Get your PhD in French and Francophone World Studies
The international reputation and strength of our program was acknowledged when it earned its new name of French and Francophone World Studies in 2008, accurately reflecting its innovative cross-disciplinary nature with related units across campus and within the area of French and Francophone Studies.
Graduate students in French and Francophone Studies benefit from the expertise of a nationally and internationally known faculty. Courses are available in the traditionally recognized historical periods of French literature, as well as in various literary genres, critical theories, and cultural studies. The Department provides a wide variety of courses in Francophone literatures and cultures from the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, North and sub-Saharan Africa, Québec, the literatures of immigration in France as well as in Film Studies and Women Studies. We have specific strengths in Interdisciplinary studies in the areas of Comparative arts, Early Modern Studies, Ecological criticism, Film Studies, Francophone and Postcolonial Studies, History, and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies.
Teaching assistantships are available for up to 2 years for MA level students and for up to 5 years for Ph.D. level students (funding is typically renewed annually, contingent on satisfactory performance and available resources).
Our graduates have been or are currently employed as tenure-track or tenured professors at Bryn Mawr College, Humboldt State University, Illinois State University, Rutgers University-Camden, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, University of Texas-Arlington, and Westmont College.
The Doctor of Philosophy program in French and Francophone world studies requires a minimum of 72 semester hours of graduate credit, including credit earned for the MA degree.
The Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded on completion of an extensive program of study, the passing of a comprehensive examination, and the writing and successful defense of a dissertation. It certifies that the recipient has acquired a sound general knowledge of French and Francophone literatures and cultures, and an in-depth knowledge of specific areas with concomitant critical and research methodologies to resolve problems of literary criticism, history, and scholarship. The doctorate should prepare a teacher-scholar capable of addressing both students and peers, and of making significant and original contributions to learning.
Students must possess fifth-semester or equivalent proficiency in a foreign language other than French. They are required to spend at least one year teaching as graduate assistants in the department.
Degree requirements
| course Title/type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Graduate Study in French course | 2 |
| Three graduate courses in a related field such as another literature, history, or philosophy | 9 |
| A 5000-level course in critical theory approved by the director of graduate studies or faculty advisor | 3 |
| Elective courses | 22 |
| Master's requirements | 30 |
| Comprehensive examination | - |
| Dissertation work and electives | - |
| Total hours | 72 |
Comprehensive examination
On completion of the plan of study, normally during the Fall semester of the third year, the doctoral candidate will take a written and oral comprehensive examination. It is not a deferred qualifying test but rather provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate the knowledge and critical skills that he or she will apply to the dissertation and to his or her career.
This examination comprises of three four-hour written examinations on three alternate days, followed by an oral examination usually after an interval of seven days.
Prospectus
After passing the comprehensive examination the candidate will, during the spring semester of the third year, present to their committee a detailed prospectus describing the planned dissertation. Students who do not submit their prospectus within this time period will not be considered in good standing. The “Special Topic” of the comprehensive exams is normally a means of preparing to write the prospectus. The student’s adviser will provide guidance for writing the prospectus which will include a working bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
Dissertation
The final requirement for the PhD is the dissertation. A dissertation is a substantive work of scholarship that involves interdisciplinary research and analysis, and represents an original contribution to French or Francophone Studies. In most cases, the dissertation takes the form of a book-length manuscript.
The dissertation, which may be in English or French, will be written under the supervision of one faculty director, or by co-directors when advisable, assisted by other members of the dissertation committee, who will report to the director(s) their comments and suggestions.
The final draft of the dissertation will be submitted to the director and other members of the dissertation committee one month before the defense date.
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