Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in French Studies

Our graduate program offers a lively intellectual environment where students explore French and Francophone literatures and cultures across a broad chronological and topical range and through a wide variety of critical approaches. Our goal is to train scholars and teachers who have a solid grounding in all periods of French and Francophone literatures and who think, write, and teach creatively. Students work closely with faculty who provide individualized attention to each and every student. Students are paired with a faculty mentor who provides support and advice on an informal basis, assists students in preparing conference papers and articles for publication and gives careful guidance during the job search. Our program has a strong record of job placement for our recent graduates. Students in our program are guaranteed a competitive package of six years of academic year funding and four summers of financial support with full tuition remission and health and dental insurance coverage. Students are eligible for a dissertation fellowship during the fifth or sixth year. Additional summer funding is provided while they prepare for their preliminary exam, and a stipend for research travel is available during their dissertation fellowship year. In addition to six years of funding, students may choose to participate in a year-long teaching exchange with the Université de Bourgogne (Dijon) or the Université de Lyon 2-Louis Lumière. A notable strength of our program is the in-depth training and experience students gain in language teaching, under the expert guidance of our Department’s language acquisition specialists. Students serve as Graduate Teaching Assistants in our language program during their second, third, and fourth years, teaching one section per semester. Our TAs are fortunate to work with some of the very best undergraduates in the country and to avail themselves of the certificate programs offered by the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. The Department hosts lectures, mini-seminars and conferences, including Equinoxes, the annual graduate student conference. Shared with the Department of Hispanic Studies, Rochambeau House affords graduate students dedicated study space with computers, printers, and scanners. Funding from both the Graduate School and the Department is available for conference travel every year. The Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women offer fellowships for graduate students. The Office of Global Engagement´s Global Mobility Program funds Graduate Research Fellowships for doctorate-level students to conduct research abroad for a summer or academic semester.