French Studies Major

Major requirements

The French studies major consists of 10 or more credits, including at least three at the 300-level, and at least two taken the senior year.

Required Courses

Ten or more courses above FR 122

Notes

With prior approval from the French Studies department chair, students may substitute certain courses taken abroad, as well as up to three courses in History of Art or History. In this case you will use your knowledge of French for some of your coursework, such as reading primary or secondary sources in French for a research paper.

Portfolio

Majors will keep all relevant coursework in an online portfolio. During their final semester, they will write a “déclaration personnelle” in which they will survey their work in the discipline, synthesize what they have learned, and communicate, in writing and then orally, the fruits of that reflection. This document, besides being a capstone to the major, also gives students a head start on applications for employment or graduate school.

Oral Proficiency

Senior majors, in the early part of their final semester, will demonstrate their mastery of spoken French through the OPIc exam, an online instrument designed to assess oral proficiency according to the guidelines of ACTFL (the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). The department will bear the cost of this evaluation.