the 10, for a total of 3. The 10-course requirement may be modified for students admitted with an M.A. from another university, depending on the Graduate Committee’s assessment of the work done elsewhere. It is Department policy to count a maximum of five courses from previous M.A. work toward the 10-course requirement. Five of the required 10 courses will be devoted to fulfilling a requirement of historical comprehensiveness. Comprehensive knowledge of French literature will be demonstrated by taking one course at the graduate level (above 200) from the Middle Ages; two courses at the graduate level from among the following four options: 16th-century, 17th-century, 18th-century, early modern studies; and two courses at the graduate level from among the following four options: 19th-century, 20th-century, Francophone studies, modern studies. A course satisfies the historical comprehensiveness requirement if it dwells centrally on various works of literature falling substantially within the given period. Courses centering on one author’s works count for this requirement. The French Ph.D. Program Requirements sheet provides a checklist of what students must complete during their time in the program.  Please note that the historical distribution requirements are provisional and will be confirmed before admissions opens in Fall 2024. M.A. students must take French 270 (Literary Criticism: Recent Work in French) or 274 (Traditions of Critical Thought: French Theory) as part of the M.A. degreerequirements. Students who come with an M.A. degree are also expected to take French 270 or 274 before their Qualifying Exams. French 201 (History of the FrenchLanguage) is also a degree requirement and may be completed at any time before the Qualifying Exams. Upper division or graduate courses in another language may count in satisfaction of the 10-course requirement, whether or not they are also used to fulfill part of the foreign language requirement. Courses numbered in the 300 or the 600 series will not count toward the total. All students who wish to request an exception to the Department’s degree requirements must submit that request in writing to the Head Graduate Advisor (with a copy to the Graduate Student Advisor). The request is not officially granted until the Head Graduate Advisor assents to the request in writing and has filed that approval with the Graduate Student Advisor. Students are responsible for making sure the request has been officially granted before proceeding ahead with their course of study. Please note also that if any student is dealing with extenuating health issues, they should consult with the Disabled Students Program to inquire if they are eligible for any academic accommodations. Students admitted to the Ph.D. in French Literature must fulfill the residence requirement of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate (registration for four semesters, with a minimum of 4 units each semester in a l00- or 200-level course) while enrolled in at least 12 units each semester (to be considered full-time). M.A. Phase of the Doctoral Program .  During the first three semesters of the graduate program (M.A. phase), students complete a minimum of six courses—for a letter grade—at Berkeley, of which five must be undertaken at the graduate level (above 200). In addition, one of the six courses must be from the series French 270A B or French 274. (French 298, individual investigation under the supervision of a faculty member, does not count toward the course total.) These six courses all count for the 10-course requirement for the Ph.D. M.A. Examination.  In order to complete the M.A. phase, and for the M.A. degree to be conferred, students must complete the coursework outlined above with at least a 3.5 GPA and also successfully complete a written M.A. Exam by the end of the third semester of graduate study. (The M.A. is not offered on the Graduate Division’s thesis plan.)

The M.A. Examination emphasizes understanding and analysis of texts from the M.A. reading list. The answers to the M.A. Exam should be well written in French. In writing their M.A. Exams, students are expected to show both a knowledge of the texts on the M.A. reading list and an ability to use that knowledge toward the cogent articulation of a critical perspective on issues raised by the exam questions. Students are encouraged to consult the following reference works as they prepare for the exam, some of which are available in the Department’s Library of French Thought: The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism  (available online through the Library) Dictionnaire de rhétorique et de poétique by Michèle Aquien and Georges Molinié A Short History of French Literature by Sarah Kay, Malcolm Bowie, and Terence Cave La Littérature française (tomes 1-2) by Jean-Yves Tadié (dir.) A New History of French Literature by Denis Hollier (ed.) French Global: A New Approach to Literary History by Susan Suleiman The Cambridge Companion to French Literature by John Lyons

La Philosophie en France au vingtième siècle by Frédéric Worms

·          10 Selected Works that the student chooses.

The 10 Selected Works, all originally produced in French, can come (a) from seminars that students have taken in their first three semesters in the program, (b) from works that reflect their own interests in French studies (e.g., from works discovered through the French 200A Proseminar course), and/or (c) from within the student’s desired coverage upon consultation with the Head Graduate Advisor. Alongside poetry, short stories, plays, and novels, students are able—but are not required— to include works from other media and genres such as philosophy and film. Students will be given guidance on the selection of the 10 works in the French 200B Advanced Proseminar course and students will submit the list of works to the Chair of the M.A. Committee (with copies to the Head Graduate Advisor and French Graduate Student Advisor) for approval in the third week of instruction of their third semester in the program. The Chair of the M.A. Committee will confirm the approval of the selected works within one week. The M.A. Exam is a 5-hour written closed-book exam taken remotely in which students write two essays in French. The M.A. Committee will write and submit the questions for the M.A. Exam by the eighth week of the semester during the semester of examination. Students will be given two pairs of questions—one oriented toward the earlier periods and one toward the later periods—and will answer one question from each pair. M.A. Exams are administered during the ninth week of instruction. The M.A. reading list is available in the French Graduate Office and on the bCourses site for French Graduate Students. Timing and Repetition of Exams .  Students are allowed two attempts at the examination. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, the student may take the exam a second time, but this must be done by the end of the immediately following semester. If a student fails the second attempt at the exam, this constitutes failure to pass the requirements for the master’s degree, thus the student will not be permitted to continue in the graduate program. Permission to Proceed to the Ph.D.  At the end of the semester in which the student completes all the requirements of the M.A. phase, the Graduate Committee reviews the student’s entire graduate record. In addition to faculty evaluations of seminar work, the Graduate Committee considers the written report of the M.A. Committee, which addresses the student’s performance on the examination. On the basis of this review, the Graduate Committee will decide whether or not to grant the student permission to proceed to the Ph.D. program in French. Appeals Procedures. The Department’s appeals procedure is consistent with that of the Graduate Division and affords graduate students in the Department an opportunity to resolve complaints about dismissal from graduate standing, placement on probationary status, denial of readmission, joint-authorship matters, and other departmental decisions which terminate or limit participation in the degree program. Questions regarding this procedure should be addressed to the Graduate Student Advisor. Foreign Language Requirement.  The Ph.D. in French requires the acquisition of a language other than French or English. Beginning in fall 2009, students may fulfill the foreign language requirement through either Option I or Option II, as specified by the Graduate Division. Option I Option I requires students to demonstrate reading knowledge of two languages. This can be done by either passing a translation exam in both languages or passing a translation exam in one language and completing coursework in the second language. Option I translation exams consist of at least a 300-word passage translated into English, with the use of a dictionary, in 90 minutes. Students who choose to demonstrate reading knowledge of their second language through coursework may either (a) complete a four-semester course sequence with an average grade of B or better or (b) complete (with a grade of B or better) an upper division foreign language course that requires a four-semester course sequence as a prerequisite. Option II Option II requires students to demonstrate an exceptionally thorough reading knowledge and an adequate knowledge of the grammatical structure of one language. Students can demonstrate such knowledge in one of two ways: (a) by passing a translation exam in which the student translates a passage of about 1,000 words into English, without the use of a dictionary, in three hours or (b) by earning a B or better in two upper-division foreign language courses in which the material is read in the original language. The language(s) will be chosen after consultation with the Head Graduate Advisor and in view of the student’s intended Ph.D. Program Proposal. For example, for students intending to work in the Middle Ages or Renaissance, it would be advisable to choose Latin, or perhaps Italian. For students interested in modern philosophy or critical theory, German might be wise. Arabic might be a more useful choice for students interested in Francophone writers from North Africa. Whatever the choice, it should have an intellectual or scholarly relationship to the student’s area of specialization, or with the field of Romance languages more broadly. The foreign language requirement should be completed by the end of the third year in the Ph.D. program (second year, in the case of students entering with an M.A.), and the Graduate Division requires that it be completed before the student may attempt the Ph.D. Qualifying Exams. Please note also that if the student is dealing with extenuating health issues, they should consult with the Disabled Students Program to inquire if they are eligible for any academic accommodations. Ph. D. Program Proposal In the semester following the successful completion of the MA exam (or, for students who enter with an M.A., during their third semester in the program), students submit the Ph.D. Program Proposal. In the Proposal, the student specifies choices for the three fields of study for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations (period, question of interest, open list—see the following section for details). The Program Proposal (a) provides a list of 35 titles to be read in the historical period specified; (b) includes a description of the question of interest extending over a period of three centuries, and provides a reading list of 35 works by different authors representing the stages of its historical development and up to 5 secondary texts relevant to the subject; and (c) provides a short description of the topic for the open list which explains its relevance to French studies, and provides a list of 12-15 works to be read for that topic.

Timeline for the Submission of the Proposal

By the start of the fourth week of the Program Proposal submission semester, the graduate student should:

• ask a faculty member to serve as Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Proposal Director and as provisional Dissertation Director. In many cases the program Proposal Director will go on to become the Dissertation Director; however, this need not always be the case. The final decision about a Dissertation Director is made at the time of Advancement to Candidacy, after the successful completion of the Qualifying Examinations. If a student’s interests have evolved in the meantime, it is perfectly reasonable to select a different faculty member as Dissertation Director at this point. The Director will be working most intensively with the student to craft a coherent, helpful, and rigorous proposal for the Qualifying Examinations, and it is the Proposal Director who is ultimately responsible for approving the document.
• consult with the Proposal Director concerning members of the exam committee and communicate with those members to ensure their availability and willingness to serve.
• submit a form indicating the preliminary choice of Proposal Director and members of the exam committee.

By the start of the eighth week of the Program Proposal submission semester, the student should:

• consult with the Proposal Director and other committee members concerning the proposal statement exam lists.
• submit the working draft of the proposal to the Proposal Director and all members of the committee.
• schedule a 1-hour meeting (in person or on Zoom) with the program proposal committee to take place in week ten to discuss the student’s program proposal. The student’s external committee member (Academic Senate Representative) is not required to attend this meeting although it is advisable that they do so if they are advising the student on the Open Choice list. If the meeting is to be held in person, speak with the Graduate Student Advisor to schedule a space at least one week in advance of the meeting.

By the start of week ten of the Proposal submission semester, the student should

• Meet with the student’s program proposal committee to discuss the student’s program proposal and reading lists.

By the start of the twelfth week of the Program Proposal submission, the student should:

• Write a synopsis of the meeting and make any necessary revisions to the proposal. Distribute both of these to the committee for comment.
• Submit final version of proposal, completed signature page and synopsis to the Graduate Student Advisor.

By the start of the fifteenth week of the Program Proposal submission semester:

• students will be notified when the exam committee has accepted the proposal. In some cases, the committee may request specific changes before final approval.
• Submit final version of proposal to the Head Graduate Advisor and the Graduate Student Advisor by no later than the final day of the fall or spring semester.

During the semester in which the Qualifying Exam is to be taken, the Graduate Committee will finalize the Qualifying Exam committee according to the requests of the student, unless there is some reason why a substitution is deemed necessary (e.g., leaves of absence). In this case, the Graduate Committee will inform the student of this change and the reason for it.

The Program Proposal is a concise explanation of the three fields of study that the student has selected to prepare for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. Although the Program Proposal is not a Dissertation Prospectus, there is often a connection between the Program Proposal and the Dissertation, especially through the Question of Interest. Reference copies of previously approved Ph.D. Program Proposals are on the bCourses site for French Graduate Students. Please note that the structure and form of the Program Proposal changed when the New Qualifying Examination was introduced for students entering from Fall 2025. It is to the student’s advantage to carefully consider their options for study while they are working with faculty members on formalizing their Program Proposal, so as to avoid major shifts of emphasis and consequent delays in preparation for the Qualifying Exam. Evolution in the description of the Question of Interest is considered a normal and intellectually healthy part of the Proposal process; however, no changes should be made in the Program Proposal after filing the departmental “Application for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations” at the start of the semester of the exams. Any major change in the Ph.D. Program Proposal must, in all cases, be approved by the student’s Program Proposal Director (see “Qualifying Examination Procedures”).

Learning goals for the Qualifying Examinations.  The Graduate Division at Berkeley explains the purpose of the Qualifying Examinations as follows: “The intent of the Qualifying Examination is to ascertain the breadth of the student’s comprehension in at least three subject areas related to the major field of study, and to determine whether the student has the ability to think incisively and critically about the theoretical and the practical aspects of these areas. The examination may consider a number of academic points of view and the criteria by which they may be evaluated. Some degree granting programs (departments, Schools, Graduate Groups) expect students to present a topic for the dissertation as part of the preliminaries for the Qualifying Examination, but the examination must not be narrowly limited to the dissertation topic. The examiners should satisfy themselves, by unanimous vote, that the student demonstrated sufficient command of the three subject areas.” The learning outcomes of the Qualifying Examination in the French Ph.D. program are as follows: The qualifying exam assesses the breadth and depth of candidates’ preparation for doctoral research. It provides an opportunity for candidates to synthesize and think relationally about their three reading lists and to show their readiness to undertake a major independent research and writing project. The various components of the QE assess candidates’ 1) ability to write clearly and persuasively about a question/topic of interest; 2) ability to respond to and incorporate iterative feedback on a piece of scholarly writing; 3) ability to analyze and synthesize materials on the three QE areas; 4) articulate research methods relevant to their research interests. Areas of Study for the Qualifying Examinations. The following is a schematic presentation of the three parts of the Qualifying Examination Program Proposal. Detailed instructions about the format of the proposal follow below. 1) A historical period in French literature. In consultation with the Program Proposal Director, the student selects a coherent period of significance to the student’s program of study. Students’ knowledge of their historical period should include a knowledge of the general cultural history of the period, including but not limited to knowledge of all literary genres in the period. As part of the Ph.D. Program Proposal, students submit a list of approximately 35 titles to be read (novels, theatre, poetry, critical prose, etc.) and viewed (films, if applicable) as part of the preparation for the historical period. The length of the historical period may, in the case of a medieval author, extend for two centuries, or in the case of a contemporary writer, encompass only one or two generations. The following are examples of periods of study chosen by students who were interested in the works of a particular author:

• For Chrétien: literary history of the period 1090-1300
• For Villon: 1300-1500
• For Lafayette: 1600-1690
• For Voltaire: 1727-1778
• For Baudelaire: 1820 (date of Les Méditations poétiques) to 1875 (last version of Les Illuminations)
• For Sartre: 1920-present
• For Assia Djebar: 1945-present
• For Marie NDiaye: 1970s-present

2) A Question of Interest which lends itself to being studied throughout the periods of French literary history appropriate to the topic. The Question of Interest should cover at least three of the six historical periods; in most cases, it intersects with the Open Choice topic, but need not. In the Ph.D. Program Proposal, the student defines this area of their program of study in consultation with their Program Proposal Director. The description of the Question of Interest should be a concise explanation of the issues to be studied, including a rationale for the inclusion of the texts and media on the reading list. The reading list contains 35 primary works by different authors representing the stages in the historical development of the chosen genre, theme, or Question of Interest, as well as up to five secondary (critical/theoretical) texts relevant to the subject. Recent topics selected for the equivalent section of the previous version of the Qualifying Examinations have included:

• ‘Les enfants passibles’: Racialized Youth from Rousseau to #Adama
• ‘Gestures’: Body Language and Expression from Louis XIV to Today
• Knowing Climates (major author: Proust);
• Social, Cultural and Political representations of Paris from the 17th to the 19th century;
• Sacrifice and Martyrdom in French writing from the 16th to the 20th century;
• Querelles des Femmes in Pre-Revolutionary France (major author: Christine de Pizan);
• Poetry and Subjectivity: the Pléiade and the Modern Tradition (19th- 20th centuries)
• Works by each author must be specified. Single brief poems cannot be counted as “works”; rather, a group of such texts by a single author may constitute an item on the list.

3) An Open Choice topic which the student selects in consultation with their Program Proposal Director. The Open Choice topic might directly focus on French literature (e.g., “The works of Annie Ernaux”) but does not have to. Students may use this list to draw on their knowledge of a related field (e.g., “Film Studies”) or literary and cultural tradition (e.g., “Italian Renaissance Literature”). However, the Open Choice topic does have to be connected to the student’s program of study in French and Francophone Literature and Culture. The candidate will need to explain that connection in the part of the program proposal which describes the Open Choice topic. The Program Proposal Director has the final say on the acceptability of the topic and list. The Open Choice list should contain between 12 and 15 works such as novels, plays, films, or works of critical theory.

• The works of a single author writing in French with the term ‘author’ understood in its broadest possible sense as literary author, filmmaker, philosopher, etc.
• A field with a strong interdisciplinary connection to French such as Social Theory or Feminism
• A literary or cultural tradition that is related to French and Francophone Literature and Culture such as Renaissance Italian Literature, German Romanticism, or North African and Middle Eastern Cinema (including works in languages other than French)

Formatting the program proposal. The program proposal should be submitted as a text or PDF document which contains the following:

• Name and date
• A 5-7-page single-spaced description of the Question of Interest
• A 1-page single-spaced description of the Open Choice topic which, where relevant, must articulate its connection to the Question of Interest and the student’s overall program of study
• Reading lists for all three areas. Please note that it is not possible for a given work to appear on more than one list.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination Procedures Students who enter the program with a master’s degree from another institution should take their Ph.D. Qualifying Exams before or during their fifth semester in the program (sixth semester for those completing the master’s degree in the Berkeley French Department). By the end of the second week of classes of the semester in which students intend to take the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations, they file the Department’s “Application for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations” with the French Graduate Student Advisor, along with a copy of the Ph.D. Program Proposal. Qualifying Papers are due in the sixth week of classes (six weeks before the oral exam which will take place in week 12), and the student must be registered at full-time status (12 units) during any semester in which Qualifying Examinations are attempted. Students must remove any Incomplete grades by the beginning of the semester in which they take the Qualifying Exams, as well as satisfy program language requirements by the end of the semester in which they attempt the Qualifying Examinations. The Ph.D. Qualifying Examination Committee comprises five members in total. Four committee members are from the French Department who examine the candidate on the Historical Period and Question of Interest. A fifth member is typically from outside the Department, serving as the Academic Senate Representative. In exceptional circumstances and with approval, the Academic Senate Representative can also be from the French Department. The student can be examined by either the outside member or by another member of the French department on the Open Choice list. The Chair and the four members of the Qualifying Examination Committee must be members of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate. The Chair of the Qualifying Exam may not subsequently become the Dissertation Director. In preparing for their Qualifying Exams, students are encouraged to frequently consult with their Program Proposal Director as well as other proposed members of the Committee for the examination. The Program Proposal Director of the Qualifying Examinations (not to be confused with the Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee) may serve as the student’s Dissertation Chair upon successful completion of the examination. Ph.D. Qualifying Exams are given in two parts: written and oral. The student must pass the written exam before proceeding to the oral exam, which is scheduled six weeks after submitting the Qualifying Paper. The Ph.D. Examinations test the student’s mastery of the three fields of study presented in their Program Proposal; the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations are not intended as a prospectus exam for a dissertation; however, students may use their Program Proposal as a stepping stone toward their dissertation research. The candidate’s knowledge of their chosen fields of study is expected to be both extensive and intensive. The Written Qualifying Examination in the French Department is a Qualifying Paper on the Question of Interest. The Qualifying Paper is intended to be a development of the Program Proposal and should reflect the student’s thinking on the Question of Interest in light of the works on the student’s reading list and discussions with members of their committee. The paper can be written in English or in French and the student is encouraged to seek guidance from their Program Proposal Director on the choice of language. The paper should be between 4000 and 5000 words in length, including footnotes but excluding the bibliography. The student should submit the paper electronically to the five committee members and the Graduate Student Advisor by the start of the sixth week of the Semester. If a student submits the Qualifying Paper any more than one week late, the oral exam will need to be rescheduled.

Students should meet with their Committee members often from the semester in which they write the Program Proposal onwards. These discussions are an important part of students’ preparation for the Qualifying Examinations in general and they directly inform the writing of the Qualifying Paper.

The Qualifying Paper will be graded pass/fail based on the following criteria:

• The writing is clear and the argument is persuasive
• The paper demonstrates the student’s depth of knowledge by integrating sustained analysis of 3 of the works on the Question of Interest reading list
• The paper demonstrates the student’s breadth of knowledge by referring to at least 5 other works on the Question of Interest reading list
• The paper represents a deepening of the Program Proposal, showing evidence of the student’s ability to undertake independent research and writing projects and incorporate feedback
• The works analyzed and referenced reflect the historical evolution of the Question of Interest.

The Chair of the Qualifying Committee will notify students whether they have passed or failed the Qualifying Paper. Students are encouraged to meet with the members of their committee after finding out the result to get more detailed feedback on the paper before the oral exam. The oral exam will take place in week 12 of the semester. In accordance with Graduate Division directives, the oral examination, which covers the student’s entire program of study, is addressed primarily to ascertain the candidate’s ability to synthesize the knowledge acquired. All three portions of the student’s program of study are examined in the oral exam. The oral exam lasts from two to three hours; it must in all cases be of sufficient length for the student to demonstrate mastery of the three areas of study while engaged with the Committee members. Please note also that if students are dealing with extenuating health issues, they should consult with the Disabled Students Program to inquire if they are eligible for any academic accommodations. Timing and Repetition of Exams. Students are allowed two attempts at the Qualifying Paper. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, the student may submit the paper a second time, but this must be done in the immediately following semester. If a student fails the second attempt at the Qualifying Paper, this constitutes failure to pass the requirements for the doctoral degree, and the student will be dismissed from the graduate program. In the case of a failed oral examination, the committee may elect not to recommend a re-examination. Doctoral students should be Advanced to Candidacy as soon as possible following successful completion of the Qualifying Examinations (see “Academic Progress and the Normative Time Program”).

Advancement to Candidacy, the Dissertation Prospectus, Writing the Dissertation

Advancement to Candidacy.  After completing the written and oral Qualifying Examinations, the student chooses a dissertation topic and forms the dissertation committee consisting of a director and two other committee members. At this point, the student initiates and completes the “Application for Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.” eForm through CalCentral, normally, by the end of the semester in which the Qualifying Exam is taken. (The French Department Ph.D. is under Plan B.) This eForm is routed through required advisors and ultimately submitted to the Graduate Division for review and approval. The Dissertation Director must be a Berkeley faculty member. Of the two other committee members, one must be a Berkeley faculty member from a department other than French, otherwise identified as the Academic Senate Representative (ASR). In exceptional circumstances, the ASR can also be from the French Department. The professor who served as Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee cannot direct the dissertation. Following advancement to candidacy, the dissertation should be completed within four semesters. The Dissertation Prospectus  consists of an 8-10-page essay, accompanied by a bibliography of approximately five pages. It is developed in consultation with the Dissertation Director and must be approved by the Director prior to submission to the Dissertation Committee. The prospectus is due by the end of the 12th week of classes of the spring semester. The Prospectus sets forth the nature of the research project, its relation to existing scholarship and criticism on the subject, and its anticipated value. The essay serves as an introductory “working paper” that articulates the issues to be addressed in the dissertation, the approach and methodology the candidate expects to adopt, and an outline indicating how the candidate plans to structure the dissertation. The accompanying bibliography represents a preliminary survey of the pertinent primary and secondary literature. Dissertation prospectuses from prior years are available to view on bCourses. Once the Dissertation Prospectus has been approved by the Director, a 1-hour prospectus conference is scheduled with all the members of the dissertation committee, taking place no later than the last week of classes in the same semester of the Prospectus submission. At the prospectus conference, the committee explores with the candidate the issues outlined in the prospectus. This conference enables the candidate to begin working on the dissertation having benefited from a full and detailed discussion with all the dissertation committee members present. Immediately after the prospectus conference, the candidate writes a memorandum summarizing the discussion and submits copies to each member of the dissertation committee. The candidate should plan to meet with at least two members of the committee during the year following the prospectus meeting, and annually thereafter. Such meetings are mandated by the Graduate Division, which requires an annual report of progress toward completion of the dissertation. The prospectus conference memorandum serves as a baseline of expectations and will be useful as a point of reference during these meetings. Writing the Dissertation.  The subject of the dissertation normally falls in the general area focused on in the student’s Qualifying Examinations, although neither the approach nor the scope need be limited by the fields of the Qualifying Examinations. The study should represent a contribution to knowledge of enough importance and originality to warrant publication, at least potentially, either in whole or in part. The members of the dissertation committee can be changed, if necessary, during the course of the student’s work on the project; students contemplating a change in committee membership should contact the Graduate Student Advisor. The French Department follows the Graduate Division’s Plan B for granting of the doctoral degree. The dissertation is considered accepted when the members of the candidate’s dissertation committee approve it in its final form. There is no formal oral examination or defense of the dissertation. A .pdf of the dissertation is uploaded to ProQuest/UMI while the approval page and accompanying materials are submitted to the Graduate Division. Students must be registered in the semester they file their dissertation (unless they are on approved filing fee status). Doctoral degrees are awarded in December and May. Well before students plan to file, they should review the Graduate Division Dissertation Writing and Filing guidelines . Dissertations in a Language Other than English.  Approval from the Graduate Division, acting for the Graduate Council, is required for submission of a dissertation in a language other than English. If approval is given, an abstract in English must be included with the finished work.

Academic Progress, Advising, Mentoring

Length of Time in Candidacy: Normative Time Program for Ph.D. candidates in French Academic Progress.  The timetable for completion of degree requirements is as follows: the M.A. phase is completed in three semesters or less. Within one semester after being granted permission to proceed in the doctoral program (or, for students entering with an M.A. in French, within three semesters after entering the graduate program) students submit the Ph.D. Program Proposal. Over the course of the following semester, students prepare for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations which they then take the next semester (i.e., one year after writing the Program Proposal). In the same semester that they pass the Qualifying Examinations, students apply for advancement to candidacy for the doctoral degree. Doctoral candidacy lasts for two years after advancement, although students are eligible for an additional two-year grace period before candidacy lapses (see “Length of Time in Advanced-to-Candidacy Status”). Formal Reviews of Academic Progress and Mentoring.  A review of each student’s work and progress is conducted by the Graduate Committee after the first semester in the program and also annually, and each student is informed by the Committee of the results of this review. In addition, students’ records are reviewed before the Graduate Committee determines whether or not to issue invitations to proceed to the Ph.D. program after completion of the M.A. phase (see “Permission to Proceed”). After a student has advanced to candidacy, the annual review of progress is conducted with the student’s Dissertation Director as part of the online Doctoral Candidacy Review. Students are encouraged to meet regularly with the Head Graduate Advisor to discuss their progress in all phases of the program. In addition to consulting with the Head Graduate Advisor, students will be assigned a faculty mentor for their first year upon entry into the graduate program. While program requirements, course choices, and the other official aspects pertaining to satisfactory progress in the program are discussed during regular meetings with the Head Graduate Advisor, the faculty mentor provides a more informal introduction to the department’s professional culture by attending to the student’s intellectual guidance. Normative Time to Degree (NTD) refers to the elapsed time that students would need to complete all requirements for the doctorate, assuming that they are engaged in full-time study and making satisfactory progress toward their degrees. NTD has two components: (1) time from the beginning of the student’s graduate work to advancement to doctoral candidacy, and (2) time in candidacy until the dissertation is filed.

Normative time to advance to doctoral candidacy is eight semesters, unless a student enters the graduate program with a master’s degree, in which case normative time to advance to doctoral candidacy is six semesters. For normative time in candidacy, see “Length of Time in Advanced-to-Candidacy Status.”

Students may be eligible for an extension of normative time in certain circumstances, such as when the student has a letter of accommodation from the Disabled Students Program or when a student has withdrawn from Berkeley for medical reasons. Consult with the Head Graduate Advisor or with the Graduate Student Advisor for more information on normative time extensions. Doctoral Completion Fellowships (DCF).  Students who advance to doctoral candidacy are eligible for the DCF from the Graduate Division, which provides a stipend of $30,000 and covers all fees for two semesters. Students are highly encouraged to apply for the DCF. Students who—for reasons relating to their professional training—would like to teach for one semester during their DCF year need the permission of their dissertation advisor and the Head Graduate Advisor.

The DCF must be used within Normative Time to Degree plus one year. NTD is the amount of time set for each program from first enrollment to filing the dissertation. NTD for French and for Romance Languages & Literature (RLL) is 12 semesters. For those entering the French doctoral program with an M.A. in French, NTD is 10 semesters. Students who are within their 12-semester teaching limit may continue as Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) at Berkeley. Students who have taken the DCF may also be considered for Continuing Fellowship and the Graduate Student Research (GSR) Library position. Flexibility in Qualifying Exams Deadlines for Graduate Student Parents.  According to Graduate Division policy , graduate students who have taken time to accommodate childbirth or other serious parental demands may receive an extension of up to one extra year for passing the Qualifying Exam. Following the Qualifying Exams, an extension of one extra year toward NTD completion may also be granted. The total additional time granted by this policy may not exceed two years, regardless of the number of children involved.  Expectations Regarding the “Dissertation Phase” of the Program.  The department holds these expectations of advanced students who are writing their dissertations: — We expect that, barring rare special circumstances, students will advance to candidacy (that is, complete the PhD Qualifying Exam and file the paperwork establishing their dissertation committee) in normative time. Normative time to candidacy is three years for those arriving with a master’s degree and four years for those arriving without a master’s degree. — We expect that students will complete a dissertation prospectus and meet with their committee to discuss it within a semester of passing the Qualifying Examinations. More specifically, the dissertation prospectus (which consists of an 8-10-page essay, accompanied by a bibliography of approximately five pages and is developed in consultation with the Dissertation Director) is due by the end of the 12th week of classes in the semester following that in which the student passed the Qualifying Examinations. — We expect that students will produce a complete draft of at least one dissertation chapter within a year of advancing to candidacy and produce at least two more chapter drafts in the year following. — We expect that students in the dissertation phase who are in residence will be meeting with their Dissertation Director(s) roughly once a month (at a minimum) to discuss their work. We expect students who are away from campus to be in touch with their directors (via e-mail and Zoom) with similar frequency. — We encourage students to present their work at professional conferences during their graduate career, but not too many. Two or three conference presentations may well suffice, and we strongly suggest that no more than one of those conferences be a graduate student organized conference. — We encourage students to submit written work for publication. We recommend one or two submissions over a student’s time in the graduate program. In the majority of cases, the work submitted will be from the dissertation, although sometimes faculty members may suggest rewriting a seminar paper for publication. Students should be proactive about consulting with faculty members about publication, but should remember that neither publication nor attendance at conferences should slow progress on the dissertation. Note that the department’s proseminar addresses fundamentals on graduate-level writing, how to create and publish research, and engaging in professional socialization (e.g., conferences) and conferences for graduate students. All graduate students are welcome to attend these sessions as many times as they wish. — The department organizes at least six works-in-progress meetings throughout the year, hosted by the Head Graduate Advisor. These meeting are primarily intended to provide a forum for graduate students in the dissertation phase to present their work. They may also feature the work of faculty or graduate students at an earlier phase in the program. — The department organizes annual or biannual writing town halls for dissertation students and those at earlier stages of the program to develop daily writing practices, address writing blocks, and discuss writing in different genres (e.g., abstracts, dissertation chapters, and articles). — The department circulates the biannual National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) 14-day writing challenge in Spring and Fall. This free online resource to UC Berkeley students helps to jumpstart the writing process and develop daily writing habits. All graduate students are encouraged to sign up for this challenge at least once, and as many times as they can. — The Head Graduate Advisor and Graduate Student Advisor are available to discuss time management and writing strategies. Length of Time in Advanced-to-Candidacy Status.  The University limits graduate degree candidates’ time in Advanced-to-Candidacy status for the doctoral degree. French Department students are maintained in candidacy for up to two years after advancement and may be eligible for an additional two-year grace period before candidacy lapses. In the case of a Ph.D. candidate whose candidacy has been lapsed, a completed, near-final draft of the dissertation must be received from the student, and the Dissertation Committee Chair must confirm its impending approval before the Graduate Division reviews a Departmental request that candidacy for the Ph.D. be reinstated. Students may be asked to revalidate the comprehensiveness of their knowledge of French language and literature by examination, by additional coursework, or by a combination of the two. Once Ph.D. candidacy is reinstated, the student pays full registration fees (and non-resident tuition fees, where applicable) in order to file the dissertation. If no request is made for reinstatement within two years of the lapsing of doctoral candidacy status, the student’s candidacy is terminated. Graduate Division policy states that, once terminated, a student’s candidacy may be reinstated only by the student’s retaking the Qualifying Examination and being advanced to candidacy again. The Graduate Division places a four-year limit on the application of coursework toward M.A. degree requirements. In addition, a lapse of five years since completion of any Ph.D. program requirement, including the Qualifying Examination, can necessitate revalidation of the student’s candidacy before a dissertation can be filed. Appeals Procedures.  The Department’s appeals procedure is consistent with that of the Graduate Division and affords graduate students in the Department an opportunity to resolve complaints about dismissal from graduate standing, placement on probationary status, denial of readmission, joint-authorship matters, and other departmental decisions which terminate or limit participation in the degree program. Questions regarding this procedure should be addressed to the Graduate Student Advisor. Disabilities and Accommodations.   The Berkeley campus has an active Disabled Students Program (DSP) . One of its important responsibilities is to arrange accommodations for students whose disabilities interfere with their ability to function optimally within usual program customs. The important thing to remember is that all requests for accommodation must come to the Department by way of the DSP, not from the student directly. Students who would like to request an accommodation must first visit the DSP, so that their request can be evaluated and formally presented to the Department.

Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures

The Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures (RLL) is a doctorate in three Romance languages and literatures taught in the Departments of French, Italian, and Spanish and Portuguese, prepared with emphasis in one of the three. Students have furthermore the choice of a sub-emphasis in literature (“Literature track”) or in linguistics (“Linguistics track”).

The mission of the RLL program is:

— To take a multilingual approach to language and literature

— To combine literary and linguistic study

— To offer flexibility in the design of students’ programs: the unity of a common heritage and common evolution of the Romance family allows diversity in topics and approaches

— To train Romance scholars of linguistics, literature and culture who can take jobs in Romance language departments, single language departments, or linguistics departments.

Overview of Course of Study:

Students present a combination of courses and personal study to satisfy the requirements of the particular track to which they have been admitted. Although there are some explicit requirements (see below), there is no minimum number of courses required to sit for the Qualifying Examination. Instead, each student’s precise course of study is developed in close consultation with the RLL Graduate Advisor for French.

In the Literature track, students will gain a detailed knowledge of French literature generally. They will also develop sufficient familiarity with Italian literature and a literature taught in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese so as to allow them to do the focused comparative work necessary for the preparation of the Qualifying Examination. Moreover, students will develop both historical and practical expertise in both Latin and in two Romance languages other than French.

In the Linguistics track, students will gain in-depth knowledge of the structure and history (internal and external) of French. They will also develop expertise in the linguistics of two other Romance languages and specialize in an area of general or applied linguistics. This, together with some basic training in Latin, will prepare them for the comparative Romance linguistic work that is required for the Qualifying Examination.

Requirement for Admission, emphasis French:

Literature Track:  B.A. degree or equivalent with studies in French approximately corresponding to the undergraduate major at Berkeley. In addition, we expect of applicants to the Literature track either a) advanced competency in two of the languages the applicant intends to study in the RLL doctoral program, or b) advanced competency in one such language and reasonable preparation in two others. By reasonable preparation we mean either one year’s study of Latin or two years’ study of a modern language. By advanced competency we mean ability to participate fully in a graduate seminar conducted in the modern language in question. Writing samples will be requested of languages in which advanced competency is claimed, and a telephone interview may also be required. Transcripts will provide evidence of reasonable preparation. Linguistics Track  : B.A. degree or equivalent with studies in French or Linguistics approximately corresponding to the undergraduate major at Berkeley. In addition, we expect of applicants to the Linguistics track either a) advanced competency in French and in linguistics or b) advanced competency in French, reasonable preparation in linguistics and in one other Romance language. Note that for the purposes of admission to the linguistics track, this other Romance language may be one of the languages represented by the departments of Italian, and Spanish and Portuguese, or it may come from the broader Romance family (e.g., Catalan, Sardinian, Rumanian, Latin etc.). By advanced competency in linguistics we mean ability to participate fully in a graduate seminar in the linguistics department. By reasonable preparation we mean either one year’s study of Latin or linguistics, or two years’ study of a modern Romance language. Writing samples will be requested of areas in which advanced competency is claimed, and a telephone interview may also be required. Transcripts will provide evidence of reasonable preparation. .

General Requirements and Study Program (both tracks):

1) Screening Interview.  Early in their first semester of enrollment, students will meet with the RLL Executive Committee to evaluate their previous preparation, to familiarize themselves with the program, and to determine an appropriate plan of study for completion of the degree requirements. The Committee will then prepare a brief record of the interview for delivery to the RLL Graduate Advisor for French, indicating any special provisions or studies that must be completed before the student’s admission to the Qualifying Examination.

2) Advanced Language Competency Timetable.  Because of the nature of the RLL program, students are required to achieve language competency above and beyond that attested by passing the standard Graduate Division language requirements (see section 3, below). The following timetables will assure that students will be able to do advanced work in the three Romance Languages. Note that most entering students will fulfill some if not all of these requirements upon arrival. The timeline represents the last possible date by which languages must be acquired.

Literature Track: — By the end of semester 5 the student will have finished 1 year of Latin and will have the necessary competency to participate fully in graduate seminars taught in French, Spanish, or Italian. The student will have made substantial progress towards acquiring competency in their remaining Romance Language, Spansih or Italian. This will be established by the 5th semester review (see section 5 below). — By the end of semester 7, the student will either have taken two upper division undergraduate courses in their last Romance Language, or will have taken a graduate seminar covering literature that the student reads in the original language (although the seminar does not need to be taught in the language in question.) Linguistics Track: — By the end of semester 5 the student will have finished 1 year of Latin and will have the necessary competency to participate fully in graduate seminars taught in French and in linguistics. In addition, the student will have made good progress in another Romance language and begun study of a third. Again, these can be any member of the wider family of Romance languages including for example Occitan, Sardinian and Neo-Latin. By good progress we mean good reading knowledge and this is to be established at the 5th semester review (see section 5 below). — By semester 7, the student will have acquired sufficient knowledge of the first Romance language in order to use it for graduate-level linguistic analysis. This may be done as part of a graduate seminar in a language department, as an independent study with a faculty member, or by making significant use of the language in a linguistics seminar. (Please note that analyzing the language in the RLL C201/202 seminar will not be considered sufficient.) The student will also have attained good reading knowledge in the second Romance language by this point, that is, sufficient for graduate-level linguistic analysis by the time of the qualifying exam.

3) Foreign Language Requirements.  The Graduate Divison requires that foreign language skills be demonstrated in one of two ways. (RLL students may choose which of their Romance Languages they would like to use for the completion of this requirement. The language requirements of the RLL program exceed that of the Graduate Division.) The requirements should be satisfied as early as possible in the student’s doctoral career, following first registration, and must be completed prior to the term proposed for the Qualifying Examination. All language courses taken to fulfill a language requirement must be taken for a letter grade.

Option I Option I requires students to demonstrate reading knowledge of two languages. This can be done be either passing a translation exam in both languages or passing a translation exam in one language and completing coursework in the second language. Option I translation exams consist of at least a 300-word passage translated into English with the use of a dictionary. Students who choose to demonstrate reading knowledge of their second language through coursework may either (a) complete a four-semester (or six-quarter) course sequence with an average grade of B or better or (b) complete (with a grade of B or better) an upper division foreign language course that requires a four-semester (or six-quarter) course sequence as a prerequisite. Option II Option II requires students to demonstrate an exceptionally thorough reading knowledge and an adequate knowledge of the grammatical structure of one language. Students can demonstrate such knowledge in one of two ways: (1) By passing a translation exam in which the student translates a passage of about 1,000 words into English without the use of a dictionary; (2) By earning a B or better in two upper-division foreign language courses in which the material is read in the original language.

4) Core courses.  All RLL students must pass, with a grade of B or better, two core courses: 1) Linguistic History of Romance Languages (RLL C201/202); and 2) Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures (RLL C203). Students should satisfy these requirements as early as possible in their doctoral career, bearing in mind that they are unlikely to be offered every year.

5) Progress Report.  Early in the fifth semester, the Executive Committee will evaluate the student’s progress and advise him/her regarding future courses, preparation for the Qualifying Exam, and possible composition of the Qualifying Exam Committee. Students will prepare the following for the progress report meeting:

a) A three-page self-review of the first two years (courses taken, requirements completed, papers written, new areas explored, etc.); b) A statement of developing research interests; c) A major research paper, preferably written in English.

6) Qualifying Examination Fields, Topics, and Reading Lists.  Following the 5th semester review, students should start meeting with the anticipated members of the Qualifying Examination Committee in order to define the fields and topics they wish to cover on their Exam. In the course of these meetings, students will develop field and topic statements and reading lists, which must be submitted to the Executive Committee no later than the twelfth week of the sixth semester.

7) Qualifying Examination.  When the student and his/her advisor agree that preparation is sufficient for the Qualifying Examination, the advisor and the Graduate Student Services Advisor of the department concerned, with suggestions from the student, will determine the Qualifying Examination Committee and inform the Chair of the RLL Executive Committee of its formation.

The Qualifying Examination committee is composed of five members: three representing the main field of focus, a designated “outside” member representing a Romance language besides French (and who may also be a member of the Romance Languages and Literature program), and one other member appropriate to the topics on the exam. All five members of the Qualifying Examination committee must be present and voting at the oral examination. All members of the committee, including the chair and Academic Senate Representative (the person who represents the Graduate Dean and Graduate Council) must be Academic Senate members.

The Qualifying Examination has a written and an oral component. The written section, normally administered in the tenth week of the eighth semester, consists of three 8-hour exams. Please consult  RLL website  for more details.

Literature track: One exam will cover a major field in Romance Literatures and involve at least two languages. (Examples might be: the development of the novel; the lyric tradition; literary modernism; etc.) The other two exams should be on topics individually formulated by each student. The combined reading lists for these two topics should cover all three languages in the student’s program. This structure leaves open the possibility that one topic might be focused on a single literature. (Examples of topics might be the work of a single major author; literary relations between France and Latin America in the twentieth century; immigrant literature; baroque theater.) Historical coverage is highly recommended.

Linguistics track: One exam will cover a major field in Romance Linguistics and involve three languages. (Examples might be word order in Romance, sound change in Romance, or the classification of the Romance languages). A second exam will cover an area in general linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics), applied linguistics (second language acquisition, the application of linguistics to literature, translation studies), or an appropriate topic in Romance philology. A third exam will cover a specialized topic involving one, two, or three languages (e.g., borrowing from Latin into French in the late Middle Ages, the tu and vous address forms in contemporary French, regional variation in contemporary Italian). The three examination fields and topics should fit together coherently, will display emphasis on French, and will very preferably contain a historical component.

8) Dissertation.  Once the Qualifying Examination is successfully completed, the student will arrange with a faculty member to direct the dissertation and, by consultation with him/her, propose the remaining members. The Chair and designated “outside” member (representing a Romance language other than French) must be members of the Academic Senate. The dissertation will embody the results of original research on a subject chosen in consultation with the director. The Chair of the Qualifying Examination Committee cannot direct the dissertation.

After obtaining the dissertation director’s approval of the proposed topic, the student completes the eForm “Application for Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.” on CalCentral for approval by the Graduate Division on behalf of the Graduate Council. Doctoral students should bear in mind that it is to their advantage to be “Advanced to Candidacy” as soon as possible following completion of the Qualifying Examination (see Normal Progress Schedule).

Prospectus: Students are required to complete a fifteen- to twenty-page dissertation prospectus (including bibliography), to be presented to the student’s dissertation committee by the end of Week 12 of the semester following that in which the QE takes place.

It should be remembered that the prospectus is not intended to be a dissertation in miniature, so that there is normally no compelling reason why its completion should be delayed beyond the appointed deadline. Rather, it should be a concise (15-18 pages) preliminary description of the dissertation project, including: the primary materials to be investigated; the descriptive or analytical approach to be taken to those materials; the project’s relation to existing scholarly work. The prospectus should be accompanied by references and/or bibliography.

Should the need for a change in membership of the committee arise, students should speak both with their dissertation director and the Head Graduate Advisor in their Department. To effect a change, the student must initiate the eForm on CalCentral: “Request for Change in Higher Degree Committee”. This eForm is routed through required advisors and ultimately submitted to the Graduate Division for review and approval.

9) Dissertations in a Language other than English.  Special approval from the Graduate Division, acting for the Graduate Council, is required to submit a dissertation in a language other than English. If approval is given, an abstract in English must be included with the finished work.

10) Academic Progress (both tracks).  The timetable for completion of degree requirements is as follows: By the end of the sixth semester, students will have submitted field and topic statements and reading lists for Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations. Over the course of the next two semesters, students prepare for and take the Qualifying Examinations and apply for advancement to candidacy for the doctoral degree. (Note as well that all languages requirements must be fulfilled before the beginning of the semester in which the Qualifying Examinations are taken.) Doctoral candidacy lasts for two years after advancement, although students are eligible for an additional two year grace period before candidacy lapses (see Length of Time in Advanced-to-Candidacy Status).

Fellowships for Continuing Students

Graduate students are guaranteed five years of funding, as communicated in their funding package during the admissions phase. For more information on funding opportunities (including some extramural fellowships), visit bCourses and the Graduate Division website .

Doctoral Completion Fellowships (DCF).  Students who advance to doctoral candidacy are eligible for the DCF from the Graduate Division, which provides a stipend of $30,000 and covers all fees for two semesters. Students are highly encouraged to apply for the DCF. Students who—for reasons relating to their professional training—would like to teach for one semester during their DCF year need the permission of their Dissertation Director and the Head Graduate Advisor. The DCF must be used within Normative Time to Degree plus one year. NTD is the amount of time set for each program from first enrollment to filing the dissertation. NTD for French and for Romance Languages & Literature (RLL) is 12 semesters. For those entering the French doctoral program with an M.A. in French, NTD is 10 semesters. Students who are within their 12-semester teaching limit may continue as Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) at Berkeley. Students who have taken the DCF may also be considered for Continuing Fellowship and the Graduate Student Research (GSR) Library position. Continuing Student Fellowships.  Departmental awards are made on the basis of students’ overall academic achievement and evidence of substantial progress in their degree programs. Eligible students include those prior to the Qualifying Examinations stage and those who are completing the dissertation who have taken the DCF. Students currently eligible for a DCF will not be considered for Continuing Fellowship. For students at the dissertation stage, priority will go to those who have applied for other sources of funding (e.g., Townsend, Chateaubriand, Lurcy, and other outside fellowships such as those listed on the French Department’s Graduate Students’ bCourses page, accessible to admitted students.) Applicants should outline their academic goals and progress in the doctoral program, and describe the importance of fellowship support at this juncture in their studies. In addition, students at the dissertation stage should demonstrate clarity about the direction of the proposed research project, the current state of the project, the progress expected during the fellowship year, and the project’s significance within the discipline. ENS Fellowships.  One student may be selected for the academic year for the Department’s exchange program with the École Normale Supérieure (ENS). The ENS position will require the student selected to use their DCF during that year. Students who have already utilized the DCF will not be eligible for the ENS fellowship. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships.  FLAS Fellowships enable students who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents to acquire a high level of competence in one or more foreign languages. Fellowships are awarded to students in modern foreign language and area studies and are available for the study of languages in eight world areas: Africa, East Asia, East Europe, Latin America, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Europe. Lowest consideration will be given to students who are taking the first 12 semester hours or the equivalent in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Students may apply for FLAS fellowships for the academic year and summer. Maintaining an Accurate Financial Record with Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO).  It is vital that the student update their financial information with FASO every time there is a change in their financial situation, such as when they accept a reader position, they receive a stipend to travel to a conference, and so on. Unreported changes to the student’s financial record can have very negative consequences on their fellowship or student loans.

Teaching Assistantship in French

Application and Appointment.  A Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) appointment is a half time appointment for lower division instruction available to qualified, registered graduate students in French or related departments (such as Comparative Literature, English, the School of Education, Linguistics, or Spanish and Portuguese). These appointments are made by the Department Chair in consultation with the Graduate Committee of the Department and with the Director of the Lower Division. To be eligible to hold a GSI position, the student must be enrolled in regular graduate status at UC Berkeley. A minimum 3.0 grade point average in the preceding two years of studies is required by the Graduate Division for all GSIs, but the Department generally requires a higher GPA and will, of course, select the most qualified applicants for these positions. Appointments of graduate students from related departments, when available, are normally limited to three years. Applications for GSI positions are available to French Graduate Students and are due in the spring semester.

The GSI working title series at Berkeley comprises three "steps," with different salary levels. Beginning GSIs serve two semesters under the payroll title of Teaching Assistant (TA) 1, and are eligible for advancement to TA 2, then to TA 3 after having taught four semesters at UC Berkeley.

GSI positions are covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the University of California and the UAW. GSIs are entitled to a GSHIP premium remission, an educational and registration fee remission, and other applicable benefits as set forth in the Agreement. The Agreement sets forth the specific eligibility requirements and amount of each remission. The  full text of the Agreement  is available online. In accordance with the Agreement, GSIs’ names and departmental addresses are released by the University to UAW Local 2865 in each term of employment in the bargaining unit. Academic Progress Requirements for GSIs. Effective Fall 2007, the Graduate Division requires all students, including GSIs, to enroll in at least 12 units per semester. In addition, to retain eligibility for GSI positions, the student must have no more than two incompletes on record. Appointment as a GSI requires that the student’s time be devoted wholly to the pursuit of studies and instruction within the University; no other appointment in the University or elsewhere is permitted Duties and Stipend.  GSIs are normally assigned by the Director of the French Language Program to teach language courses, which include five hours of classroom instruction, correction (outside the classroom) of all written exercises in the textbook and workbook; correction of written compositions and laboratory exercises and regular attendance at a pilot section for new GSIs. Other duties include holding office hours and assisting in the preparation of quizzes and exams. These activities are carried out under the active direction of a regular member of the faculty to whom responsibility for course instruction, students’ grades, and the performance of GSIs, is assigned. GSIs are responsible for reporting any anticipated absences from campus (as well as any missed work), to the faculty member in charge of the course they are teaching. If the absence is for an extended period of time, a substitute teacher may be assigned. The Standing Orders of the Regents of the University of California state that no compensation shall be paid to those holding University appointments unless they are actively engaged in the service of the University. Teaching duties are complete each term when the instructor's final exams have been graded, course grades computed, and all materials turned in to and reviewed by the course director. The French Department also offers a limited number of Reading and Composition courses in English (French R1A and R1B). Students who have successfully taught French 1, 2, and 3, and have completed the pedagogical training sequence may apply to teach these courses. These courses require native or near-native competency in English and evidence of superior writing skills from the instructor. It is also not guaranteed that these courses will be offered by the French Department every semester.

The French Department also offers a limited number of Reading and Composition courses in English (French R1A and R1B) . Students who have successfully taught French 1, 2, and 3, and have completed the pedagogical training sequence may apply to teach these courses. These courses require native or near-native competency in English and evidence of superior writing skills from the instructor. It is also not guaranteed that these courses will be offered by the French Department every semester. GSIs are paid on the University's monthly payroll schedule beginning September 1 (for the fall semester) and February 1 (for the spring semester). The University requires that all GSIs be registered graduate students, and the Graduate Division verifies instructors' current registration during the course of each semester. GSI salaries are subject to all state and federal taxes. Review and Reappointment of GSIs.  The Department employs graduate students who perform well in their courses, show steady and satisfactory progress toward their graduate degrees, and are good teachers. Reappointment as a GSI is not automatic. All GSIs seeking reappointment for the following academic year should submit a GSI Application by the announced deadline.

Records considered in the reappointment of GSIs include course evaluations, the reports on classroom visits filed by members of the Lower Division Instructor Visiting Committee, GSI academic records, seminar evaluations and M.A. Exam results. The Department does its utmost to offer teaching positions to all eligible graduate students within the department.

Reappointment as a GSI may be for a full year, or for one semester, with continued reappointment contingent on the student’s fulfilling special requirements (for example, removal of Incomplete grades, completion of M.A. or Ph.D. exam or submission of a Ph.D. Program Proposal, or improvement in teaching performance). Pedagogical Training of GSIs. Training for instructors in first-year French consists of a required two-semester course sequence in methodology (French 375A and 375B) in which a pilot teacher provides GSIs with an analysis of each lesson to be presented the following week, points to be emphasized and ways to present grammatical structures simply and concretely. French 375A and 375B, (as well as the second-year methodology course, French 375C), cover Second Language Acquisition theory, general scholarship in Applied Linguistics, and look at best practices and teaching effectiveness examples not only in the Humanities, but in the Sciences as well. The use of technology for language instruction is also covered, as are other aspects of professional preparation in language instruction and writing instruction. Enrollment in French 375A/375B, and attendance at its weekly meetings with the Director of Lower Division, are required of all GSIs who are teaching French l or French 2 for the first time at Berkeley. Four units of credit are awarded each semester (graded on an S/U basis). New instructors also attend a pilot class the first time they teach French l and French 2 in the French Department at Berkeley.

Instructors teaching French 3 for the first time enroll in French 375C and attend weekly meetings with the Coordinator of the Second Year Program. In addition, the training programs for all GSIs include periodic visits to teaching assistants’ classes by the pilot teacher, the Director of the Lower Division, the Coordinator of the Second Year Program, and other members of the faculty Lower Division Instructor Visiting Committee on an annual basis. GSIs are expected to consult each faculty visitor following the visit to discuss the class observed. Eligibility for Service as GSI. Appointments as a GSI may be made for a maximum of two semesters at a time; University regulations governing the appointment of GSIs state that graduate students may hold these positions for up to four years (eight semesters). Exceptions to the four-year limit on teaching as a GSI may, in individual cases, be requested by the Department, and granted by the administration. In any case, service in these titles cannot exceed a total of six years under the terms of the University's Academic Personnel Manual 400 17. Service as a GSI on another UC campus counts toward this six-year total. Reappointment in the GSI titles is governed by the Graduate Division. GSIs must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, be enrolled in 12 units in each semester in which they hold this appointment, and have no more than 2 incompletes on the record. Outstanding TA Annual Award Program.  Under the terms of the Graduate Division GSI Teaching and Resource Center’s annual Outstanding GSI Award Program , the Department of French can nominate for this honor one GSI for every ten appointed during the current academic year. GSIs in French are considered for nomination after a minimum of two years of teaching, and are eligible to receive Outstanding GSI honors only once. In selecting each year’s Outstanding GSI nominee, the Director of the French Language Program and the Coordinator of Second-Year French review eligible candidates’ Lower Division Visiting Committee evaluations, as well as student evaluation ratings for the two most recent semesters taught. The GSI Teaching & Resource Center hosts a reception near the end of the Spring term to honor recipients, and sponsors a Teaching Effectiveness Award program to which recipients may submit applications. Summer Session Teaching Appointments.  The Department operates a small Summer Session program. The Department Chair, in consultation with the Director of the French Language Program, and the Graduate Committee, appoints GSIs for this program based on the following criteria:

1. Only French Department graduate student GSIs enrolled during the preceding Spring or following Fall semester are eligible. 2. First year GSIs, and graduate students who will not be continuing in the graduate program in French, are not normally eligible for on-campus Summer Session appointments. 3. The candidacies of GSIs who have never taught in Summer Session are given priority over those who already have taught. 4. Successful applicant(s) for Summer Session appointment will (a) possess a record of prior teaching competence, as evidenced in annual classroom visit reports and student evaluations, which will be reviewed by those making the Summer Session appointments and (b) be making reasonable academic progress toward their degrees.

Application forms for 8-week Summer Session GSIs are distributed during the fall semester every year. Courses offered in the 8-week Summer Session usually include Elementary French 1 and 2; Intermediate French 3 and 4; and affiliated Reading and Composition courses (R1A and/or R1B) . The French Department also offers an intensive travel study course “Paris, France: Language, Literature and the Arts” in the Summer Session. Students may apply to any programs for which they are eligible. Eligibility requirements for the Paris travel study course are the same as for other on-campus summer teaching. An interview will be required of those students being considered for an appointment with the travel study program. The department’s priority will be to staff all the on-campus courses on its summer schedule with qualified instructors. This priority will necessarily take precedence over any preferences applicants may have regarding teaching assignments. The travel study program may involve the appointment of instructors other than GSIs.

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Graduate Programs

French and francophone studies.

The graduate program in French and Francophone Studies is the home of advanced studies in French and Francophone literatures, language and civilization.

Faculty expertise encompasses many fields, from the Middle Ages to the present in several French-speaking societies and countries. Students receive training and guidance in literary and cultural theory, critical methods, research and teaching applications of information technology, modern linguistics, narratology, hermeneutics and sociocultural and psychoanalytic interpretation. Focal areas of research include the historical interactions between French-speaking cultures, questions of gender and race, and relations between writing, cinema and philosophical thought.

Additional Resources

Lectures by invited speakers, films and conferences, extensive library collections, exchange programs with the Universities of Lyon and Burgundy, and computer facilities and study areas in Rochambeau House.

Application Information

Application requirements, gre subject:.

Not required

GRE General:

Writing sample:.

Required (in French). Applications should be completed in English, except for the writing sample.

Dates/Deadlines

Application deadline, completion requirements.

Sixteen courses at the 100 and 200 levels (including two mandatory courses: History of the French Language and Theory and Methods of Foreign Language Teaching), departmental tutorials, relevant courses in other departments. Also required: two foreign languages other than French at the intermediate level or one at an advanced level, two semesters of teaching, preliminary examination during third year, dissertation, and oral defense.

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Ph.d. program in french and francophone studies, program description.

The Department of French and Francophone Studies offers a Ph.D. degree with specializations in culture & society and literature as well as dual degrees in French and Francophone Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, in French and Francophone Studies and African Studies and in French and Francophone Studies and Visual Studies. Graduate students accepted into the Department’s Ph.D. program are expected to acquire a broad factual and theoretical background in French Studies, advanced proficiency in oral and writing skills, and a thorough grasp of research and teaching methodologies. Students select one specialization and may add other subspecialties.  Many of our graduate students also pursue Minors, such as the  Social Thought  minor.

Admission Requirements

Students interested in the Ph.D. program in French may apply for admission directly into one of the two specializations (Culture & Society or Literature) or under general status with the specialization to be determined after arrival at Penn State. No admissions preference is given to either category of students; all prospective students are judged according to the admissions criteria outlined in the handbook the student receives when he or she begins graduate studies in French at Penn State.

Requirements for All Specializations

Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements stated in the  DEGREE REQUIREMENTS  section of the  Graduate Bulletin .

Students must earn a minimum of 33 to 36 credits (or equivalent) beyond the Master’s degree in French.

The Ph.D. degree prepares candidates for careers in teaching and research at the college or university level. Between 33 and 36 credits beyond the M.A. in French (or equivalent) is required in course work at the 400, 500, 600, or 800 level.  Candidates who have not taken these courses while completing their M.A. at Penn State must take FR 571 French Literacy Theory and Criticism (3), FR 580 Approaches to French Civilization (3), FR 581 Theory and Techniques of Teaching French (1-6), FR 501A Pro-Seminar in French Studies I (1.5), and FR 501B Pro-Seminar in French Studies II (1.5). Credits must be distributed in one of two areas of specialization: culture & society or literature.

A maximum of 12 credits may be earned in teaching methodology (French 581) and in supervised teaching (French 602). Such credits are supplementary to the 33 to 36 credits required for a doctoral specialization, except in applied linguistics where FR 581 is required for the specialization.

Occasionally, the acceleration of course work is possible where a student has a significant academic background in a designated area. Acceleration should be requested by the student’s advisor in consultation with the student’s graduate committee. Acceleration requires the approval of the director of graduate studies and the department head.   Candidates whose prior training does not include courses prerequisite to one of the doctoral specializations are required to complete such courses.

The Chair of the Committee responsible for the specialization, in consultation with other members of the Graduate Faculty and the Department Head, evaluates the graduate training and teaching experience completed at other institutions. A record of any credit to be transferred or of course equivalencies is placed in the candidate’s file, with a copy to the candidate. Waiver of any coursework can only be granted with the approval of the advisor, the instructor of the course being waived, and the Department Head.

All students are required to take the Pro-Seminars in French Studies, FR 501A and FR 501B, within the first two years of entering the program whether at the M.A. or the Ph.D. level.  (The Pro-Seminar is offered every other year.)  Doctoral students who are preparing for the job market are required to take the Pro-Seminar a second time.

Ph.D. Committee and Examinations

All doctoral students must pass a  Candidacy  examination and a  Comprehensive  examination.

Examinations will be written and defended in French.  Exceptions are occasionally made for dual-title Ph.D.s, if serious efforts to find outside members who can read and comprehend French fail, and the DGS, Head and advisor are convinced the student does not need to prove their ability to write or speak French.  If outside members know only some French, the exam will be written in French but the oral exam will be bilingual.  Every effort should be made to locate outside and special members with some knowledge of French.

The Ph.D. Thesis

The thesis (also called “Ph.D. or Doctoral Dissertation”) is a formal demonstration of a student’s ability to conduct high-quality research that poses significant questions and proposes new approaches, implications, and insights. It should represent the culmination of work as a student and, at the same time, demonstrate a student’s expertise to colleagues and peers.

Chapters of the thesis should be submitted to the advisor as they are written. Committee members may prefer to read the thesis chapter by chapter or they may wish to review only the full draft version. This should be decided in consultation between the student and the committee members, preferably at a meeting with the full committee. Both the thesis advisor and the student are responsible for ensuring the completion of a draft of the thesis and for adequate consultation with all committee members well in advance of the oral examination.

Each member of the committee will make any suggestions he or she may have within two weeks of receiving the completed draft. If, at the end of these two weeks, no committee members request major revisions to the thesis (editing suggestions do not qualify), the final oral examination date may be set. The request for examination must be submitted to the dean of the Graduate School for approval  at least three weeks prior to the date of the exam.

The Thesis Guide

Students should consult the Graduate School  Thesis Guide  for the thesis format. This guide, available online, through the Thesis Office or in Pattee Library, contains complete and updated information regarding the thesis format, preparation, appendices, etc. The Graduate School also provides special thesis formatting templates for use on word-processing systems:  https://bulletins.psu.edu/graduate/programs/majors/french-francophone-studies/ .

Normally, the thesis defense may not be scheduled until at least three months have elapsed after the completion of the Comprehensive Examination, although the dean of the Graduate School may grant a waiver in some cases.

The final oral exam must take place ten weeks before the end of the Semester. Please check the calendar of deadlines posted every semester by the Graduate School.

Please note that this is a basic outline of the major steps leading to the award of a Ph.D. in French and Francophone Studies.  For more details and information, please see the  Graduate Handbook .

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Welcome to the French and Francophone Studies Graduate Program.

Our program here at Harvard is driven by collegiality—the collegiality that reigns among the faculty in the program and is generated, in turn, among our graduate students. We share a common cause in studying the languages, literatures, arts, cultures, and histories that characterize the Francophone world in its most capacious conception. In our teaching and in our research, we address the relation between individuals and communities, humans and the world, the aesthetic and the political, in historically situated contexts that allow for meaningful comparisons across national, spatial, and temporal boundaries. The intellectual life of our unit is marked by mutual respect and an egalitarian ethos that treats students and faculty alike as partners in our mission to understand our present and our past through the cultural objects—both material and abstract—we engage with, and to imagine the future in an age of increasing chaos and instability. As we contend, globally, with natural, social, and political catastrophes that threaten to dehumanize and displace on an unprecedented scale, the study of what makes us human and what can be envisioned beyond the human, as epitomized in the works we grapple with, seems more important than ever.

We look forward to getting to know you in courses, and also, to sharing our intellectual passions and areas of expertise, which we hope to extend to you as a resource as you make your way through to the dissertation. Working with the other sections of RLL, as well as with other departments, we support students in building a singular program of studies that meets their aspirations, including a year abroad at the École normale supérieure, rue d’Ulm. You will find at Harvard, within the program and outside it, a cornucopia of conferences, panels, workshops, performances, seminars, and institutions that will both whet and nourish your intellectual appetites: the Mahindra Humanities Center, where we lead seminars on France and the World, the Renaissance, and Cartography; the Weatherhead Center; the Center for European Studies; the Harvard Film Archive; the Radcliffe Institute; the Center for Early Modern History; and many others. We are also a member of the consortium of French and Francophone graduate programs that, together, award the annual Goncourt américain.

Other wonderful resources to the program are Harvard's Widener Library and its incredibly learned and helpful research staff. Whatever books or journals the library doesn't have, it will get for you on interlibrary loan. We hope also that you will have the occasion to become acquainted with the Houghton Library, Harvard's rare book library, which is a mine of treasures. You will also be able to benefit from Harvard’s museums, the Arnold Arboretum, as well as the research centers it has at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. and I Tatti in Italy.

Last but not least is the city of Cambridge itself, a truly cosmopolitan city on the banks of the Charles, and Harvard Square, with its many cafes, restaurants, and bookstores, where you can experience a veritable carnival of books, food, films, and theater, following your particular passions. And beyond Cambridge you will find the Greater Boston area offers the Boston Symphony, the Museum of Fine Arts, but also an abundance of places to get away from the city, be it to the beaches of the North and South Shore and Cape Cod, the Berkshires, or the forested space of the Fells. You will add to this list many, many personal discoveries, if you join us and study here.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions!

The French Section

To see our program requirements, see the GSAS Policies .

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Kathy Hanley (Graduate Program Coordinator)

French, PhD

Zanvyl krieger school of arts and sciences.

In addition to general university requirements for the Ph.D., the following regulations apply to graduate students in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures:

To be accepted into the Ph.D. program, students must demonstrate by an exceptionally strong academic record that they are capable of advanced study in literature.  The student will normally take two to three years of graduate courses and devote the fourth year to study and research in the country on which the student’s study concentrates. The well-prepared student can expect to receive the Ph.D. after five years of study. The graduate program in Modern Languages and Literatures emphasizes work in three complementary areas: literary history, close textual analysis (including  explication de texte ), and theory of interpretation. By way of preparing students in a variety of critical schools, the faculty and the visiting professors offer training in the different disciplines pertaining to critical theory, including philosophy, theory of language, psychoanalytic theory, intellectual history, and cultural anthropology.

In addition to the major language, the Ph.D. candidate must demonstrate proficiency in one or two other languages besides English, depending on the specialization. (See below for further information.)

A dissertation proposal, presented to the faculty and students in their section, is required before official admittance to candidacy for the Ph.D.

For students who choose to specialize in an early modern period (medieval, Renaissance, or 17th century), proficiency in Latin is required by the end of the third semester. Students may also choose a minor field: another Romance literature, modern criticism, comparative literature, medieval studies, or some other field connected with the student’s major field.

Graduate Study Abroad

The Department encourages and expects graduates student to do research abroad during their program of study. In the French section, an exchange program with the École Normale Superieure offers the opportunity for graduate students to study in Paris, where they are encouraged to participate to research programs at ENS, EHESS, and other Universities. Ph.D. students in the French section are also encouraged to apply for the Chateaubriand scholarship offered by the Embassy of France.

After presenting a research proposal to their advisor, with the approval of that advisor and the head of section, students may elect to go abroad for a semester or the entire academic year in order to conduct research essential to their dissertation.

Admission Requirements

Application procedures.

Prospective graduate students may visit the departmental website at  https://krieger.jhu.edu/modern-languages-literatures/  for further information on programs and faculty. All questions regarding the programs offered by the department should be emailed to  [email protected] . Prospective students are encouraged to apply online through the secure Graduate Admissions website . 

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• PhD in French Language & Literature

The doctoral program in French Language & Literature provides each student with a thorough knowledge of French and Francophone literature, its history, and its major works. The program offers professional preparation through the acquisition of extensive knowledge of the field of study; advanced skills in the use, evaluation, and production of critical scholarly and research materials; experience communicating knowledge in a range of contexts; and substantial training in pedagogy and other relevant practical and professional training. Candidates for admission should be able to demonstrate foundational knowledge of the appropriate literature and written and oral competence in the language of study. The PhD program is open to those with a BA or MA in an appropriate field. A broad training in the humanities is advantageous.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate a mastery and appreciation of language and literature in French in a global context and from all historical periods.
• Demonstrate a near-native mastery of the French language.
• Demonstrate the skilled application of research methodologies and techniques, and produce and defend an original and significant contribution to knowledge in the field.
• Be prepared to communicate and teach specific works and literary concepts at the college and university level.
• Adhere to ethical standards in the discipline.

Course Requirements

Sixteen courses (64 units) on French literature and cultural studies at the 500 level or above are required for this degree, including at least one seminar per term, as well as coursework and training in pedagogy (e.g., CAS LL 690/LL 691 Proficiency-Based Language Teaching 1 and 2 and CPT), as per departmental and GRS policies. At least three courses in the intended area of specialization are strongly recommended; this guideline may be satisfied in part through directed study.

Language Requirement

Degree candidates are expected to possess a near-native command of written and spoken French by the time they receive their PhD. Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of at least one language in addition to French that will be useful in their research work. In some areas of specialization, two or more additional languages may be required in order to ensure research competence.

Qualifying Examinations

Qualification for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is achieved through: (1) successful completion of the written Comprehensive Examination based on a reading list of major works and (2) successful completion and oral defense of two qualifying papers, substantial and thoroughly researched works of 25–40 pages. Detailed information concerning the content, format, and schedule of these examinations are described fully in the graduate program handbook. As a general rule, entrants should have completed all coursework and examinations by the end of their third year.

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination

Candidates shall demonstrate their abilities for independent study in a dissertation representing original research or creative scholarship. A prospectus for the dissertation must be completed and approved by the readers, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Chair/Program Director. Candidates must undergo a final oral examination in which they defend their dissertation as a valuable contribution to knowledge in their field and demonstrate a mastery of their field of specialization in relation to their dissertation. All portions of the dissertation and final oral examination must be completed as outlined in the GRS General Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree .

Any PhD student who has fulfilled the requirements of the master’s degree program, as stated here , can be awarded a master’s degree.

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Fully Funded PhD Programs in French

Last updated May 15, 2022

As part of our series  How to Fully Fund Your PhD , here is a list of universities that offer fully funded PhD programs in French. A PhD in French can lead to a variety of exciting careers in academia, research, and writing.

“Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission as well as an annual stipend or salary during the entire program, which is usually 3-6 years. Funding usually comes with the expectation that students will teach or complete research in their field of study. Not all universities fully fund their doctoral students, which is why researching the financial aid offerings of many different programs, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad, is essential.

The  ProFellow database for graduate and doctoral study also spotlights external funding opportunities for graduate school, including dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experiences.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

Boston University, PhD in French Language and Literature

(Boston, MA): The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and the Department of Romance Studies guarantee five full years of financial support for doctoral students who maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Brown University, PhD in French and Francophone Studies

(Providence, RI): Students in the PhD program are guaranteed a competitive package of six years of academic year funding. and four summers of financial support with full tuition remission and health and dental insurance coverage. Students are also guaranteed funding each year for conference travel or other research needs.

University of Chicago, PhD in French and Francophone Studies

(Chicago, IL): Ph.D. students will be guaranteed to have funding support from the University of Chicago, external sources, or a combination of the two for the duration of their program including Full tuition coverage, an annual stipend, annual premiums for student health insurance, and Student Services Fee.

University of Colorado at Boulder, PhD in French Literature

(Boulder, CO): Financial aid for qualified Ph.D. students is available in the form of Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Part-Time Instructorships, and Graduate School Fellowships. Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Part-Time Instructorships normally include responsibility for lower-level language classes. The average stipend for this is approximately $26,000, and it carries with it a waiver of tuition costs.

Columbia University, PhD in French

(New York, NY): Doctoral students normally receive the annual prevailing stipend and appropriate tuition and health fees for five years, provided that they remain in good academic standing and, in the case of student officers, have discharged responsibly their pedagogical or research duties. For doctoral candidates in Humanities and Social Science departments, this includes five summers of support.

Johns Hopkins University, PhD in French

(Baltimore, MD):  All applicants who are admitted to our programs are admitted fully funded for up to five years. This means that the department covers the cost of full-time tuition and a fellowship for the academic year.

University of Maryland, PhD in Modern French Studies

(College Park, MD): Students are normally granted full funding for four years, with the possibility of an additional year, contingent upon the availability of funds. Annual renewal of financial support is based on satisfactory performance and progress in the program.

University of Pennsylvania, PhD in French and Francophone Studies

(Philadelphia, PA): All students admitted to the Graduate Program in French & Francophone Studies receive a Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, which guarantees five years of financial support (tuition remission, Penn’s health insurance, and a stipend of $32,255 in 2021-2022) to students who continue in good academic standing. Students will also receive summer stipends. The fellowship requires a two-year teaching assistantship as service to the department.

Princeton University, PhD in French

(Princeton, NJ): Students accepted into the Ph.D. program enjoy financial support for five years, although readmission each year depends on satisfactory performance. They also hold part-time Assistantships in Instruction. Generous financial support is available for a wide array of professional training, including scholarly research, language learning, and conference presentations.

University of Texas at Austin, PhD in French Studies or French Linguistics

(Austin, TX): The University of Texas at Austin is pleased to offer 6-year scholarship packages of up to $30,000 annually for graduate study in French Studies and French Linguistics.

Tulane University, PhD in French Studies

(New Orleans, LA): The Ph.D. program is fully funded for 5 years for students entering with a BA degree. Students admitted to the program receive full tuition remission and a stipend of $26,323. They also have the opportunity to apply for competitive summer research funding, the Summer Merit Fellowship Award, and conference travel grants.

University of Virginia, PhD in French

(Charlottesville, VA): The Department of French is committed to providing full funding to all doctoral students for the duration of the Ph.D. degree. The award package, comprising a combination of graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs) and fellowships, is guaranteed for 5 years and covers tuition, fees, and comprehensive health insurance. It also includes an annual stipend of $20,000 for basic living expenses in Charlottesville, plus $4,000 in summer stipends.

University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD in French

(Madison, WI): The Department of French & Italian is committed to providing full funding to all graduate students. Students who accept our offer of admission, therefore, receive fellowships or assistantships that cover tuition and provide eligibility to enroll in excellent comprehensive health insurance and other benefits. Funding is guaranteed for a minimum of 5 years of study for students entering with a B.A., and a minimum of 4 years for those entering with an M.A.

Yale University, PhD in French

(New Haven, CT): All Yale students receive full financial support (tuition plus full stipend, including health insurance coverage) for five years of graduate study. This includes two years of coursework without teaching, two years of teaching, and a dissertation fellowship year.  Students in the French Department who choose to pursue dissertation research in France or a francophone country receive an additional year of support without having to teach.

Need some tips for the application process? See my article  How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors .

Also, sign up to discover and bookmark more than 1800 professional and academic fellowships in the  ProFellow database .

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The French Section offers PhD supervision in an exceptional range of French and francophone studies areas. It contains world-leading researchers in the literature, thought, and culture of the Middle Ages, the early modern period, the 19th century, and the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as in cinema and linguistics. There is usually more than one specialist in any field, which helps broaden the PhD student's approach to and understanding of their topic. There is a dynamic culture of research seminars, and the postgraduate students themselves run their own seminar and arrange an annual postgraduate conference.

The PhD is awarded on the basis of a thesis, a substantial piece of writing that reports original research into a closely defined area of enquiry within the field of French Studies, broadly defined. The completion of the PhD thesis is generally expected to take three to four years, and most funding is based on this assumption. It is also possible to take a part-time route through research degrees, and the expected timeframe would be five to seven years.

The important notion of 'original' can be defined in a number of ways, but basically, the thesis should represent a significant contribution to learning through the discovery of new knowledge, through the connection of previously unrelated facts, or the development of new theory, or the revision of older views, or some combination of these different criteria. In writing the thesis, you are expected to take due account of previously published work on the subject, and you should ensure that the thesis is clearly and accurately written, paying due account to English style and grammar. The thesis must be written in English, apart from quotations. There is a normal word limit of 80,000 words, including footnotes, references, and appendices, but excluding the bibliography.

During your research, you will work closely with a Supervisor who is a specialist in your research area. You will also be assigned an advisor who will normally have an interest in your research area and can offer advice whenever needed. In addition to providing specialist supervision, the Faculty runs a professional training programme for the benefit of all research students.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of a PhD course, students will have produced a piece of extended original research of publishable or near-publishable quality.

They will have obtained the following:

• expert knowledge of a particular field of French studies
• knowledge of the methodology or methodologies appropriate to their field
• a set of research skills appropriate to their field
• the ability to produce scholarly writing in English of a sufficiently high standard
• an appropriate set of transferable skills, such as work planning and time management

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Advanced Study to a PhD, the minimum academic requirement is an overall distinction in the MPhil.

For Cambridge students applying to continue from the MPhil by Thesis to a PhD, the usual academic requirement is a pass in the MPhil.

All applications are judged on their own merits, and students must demonstrate their suitability to undertake doctoral-level research.

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages .

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, department of french, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:.

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Michaelmas 2025

Funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2025, Lent 2026 and Easter 2026.

Similar Courses

• Literature, Culture and Thought (Taught) MPhil
• Literature, Culture and Thought (Research) MPhil
• English Studies MPhil
• English PhD
• Education (Education, Globalisation and International Development) MPhil

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PhD Program in French

Our doctoral program focuses on the literatures, films and cultures of the Francophone world. Students with traditional backgrounds in French Studies - but also students with atypical backgrounds - are encouraged to apply, provided they satisfy the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies.

The humanities teach a breadth of soft skills that graduates need to succeed in the job market.

Katarina Todić '15

Bachelor of Arts Honours French and History

About the Program

Our objective is to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of the Francophone world across time, space and socio-cultural discourses and practices, and to facilitate their professional integration in an increasingly globalized world. Admitted candidates will design their own academic journey jointly with their PhD committee. They will take six half courses, including one required course that will expose them to various literary theories, and a series of professionalization workshops (Eg. How to write articles and for various journals, How to prepare for a job interview, etc.) If approved by the Department of French and the instructor, and if relevant to their field of research, students will also be able to take courses in other departments. Courses, comprehensive examinations ( or publishable articles) and a thesis will structure the four years. Part-time students will be admitted on an exceptional basis.

One of the most salient and innovative features of the program is the option of spending up to one year in a Francophone country or region (in Europe, Canada, US, Africa, Asia or the Caribbean). The research study abroad must be approved by the Graduate Committee upon its evaluation of the proposal. During their study abroad, students will be able to expand their research, enrich their professional and personal experience, immerse themselves in a Francophone environment and experience its diversity. While we wish to prepare students for academic professions, we also strive to facilitate their access to other professions which demand highly skilled individuals in fields such as in international relations, the media, human resources, NGOs, business, diplomacy, environment or the arts.

Students may opt to specialize in one or more of the following areas:

• Francophone literatures (African, Asian and Caribbean)
• Quebec literature
• Franco-Ontarian, Acadian and Francophone literatures from elsewhere in Canada
• Indigenous literature in French
• French literature
• Visual culture and intermediality
• Women’s studies and feminist research
• Philosophy of the Enlightenment
• Queer theory
• Utopia and science fiction
• Critical and literary theory

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements conform to the general University regulations. Applicants whose specialization is in French or Francophone literatures and cultures or in a program deemed equivalent are encouraged to apply. The English language proficiency test (TOEFL) is not required to enter the PhD Program in French.

Students will be admitted to the PhD program with a completed MA in French or in a program deemed equivalent. Equivalence will be granted on a case by case basis in consultation with the School of Graduate Studies. Students must obtain a minimum B+ average or equivalent at the Master’s level to be considered for admission. As a rule, part-time studies will not be an option at the PhD level. However, in exceptional circumstances, permission to pursue the Doctorate part-time might be granted, provided the student adheres to a rigorously scheduled plan of action for completion of all degree requirements within a reasonably limited timeframe.

Application Process

The application process is completed  online . You may apply only if you are planning to begin your graduate studies in September 2025   and note that close date for applications is March 31, 2025.

The application includes the following documents which must be uploaded:

• A letter of intent in French, stating why you want to do a Ph.D. degree in French with us, your intellectual and academic background that prepared you and what you intend your research focus to be (one page).
• Your Ph.D. project description (one page to one page and a half in length).
• A sample of your writing (10-12 pages of your M.A. project in French)
• All your official transcripts since the first year of university.
• Two reference letters written by your professors. We recommend that students ask for these letters very early, communicate the deadlines to their referees (professors providing a letter of reference) and provide them with relevant documents (CV, copy of transcripts, study plan, etc.).
• Your resume (Curriculum Vitae).
• A non-refundable amount of $110 Canadian dollars must accompany your application form for administrative fees. This fee must be paid in Canadian dollars by means of a credit card payment or electronic transfer.

The main criterion is the excellence of your grades and the quality of your letters of recommendation. Offers of admission will be normally sent in the spring by the School of Graduate Studies upon the recommendation of the department’s Graduate Studies Committee.

If you are an international student intending to undertake full-time studies in Canada, you must first notify the officials of the Canadian Immigration Service in your country of origin. Applicants must not leave their country until they have in their possession an offer of admission, issued only by the Faculty of Graduate Studies of McMaster University, and a valid study permit to study at McMaster issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Please note that students from certain countries must obtain a Temporary Resident Visa before being allowed to study in Canada. For further information, please visit the website Citoyenneté et Immigration Canada  (French and English version).

Canadian equivalency for grades obtained at foreign universities will be calculated following the guidelines of the Ontario Universities Registrars’ Association (OURA).

For more information, we invite you to consult  International Student Services.

Language Requirement

Candidates will successfully pass a proficiency examination in a language other than French or English.  The examination consists of the translation of a passage from a third language to French or English. The choice of language should be made by the candidate in consultation with her/his supervisory committee. The department should be informed of this choice as soon as possible.

With the approval of the Department of French Graduate Studies Committee and the candidate’s supervisory committee, this language requirement may be substituted by:

• Successful completion of the course EDU 750/751 Principles and Practices of University Teaching offered by MIIETL (McMaster Institute for Innovation & Excellence in Teaching and Learning). The description of the course may be found in the following section of the SGS Calendar: Faculty of Humanities – French – French Courses .
• Successful completion of a three-unit, doctoral-level course in another discipline relevant to the candidate’s research topic.

This requirement may be fulfilled at any time before completion of the degree.

Program Timelines

A supervisor must be declared within the first 5 months of study and the supervisory committee must be declared within the first 12 months of study. The supervisor will recommend, for the student’s approval, at least two other colleagues – to a maximum of four – as members of the supervisory committee. We recommend that the supervisory committee be wholly established by the end of January of the year following the beginning of the program. Students and supervisors should meet regularly and a report on the student’s progress must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies at least once a year.

The PhD degree program will normally be four years in length. Students are expected to participate in professionalization workshops offered during the academic year. All PhD students must complete six half-courses (three units each) within the first year of the program. One of them, FRENCH 705 Introduction to Literary and Critical Theory, is required. The listing of all courses can be found in the following section of the SGS Calendar: Faculty of Humanities – French – French Courses . The minimum passing grade is a B-.

Before December 1st of the first year of the program, all graduate students, including part time students, must also complete courses SGS 101 (Academic Research Integrity and Ethics) and SGS 201 (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act – AODA). A graduate student may not obtain a graduate degree at McMaster without having passed these courses.

Candidates are expected to complete comprehensive field examinations. PhD. candidates in consultation with their supervisory committee will choose two areas of concentration: the first will be literary and theoretical in nature and the second interdisciplinary. Candidates will submit an extensive bibliography for each area of concentration and will be assessed by way of a written examination. Candidates will be given one week to complete a 10- to 15-page paper for each area. Full-time students will write these examinations within the first twenty months of their program, that is, before the end of April of their second year of residency, assuming the student began residency in September of the first year. These exams are intended as opening stages of the doctoral dissertation. For each examination, candidates must prove their proficiency in the French language and their competence in their selected areas of specialization. They must display in-depth knowledge, not only of the primary texts, but also of the existing scholarship in their areas of concentration. Candidates must obtain a passing grade. In the event of a failing grade, candidates will have one opportunity to rewrite their exams; this second and final attempt should occur within three months of the date of their first examination. In place of a comprehensive examination paper, students will have the choice to write an original article that will be submitted to a recognized, peer-reviewed journal in their field. The article will be a minimum length of 7000 words.

Students will prepare a 25-page thesis project in consultation with their thesis supervisor. This project will then be presented and examined by the candidate’s supervisory committee. An oral defence of the project, conducted by the supervisory committee, must be successfully completed before the candidate can proceed with research and preparation of the thesis manuscript. This requirement should be completed within the first 24 months of the candidate’s program.

During the third or fourth year of the program, candidates will write a scholarly thesis of approximately 250 pages (including notes and bibliography) and will defend it at an Oral Examination. The oral examination of the thesis will normally be conducted in French.

• Completion of 6 half courses within 12 months of start date
• Completion of a research methodology workshop
• Selection of thesis supervisor (as soon as possible, and within the first five months into the program)
• Two areas of concentration, which are the subjects of the student’s comprehensive examinations, to be determined in conjunction with committee members
• Submission of the First Year Progress Report (before the 12th month)

Second Year

• Comprehensive examinations (one of them may be replaced by a publishable article) to be completed within the first 20 months of the program. If the article option is chosen, the article will be submitted to a recognized, peer-review journal in the relevant field.
• A 25-page thesis project to be completed and defended orally within the first 24 months
• Submission of Annual Progress Report (before the 24th month)
• Submission of draft chapters of the thesis
• During their third year of the program, students may elect to study or do research abroad, audit classes in other disciplines, at McMaster or at other universities, or participate in a field work/internship program in a Francophone region or country. To spend a period of time in a Francophone region or country, students must obtain the written approval of their committee and of the School of Graduate Studies.
• Submission of Annual Progress Report (before the 36th month)

Fourth Year

• Submission of the final draft of the thesis; the thesis defence; uploading of the final, electronic version of the thesis to MacSphere.

French PhD Tuition & Program Fees

Visit Graduate Studies to learn more about tuition, supplementary fees and everything you need to know about being paid as a Teaching or Research Assistant. Tuition fees are assessed on a term by term basis, depending on the number of courses a student takes or if they are paying by term.

Faculty Scholarship Adjustments Guidelines

The McMaster Graduate Scholarship (MGS) is the most common form of scholarship support available to graduate students in our program. The MGS ensures that students receive a guaranteed minimum level of scholarship support. Adjustments to the MGS will depend on other available scholarships.

The Faculty of Humanities Adjustments guidelines policy is available for review.

REVIEW THE POLICY

Apply to the PhD Program in French

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GRADUATE SUPERVISORS

Research your passion in French with supervision from our world-class faculty.

SEE OUR CURRENT AND FORMER GRAD STUDENTS

Supplemental information.

Graduate Course Offerings & Outlines 2024-2025

• FRENCH 6CC3 / Theoretical Reflections on Interdisciplinarity, Dr. Elzbieta Grodek
• FRENCH 6U03 / Topics in Literature and Culture of Quebec and Francophone Canada, Dr. Joëlle Papillon
• FRENCH 705 / Introduction to Literary and Critical Theory, Dr. John Stout
• FRENCH 711 / Voltaire et son siècle, Dr. William Hanley
• FRENCH 730 / Lectures Dirigées
• FRENCH 6MM3 / Sex, violence, and elegance: the eighteenth-century French novel, Dr. William Hanley
• FRENCH 6Y03 / Topics in 20th Century French Literature, Dr. Elzbieta Grodek
• FRENCH 701 / La poésie française contemporaine, Dr. John Stout
• FRENCH 730 / Lecture Dirigées
• FRENCH 733 / La Littérature Autochtone, Dr. Joëlle Papillon

Students who are accepted also have the option of taking, with the professor’s agreement, one directed (tailored) reading course (FRENCH 730) a year on a chosen subject.

McMaster Scholarships

External Scholarships

The Department offers a teaching assistantship to all students admitted to the Graduate Program by the official deadline.

Discover the resources available for Teaching Assistants and offered by the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching :

• McMaster Teaching Assistant Guide
• McMaster Teaching Assistant Guide for Remote Teaching
• Forward with FLEXibility: A Teaching and Learning Resource on Accessibility
• MacPherson Supported Teaching Tools

The MacPherson Institute is located in the McMaster Mills Library (L504) and is a resourceful and welcoming place to meet teaching and learning specialists at McMaster.

TAs’ Community of Practice

Teaching Assistants’ Community of Practice in the Department of French:

French TAs meet a couple of times each term to share best practices and discuss their teaching experiences. 

Collective Agreement 

CUPE 3906 – T.A.s (Unit 1)

A collective agreement providing terms and conditions of employment as a TA at McMaster.

Research assistantships are occasionally available conditional on faculty research funding.

With a French graduate degree, you could work as a teacher, journalist, translator, interpreter, proofreader, international aid and development worker, diplomatic service officer, education consultant, government administrator, public policy analyst, lawyer. 

You will gain marketable skills such as:

• Analytical and critical thinking
• Conceptual, systemic, interconnected thinking 
• Listening and communication
• Discussion and negotiation
• Writing and literature review skills
• Problem-solving
• Teamwork ability
• Planning and organizing activities
• Intercultural dialogue
• Understanding of diverse worldviews and practices
• Open-mindedness
• Life-long learning skills 

Academic job postings are available on University Affairs and Fabula , among other sources.

• Thesis Defence
• Graduate Calendar
• School of Graduate Studies Graduate Resources
• Graduate Association
• Program Handbook

PAST PHD THESES

See some of the research projects completed by our PhD students in recent years.

Department Life

The French department at McMaster boasts a vibrant collegial environment for students and faculty members alike to study, explore and celebrate the Francophone World.

upcoming events

Francophonie & Diversité

Discover how McMaster acknowledges the entire “Francophone world” and embraces “Diversité”.

Internationalisation

Explore the internationalisation initiatives in our Department.

Gems at Mac

See the wide variety of unique resources offered by McMaster University.

Find a Humanities Expert

Research-focused and student-centered. Humanities researchers promote interdisciplinary approaches to local and global leadership. Learn more about our researchers by searching by name or keyword.

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PHD in French Language, Civilization and Culture (soon)

Online in french.

Overview - Year-by-Year Breakdown - Course Description

Les objectifs d'apprentissage de ce doctorat sont de fournir des compétences de recherche de haute qualité dans tous les secteurs et industries et de nouvelles émergentes

The structure of a typical course will require students to read materials supplied by the university, study related materials, and perform personal research on selected topics. Confirmation of learning may be determined via papers, projects, quizzes or exams.

Year-by-Year Breakdown

Course Descriptions

PHD501  The French language: history, evolution, transformations - Which model is being used? The aim of this course is to enable students to understand, from a historical, sociological, socio-linguistic and political perspective, how and under what conditions French came to be the dominant language of the nation-state. The periods, contexts, language-specific transformations and socio-political issues surrounding the assertion of French as a hegemonic language will be examined in turn. On the basis of selected texts and an approach to the origins, situations of cultural contact and transformations specific to the language, understood through language practices and literary and cultural productions, the student will have to internalise this history and take it into account, as a founding process of what will characterise the French model, which is defined at the end of the revolution and will assert itself with the Third Republic.

PHD502 French literature of the Middle Ages As a complement to the previous module and as an illustration of this evolution, the student will have to revisit this important moment in the transition from the oral to the written word, to grasp how French tends to replace Latin, and how vernacular languages participate in this transition. Literary and cultural productions from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance will be highlighted and analysed: fabliaux, poems, chansons de gestes, courtly literature and historical chronicles.

PHD503 Research methodology Research will be taught using the methods and principles that prevail in any methodology for constructing a research object. Based on the general theme of the doctorate, the student must be able to formulate relevant research questions, specify his or her research approach, construct a problematic, formulate hypotheses, delimit the corpus of analysis, define the field of investigation, the tools and techniques for objectification and the principles of interpretation. The first step here will be to take stock of the issue and the state of knowledge on the subject; to produce a bibliography that is justified and explained by means of reading sheets and the production of initial databases and information on the subject being dealt with. He/she will also have to define the notions, categories and concepts used, and justify the dimensions in time and space of the chosen subject.

PHD504 French Literature from the 16th to the 17th century The course will focus on this important period, which is characterised by the affirmation of the French language as a literary language. In a context of major socio-cultural transformations, the main genres of literature, such as the novel, literature of ideas, poetry and theatre, emerged and were consolidated. We will use selected texts to define the scansions and forms of these genres and analyse their content. Authors as important as François Rabelais and Michel de Montaigne, for the novel or the literature of ideas, or Pierre Ronsard and Joachim du Bellay for poetry, are central and will be the subject of in-depth analyses. The theatre was more prominent in the 17th century, with major playwrights such as Corneille, Molière and Racine, whose most emblematic productions will be analysed comparatively through the innovations in style and language, and the qualitative leaps they made in the French language.

PHD505 Secularism, a French specificity One of the main pillars of the French socio-cultural model is the principle of secularism. The aim of this course is to introduce the student to this concept in its historical, sociological and political dimensions. Through the founding texts, the issues it raises and the controversies and debates it provokes, the aim will be to analyse the key moments and to see how this concept has evolved in its understanding and reality, particularly in recent years.

PHD506 Dissertation Proposal This second stage in the construction of the research project will involve making progress in setting up the problem, formalising the main questions that the doctoral student will have to target in his research, formulating the hypotheses and specifying the tools and techniques that the researcher will have to use. A first draft of the work should be submitted for evaluation and validation of the subject.

PHD507 French literature from the 18th to the 19th century This course will focus primarily on the changes brought about by the "Enlightenment" in the fields of philosophy, literature and theatre. Against a backdrop of a break with monarchical power and the demand for democratisation that was emerging at the time, the lessons will initially focus on the work of the great philosophers, Montesquieu, Rousseau and Diderot, both in their philosophical productions aimed at overcoming oppression and in their literary and theatrical productions aimed at disseminating the ideas of reason and progress. Secondly, in the context of the unfolding of a century of crises, with its back-and-forth between revolutions and restorations, in which the commitment of authors became a key factor, the emphasis will be on the determinants of the different currents (Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism) in literature, poetry and theatre that were to characterise the century.

PHD508 Literary Criticism 1 This first course will lay the foundations for literary criticism. On the basis of selected texts, the aim will be to define what is meant by literary criticism; then to study how literary criticism has developed historically, in its different ways of analysing literary productions. In each case, these methods will be based on the literary productions of the historical moment under study.

PHD570 Journal Writing  - Presentation and methodology During this semester, the doctoral student must produce a document of around forty pages which must definitively establish: the state of knowledge on the question addressed, the problematic, the methodological approach, the delimitation of the field, the data and analytical tools explained and justified and the initial feedback from the survey or exploratory interviews.

PHD510 French literature from the 20th to the 21st century The twentieth century also marked another change of direction in literary and theatrical production. New trends and genres emerged in a period that saw two world wars. The legacies of the 19th century were challenged by surrealism, existentialism and the theory of the absurd, as well as the new novel. The teaching will focus on these new forms and the conditions that give them meaning and justification. Through the texts and works chosen, the aim will be to see how the twentieth century is freeing itself from the conventions established in the previous century and what new questions are being asked of these new productions. In a new context marked by globalisation, in continuity with the twentieth century in terms of the effects of the period of decolonisation, which saw the emergence of a significant body of 'francophone' literature, the teaching will focus on what it is about the proliferation of current productions (diversity of themes, genres, styles, commitment/disengagement) that makes them specific to the moment. The bibliography will include a selection of the major works of the moment, which will be the subject of in-depth study.

PHD509 Literary Criticism 2 This module examines the different perspectives of the main schools of literary criticism: from those in which interpretation is the equal of the work, or forms part of the work, to those that are more external: whether formal, sociological, sociolinguistic, psychoanalytical or, more broadly, interpretative, or even journalistic. Examples of the reception of major works will be taken into account.

PHD580 Dissertation Writing The progress of the research will be assessed on the basis of feedback from the field and analysis of the data collected. This semester will focus in particular on Data analysis and processing methods, by learning how to code questionnaires and using interview processing and analysis software. Training in the construction and interpretation of cross-tabulations will also be provided.

PHD511 French Language and Regional and Minority Languages The course will look back at the historical relationship between the French language and regional languages discussed in S1, in order to analyse the current situation, mainly as a result of the diversification of the French sociological make-up. French public policies on the teaching of so-called minority languages will be taken into account in the light of the French Jacobin model. Through the policies of the ELCO (Teaching of Languages and Cultures of Origin) and its reforms, the current ones, intended for regional languages, such as those defining the relationship of the French State to the European Charter of Languages, it it will focus on the methods of testing the French assimilationist model and its forms of adaptation

PHD512 French culture: constitution and evolution; popular cultures, foreign cultures and dominant culture From anthropological and sociological approaches to the notions of culture and civilization, it will be a question of emphasizing what makes the specificity of French culture; to show its constitution and evolution and its current characteristics. The course proposes to analyze from major texts, what proceeds from a continuity and what proceeds from qualitative passages of processes of taking into account new cultural contributions, new forms of acculturation (culture as identity not being immutable and given once and for all (identity, like culture, proceeding from a permanent invention). As the continuum thus tends to disappear behind proliferation and mixing, it will be a question of seeing what is the place of the cultures specific to the social groups that make up France and how these have melted or resisted the French melting pot.

PHD513 French theater and cinema, production and role in the dissemination of French culture and values From a historical and sociological perspective, it will first be a question of seeing what makes the specificity of French theater and cinema, what historically and culturally, from their birth to today, founds their own characteristics; and secondly to analyze the public policies that have accompanied their developments to measure their places today in the dissemination and reception of French "culture".

PHD514 French Cultural Institutions around the World The course proposes to make an inventory of the institutions of diffusion (cultural centers, Alliance française, Organization of the Francophonie, AUF, research centers abroad, universities, high schools and French schools abroad, French companies ) of French culture in the world; What is its own story? What is the mode of institutionalization and what is the role they play in the present in the representation of France and in the dissemination of French values? How do they participate in a French soft-power? The course will be based on specific examples, particularly on the evolution of the organization of the Francophonie and the issues surrounding it.

PHD591 Thesis and Scientific Paper - Defense The last semester will give the doctoral student the opportunity to deliver a first version of the thesis. This will be presented in a seminar, debated, reviewed and then corrected and submitted for a public defense. The applicant must then, between the time of submission and that of the defence, propose an article, extracted from the thesis, to be published in an indexed journal. Public concerned: Agents and executives of the cultural services of the administration and the company. Local and regional authorities. cultural managers. Educators, cultural mediators, associations. Media. Museums. International and regional cooperation organizations (UNESCO, Francophonie, AUF; European cultural programs, etc.), NGOs with cultural, educational, humanitarian and socio-economic goals. Experts in cultural projects. Cultural industries: paper and digital editions, audio and video, documentaries, cinema, theatre.

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PhD studies in France

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FSU | Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

College of Arts and Sciences

French Graduate Studies

The French Division offers MA and PhD degree programs spanning many aspects of French and Francophone studies including literature, culture, and contemporary society. The faculty is committed to providing graduate students with a firm foundation in scholarship, an awareness of new and current trends in the field and a thorough preparation in classroom teaching.

Our degree programs also offer many opportunities to explore other intellectual disciplines. Part of the Department of Modern Languages, the French Division works closely with its fellow divisions, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish-Portuguese. In addition, the French Division cooperates actively with other departments and interdisciplinary programs across the university, including Humanities, Women's Studies, Asian Studies, Afro-Caribbean Studies, to name but a few.

Graduate school is also a unique opportunity to enjoy the intellectual and cultural life available on campus. FSU's Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies hosts distinguished Visiting Professors and organizes high-profile events (international conferences, public lectures, etc.) featuring eminent speakers from France and the wider French-speaking world, making our program one of the most exciting in the U.S. In addition, students at FSU have the privilege of attending special events at some of the nation's best Music, Theater and Motion Picture Schools. The Napoleonic and Holocaust Institutes (run by the History Department), the English Department's Creative Writing Program and the Center for Advancement of Human Rights are among the many organizations sponsoring public lectures and other events that enliven intellectual life on campus. Please take a moment to look through our graduate student brochure to find additional information on teaching assistant stipends, as well as faculty information and upcoming conferences.

REQUIREMENTS (for general University requirements and for information on how to submit an online application, see Graduate-Studies ): BA in French or equivalent for admission to the MA program; MA in French or equivalent for admission to the PhD program; complete and acceptable ("good standing") academic transcripts; GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4-point scale; GRE scores; departmental approval, consisting of the collective appraisal of the program faculty. The application is then submitted to the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies for appropriate action. Before beginning graduate work in French, a student normally has an undergraduate major in French or the equivalent with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0. In special circumstances, a student who has not had such preparation may, with special approval from the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, remedy any deficiencies concurrently with work on the advanced degree. Consultation with the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies will determine the appropriate procedure.

FINANCIAL AID

Graduate students in French are eligible for a range of scholarships and other awards, many of them supported by the Ada Belle Winthrop-King Memorial Fund. These include fellowships, teaching assistantships, scholarships for residency in France and other Francophone regions, and travel and research funds. Click here for more details including application deadlines.

MA DEGREES AND REQUIREMENTS

MA in French Literature

Requirements for the MA in French Literature include course work, comprehensive examinations, and a 20-30 page research paper. A minimum of 32 semester hours in graduate courses (including Minor, if any) must be earned and at least 21 of these must be taken for a letter grade.

Required courses include a distribution of coursework across the centuries. Francophone literature can be substituted for any century course. In choosing their courses, students should be advised that many currently advertised positions require knowledge of critical theory and Francophone literature. Courses are not offered as exam preparation; rather, course work provides the basis for the student to further synthesize and expand their knowledge during exam preparation.

MA in French with a Concentration in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies

Requirements for the MA French with a Concentration in French and Francophone Studies include course work, comprehensive examinations, and a 20-30 page research paper. A minimum of 32 semester hours in graduate courses (including Minor, if any) must be earned and at least 21 of these must be taken for a letter grade. Required courses include 21 credit hours (7 courses) in French. At least 12 credit hours (4 courses) must be chosen from among those offered in 20th Century or Francophone Studies, with a further 9 credit hours (3 courses) chosen from among other courses in French.

MA Comprehensive Examination in Global French

Both the French Literature and the French with a Concentration in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies track conclude with an MA Comprehensive Examination in Global French, which takes place in the third and/or second to last week of the fall or spring semester and is based on courses taken by the candidate and on the exam text list. The student will take three written exams which will cover three main approaches: time, space, and an explication de texte (close reading), as well as one oral exam expanding on the written exams. The detailed format for the MA Comprehensive Examination for both tracks is outlined in the Graduate Studies Handbook.

MA Research Paper

In both the French Literature and the French with a Concentration in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies track, the student writes a 20-30 page research paper, which can be an expanded version of a paper done in a course taken to fulfill the MA course requirement. Besides being an exercise in research techniques, the paper is seen as the best expression of the student's written work in French. The MA research paper is written under the supervision of a directing professor and a committee consisting of two more members. The committee may request a defense if so needed.

The Doctor of Philosophy in French is a research degree designed to foster mastery of the language together with advanced knowledge and analytical and critical skills in selected areas of French and Francophone studies. The student is expected to become familiar with past and current achievements in the field and demonstrate the ability for original scholarly research.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 3 academic years of graduate study (at least 60 semester hours) beyond the BA degree (or equivalent) is normally required in the doctoral program. Credits acquired at the MA level count towards this. On progressing beyond the Masters level, candidates for a PhD in French will be expected to take 10 three-credit courses and thereby fulfill requirements in three categories, consisting of 4, 4, and 2 courses respectively as follows: a Major/Minor category that will consist of four courses, a Distribution category (see below) that will also consist of four courses, and two courses in an unrelated field that will serve as an Elective category. Although students will be required to adhere to the 4-4-2 pattern in fulfilling the requirements, there is considerable flexibility in the exact choice of courses. Some courses may help to fulfill requirements in more than one category (e.g. both the "Major/Minor" and "Distribution" categories), thus enabling students to take additional courses in areas of particular interest to them while remaining within the 10-course total overall. Course selection will be made by the student in consultation with the Graduate Adviser. For availability of courses and for information, please check the "Courses" link.

Major/Minor Requirements : in fulfilling these requirements, students will typically take two to three courses in the Major and one to two courses in the Minor.

Distribution Requirements : students will be required to take four courses across the fields represented by the French faculty. Specifically, students will be required to take two pre-1800 courses, and two post-1800 courses, to be determined in consultation with the Graduate Adviser. Courses taken to satisfy the Distribution Requirement can also be counted toward the Major or Minor.

Unrelated Field (Electives) : based on the overlapping 4-4-2 distribution system, two of the student's courses will be in unrelated fields, hence electives. This could involve work in such areas as theory, autobiography, gender studies, colonialism/post-colonialism, etc., and not necessarily standard century-based fields. In choosing electives students should keep in mind the need for intellectual coherence.

No more than two courses can be taken outside of the department, and all courses in the first semester must be taken within the department.

We encourage students to develop a secondary area of specialization, which can be easily done while satisfying the requirements stated above. The Graduate Adviser will work with every entering graduate student in order to work out a program consonant with each one's interests, background and needs.

Language Requirement

The language requirement for the doctoral degree consists of reading knowledge in one language other than French and English which is germane to the research in the student's proposed specialty area. The language requirement must be satisfied before taking the Preliminary Examination. In addition, a minimum of 3 months residency in a French-speaking country is strongly recommended prior to completion of the degree.

Doctoral Preliminary Examination

In at least the final semester of the minimum course work and residence, the student takes the written Doctoral Preliminary Exam, as prepared by the Doctoral Supervisory Committee (consisting of at least four faculty members, including a University Representative from outside the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics). The Doctoral Preliminary Examination will have proportionate coverage of both Major and Minor fields and is designed to ascertain the candidate's scholarly competence, the breadth and depth of linguistic and cultural literacy and bibliographical knowledge, and the feasibility of possible dissertation projects. The formal status of "candidate for the doctoral degree" ("ABD") is granted after the student has successfully passed the Doctoral Preliminary Exam.

Prospectus of Dissertation

After completion of the Preliminary Examination, the student will submit and orally defend a Prospectus of Dissertation, which has to be approved by the Doctoral Supervisory Committee.

Dissertation

The doctoral Dissertation must be on a topic connected with the major field and must constitute a significant research contribution to knowledge. When the research and collection of data have reached the stage of exposition, it is recommended that the candidate submit carefully edited preliminary drafts, chapter by chapter, to the Supervisory Committee for suggestions, corrections, and approval.

PLEASE NOTE: in case the dissertation research concerns human subjects, the student must include a copy of the IRB (Institutional Review Board) Approval Letter and sample copies of any Informed Consent Forms in the appendices of his/her manuscript. Issues of human subjects should be thoroughly discussed with your dissertation advisor since a failure to acquire the required clearance may negatively influence the chances of your work being published in the future. For more information see "GradSpace" (or "Grad School - Faculty/Staff") on your Bb site. Students should bring issues pertaining to human subjects committee applications and extensions to the Florida State University Human Subjects Office, housed within the Office of Research, for more information, click here .

Oral Defense of Dissertation

As the final exercise, the student is expected to defend the dissertation in the presence of the entire supervisory committee. The oral defense aims to assess that the student is able to successfully communicate, both through the oral examination and in the written dissertation, the knowledge, and skills he/she has acquired within his/her discipline of study. The Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics is committed to strictly enforce the University's regulations on the oral dissertation defense, as well as on the subsequent manuscript submission process. For details, please consult the Graduate Studies Handbook.

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