French and Francophone Studies (Major)

 

Whether your interest is global or local, the program of French and Francophone Studies at Notre Dame provides an entrée into research and scholarship on language, culture, politics, economics, migration, gender, public health, and faith, among other areas of concentration. Study French at Notre Dame, and you can do anything. We offer a major, supplementary major, or minor in French.

French is spoken regularly by close to 275 million people worldwide. And it is an official working language of the United Nations, UNESCO, the International Monetary Fund, the International Olympic Committee, the Council of Europe, and the European Commission.

French and Francophone literature, theater, and film still have the capacity to captivate, and the legacy of French philosophers, literary theorists, and social scientists continues to influence and shape most other disciplines in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters.

The French and Francophone studies program offers a major (with the possibility to pursue an honors track), supplementary major,  a French International Economics major, and a minor. We also offer the opportunity for undergraduate first majors to complete our graduate program in one year following the conferral of the B.A. through a combination B.A./M.A. degree in French.

The requirements for a major in French and Francophone Studies consist of successful completion of 10 courses that total at least 30 credits beginning at or above ROFR 20202.

  • Of these 10 courses, three courses must be at the 40xxx level, at least one course must focus on the period before 1800, and at least one course on the period after 1800.
  • At least half must be taken in residence at Notre Dame.
  • Required among these 10 courses is ROFR 30310 (An Introduction to French Literary Analysis), which must be completed by the end of junior year. ROFR 30320 (Advanced Composition) is strongly encouraged, though not required.
  • AP credit may not be applied to the major.
  • Any substitutions or exceptions to the above program requires DUS approval.
  • Faculty in the Program in French and Francophone Studies are glad to serve as directors to students seeking to write a senior thesis. The thesis can be either in the French and Francophone Studies, International Economics, or Romance Languages major and can be written in English or in French. Interested students should contact the DUS or Associate DUS in French by Oct. 15th of their senior year. Students wishing to write a senior thesis should sign up for Senior Thesis (ROFR 48000) the spring of their senior year. The senior thesis is completed in addition to the 10 courses totaling at least 30 credits for the major.

The Honors Track

The requirements for the honors track major consist of successful completion of 11 courses that total at least 33 credits beginning at or above ROFR 20202. In addition to the requirements for the major, honors track students must complete an eleventh course at the graduate level with a grade of A– or higher, in which they will write a substantive research paper, normally in French, which constitutes the honors thesis.

Highly motivated students may consider the option of taking the semester-long directed Honors Thesis (ROFR 58000) as the eleventh course, completing an honors thesis under faculty direction. Qualified students may petition for admission in the first semester of their senior year.

To be eligible for the honors track, students must be first majors with a minimum GPA of 3.7 in French and have completed at least seven courses toward the major by the end of their junior year. For full consideration, students should contact the DUS of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures or the Associate DUS in French no later than October 15th of their senior year. In order to graduate with honors, students admitted to the honors track should maintain a minimum GPA of 3.7 in French.

Combined B.A./M.A. Program in French and Francophone Studies

The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures offers its majors in French the opportunity to participate in its graduate program through a combination B.A./M.A. degree in French. This program requires students to take 30 credit hours during the normal four-year undergraduate period, followed by a total of 30 credit hours of graduate courses taken during the fourth and fifth years of residence. Six credit hours can be counted toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees. During their senior year, participants in this program take two graduate courses, take the qualifying exam given to all first-year graduate students, and apply to the Graduate School for admission during the Spring semester. B.A./M.A. students are eligible for a teaching fellowship during their fifth year that includes a tuition waiver and a teaching stipend. Well-qualified students who are interested in this program should contact the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures and/or the graduate liaison in French at the beginning of their junior year.