Master of Arts Degree in French

The Program in French and Francophone Studies at San Diego State University offers a wide variety of opportunities to study the language and cultures of the global French community. A student who majors in French learns to speak the language, to read literature and cultural materials in their original form, and to interact with members of an important worldwide cultural community. With 122 million speakers, French is one of the five official languages of the United Nations, is an official language in 42 countries and is spoken in much of Africa, Canada, Louisiana, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific as well as Europe. The French major provides a truly global perspective and can help prepare a student for a career in public service, business, education, or the arts. The Department of European Studies, in the College of Arts and Letters, offers graduate study leading to the Master of Arts degree in French. Research areas of the graduate faculty cover all periods of French and Francophone literature and culture. In particular, the department includes specialists in fields such as Francophone literature and cultural studies, Medieval and Renaissance cultural studies, modern French poetry and theatre, eighteenth century literature, film studies, and Second Language Acquisition and Technology. An MA degree earned in the program can provide students with university-level teaching experience and access to community college level teaching positions. Students who earn an MA in French at SDSU may also continue on to a Ph.D. program or pursue a variety of careers in areas where knowledge of French language and culture are necessary.