French and Francophone Studies and Italian Studies Doctoral Degree Requirements

Faculty | Master's | Doctoral | Courses

Admission to this program has been suspended, effective September 1997. The Ph.D. is primarily a professional degree designed to prepare the candidate for a career in teaching and scholarship at the college level, but the department believes that the Ph.D. can also be of value in a variety of other academic and professional careers, provided the holder of a doctorate has sufficient flexibility, as well as breadth of background and interests, to adapt to varying career opportunities. For this reason, students in the doctoral program are expected to consider themselves apprentice professionals from the beginning, to take an active role in defining their objectives and shaping their program of study, and to explore a range of intellectual interests. Potential candidates are also advised to think in terms of the department’s and the University’s particular strengths in areas such as French Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Contemporary Cultural Studies and Theory, and Francophonie.

In addition to the general University requirements for the Ph.D., the following special requirements must be met:

1. A minimum of 18 credit hours after the M.A.

2. History of the French language or its equivalent.

3. A seminar on contemporary critical theory (801).

4. An individual study course in which the student explores a critical or scholarly problem under the guidance of a faculty member, and writes a paper in the form of a potentially publishable article. The preparation of a critical bibliography will be included in this course.

5. Students who have not taken any work on the graduate level in the area of Civilization or Cultural Studies are required to audit the Seminar in French Civilization, and are encouraged to take it for credit.

6. Two languages are required in addition to French and English:

a. One at advanced-level proficiency (determined by a score of 700 on the Princeton ETS examination, or 3 credits of literature at junior-senior level or above with minimum grade of B).

b. The other at intermediate-level proficiency (either by score of 550 on Princeton ETS examination or a minimum grade of B at the 240 or 600 level).

c. Proficiency in Latin, when required by the student’s program, is determined through examination by the Department of Classics.

The preliminary comprehensive examination consists of written and oral examinations on two broad chronological periods/centuries, plus a third field determined by candidates in conjunction with their Guidance Committee.

Special Options

Teaching Apprenticeships: Qualified graduate students may contract with faculty teaching an advanced undergraduate course in literature or civilization and serve as apprentices. An apprenticeship entails participation in the teaching of the course and carries 3 graduate course credits. M.A. candidates may count one apprenticeship toward the 30 credits required for the degree; Ph.D. candidates may not count an apprenticeship as part of the minimum 18 course credits required after the M.A.