The French & Francophone Studies Major allows students to gain expertise in the French language and in a number of the myriad cultures in which it is spoken. Compared to the French major, for which at least 27 of the required 30 credit hours must be from courses taught in French, this option allows students to count toward the major up to 12 credits hours of courses taught in English, 9 of which can be in other departments.
It should be especially appealing to students who: would like to attain more language proficiency than a French minor can provide but who would like to count up to three courses for this major toward a second major and/or GE requirements; want to explore French & Francophone Studies in a highly interdisciplinary manner, through courses taught in departments such as History, History of Art, International Studies, and Political Science, among others; are deeply interested in French and Francophone Studies but who may find the number of advanced-level language courses required for the French major daunting; and semi-native and native French speakers, for whom many of our language courses are too elementary and who would therefore like a wider range of course options.
Requirements
Prerequisites
French 1101, 1102, 1103, and 2101.
(Or equivalent by examination and/or transfer credit; or permission of the Chair of Undergraduate Studies in French in the cases of semi-native and native French speakers.)
Core Requirements (30 hours)
Required: French 3101, Grammar Review (3 hours)
Courses taught at the Department of French and Italian (18 hours)
- Three French courses taught in French at the 3000-level or above (9 hours)
- Native and semi-native speakers will replace some or all 3000-level courses in French with more advanced courses in French and/or courses taught in English after consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in French.
- Two French courses taught in French at the 4000-level or above (6 hours)
- One FRIT course taught in English at the 2000 level or above (3 hours)
- Students must participate in the World Language Skills and Competencies Workshop (offered once every semester).
Courses taught outside of the department (9 hours)
- Three additional courses taught in English from within the department and/or from the list of extra-departmental courses. At least one of these courses must be at the 4000- or 5000-level.
- Students may petition to substitute a course that is not on this list by bringing a course description and syllabus to their French faculty advisor.
- Students may always replace a course taught in English with a course taught in French at the 3000 level or above.
Courses
List of courses that count towards the major.
French & Francophone Studies majors who will be completing the new GE requirements (implemented in AU22) are encouraged to consider fulfilling the three required embedded literacies in the following ways:
- The Advanced Writing literacy will be embedded in all iterations of FR4401, Topics in French & Francophone Studies. The course is offered every semester on a different topic and is repeatable up to three times
- The Data Analytics literacy will be embedded in FRIT3301, Discovering Second Language Acquisition. This course, taught in English, counts toward the French & Francophone Studies major and is offered once per year. Students who cannot or choose not to take this course are encouraged to consider LING2015, The Sounds of Language, which may also count toward the major
- To fulfill the Technology literacy, French & Francophone Studies majors are encouraged to consider LING3802, Language and Computers, which may also count toward the major.
Reach out to the French & Francophone Studies major advisor Andy Spencer.
Any variation from the program requires the approval of the major advisor.
If you have already declared a French minor or French major but would like to switch to the French & Francophone Studies major, you can ask our advisor, Dr. Andy Spencer, to make this change. Students majoring in French or French & Francophone Studies will easily be able to make the change from one to the other depending on the types of courses they end up taking by the end of their undergraduate studies.