About French
The French Program offers a wide range of courses on French and Francophone literature, history, philosophy, and film. We take an interdisciplinary approach, stressing the relations among the aesthetic, the political, and the ethical. Students who take courses in the department have the chance to work with outstanding teachers and scholars in small seminars and design their own program of study.
On the undergraduate level, students can choose to either major or minor in French and Francophone literature and culture. They also have the opportunity to double major in French and International Studies by receiving double credit for two upper-division courses.
Majors, minors, and double majors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to study in France for a summer, a semester, or a year at one of the several centers run by the Education Abroad Program.
The Francophone World - A new focus in French & International Studies. Students may count two courses in French toward both a French major and an International Studies major. (Click Here for Brochure)
On the graduate level (currently suspended), we have designed our graduate program to be as flexible as possible, in order to allow students to customize their coursework and their M.A. and Ph.D examinations to fit their own intellectual interests. We have few fixed requirements for the degree, in order to allow each student's course of study to be shaped in consultation with faculty mentors selected by the student. We encourage students to take advantage of one of the interdisciplinary emphases we offer with Comparative Literature, Critical Theory, and Women's Studies.
Graduate students have the chance to do research in Paris for a year, either with the support of a fellowship, as a participant in the exchange program we have instituted with University of Paris X (Nanterre), or as a graduate tutor with the UC Education Abroad Program in Paris.