Program Requirements

The department offers one MA program in French Literature, Language & Culture, comprising a minimum of 15 units of graduate credit:

• non-thesis option, designed to be completed in one calendar year
• thesis option, designed to be completed in two years

Non-Thesis Option

1. FRAN 500 (1.5 units)
2. 10.5 units of course work, up to 3.0 units of which may be taken outside the department, but no more than 1.5 units at the senior undergraduate level
3. FRAN 598 (3.0 units): Reading List compiled in consultation with advisers; critical paper and oral examination.
4. A reading knowledge of English and of another appropriate language, in addition to French and English.

The Reading List will normally consist of 30 titles covering a period (e.g., a century), a genre (e.g., drama), a movement (e.g., Surrealism), or a specific topic. Originating in one or more of each student’s courses, the list will offer the student the possibility of specialization in a chosen field and preparation for further study. Evaluation will be by oral examination. The examiners will assess the student’s ability to express himself or herself in a literate and critical way, and to synthesize an extensive amount of reading. The critical paper will be the focus of the oral examination

Thesis Option

The thesis option is normally by invitation of the departmental Graduate Committee:

1. FRAN 500 (1.5 units)
2. 7.5 units of course work, up to 3.0 units of which may be taken outside the department, but no more than 1.5 units at the senior undergraduate level.
3. FRAN 599 (6.0 units): thesis (25,000 word maximum) and an oral defense. The thesis topic selected by the candidate must have the approval of both the Supervisory Committee and the Graduate Committee. This regulation also applies to any substantial change from the approved topic which the candidate may wish to make in the course of his or her research.
4. A reading knowledge of English and of another appropriate language, in addition to French and English.