• French Courses
• French Clusters
• Language Placement Information
• Spend Next Year in France

• For students interested in International relations, many of the world's international organizations operate in French speaking cities. United Nations, WTO, Red Cross (Geneva), UNESCO (Paris)
• For students interested in European Studies, the European Union main offices are located in Brussels and the European Parliament is in Strasbourg, France.
• Today, the majority of French speaking people live outside of France, from Dakar to Montréal, making French one of the most common second languages after English.
• As in all programs offered by the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, French majors and minors will have the opportunity to attend small size classes, meet their instructors on a regular basis. Since we get to know so well, when the time will be right to move to graduate school or to look for a job, we'll be there to provide the necessary letters of recommendations
• For students interested in History, Philosophy, Political Sciences, Pyschology and Art History, many of the greatest thinkers are to be found in the French tradition.
• Students who study French at the University of Rochester can join the extended French and Francophone local community at cultural events, film screenings, conversation hour, and gastronomic adventures!!
• Former French majors and minors have gone on to Dental School, Medical School, Law School, Advanced Degrees in Education, Graduate School in Humanities and Sciences. Many of them attribute their competitive edge to proficiency in a second language an exposure to other cultures.
• French majors and minors are eligible for a variety of academic awards and prices.

Majors are required to take the following courses:

• Four core courses: FR 153, FR 200, FR 202, FR 204
• The elective core: Six other courses above the 205 level in French. In order to achieve a historical and cultural balance to the major, students must complete at least one course in literature prior to the nineteenth century, and one course in francophone literature. This can include the following courses or other courses approved by the undergraduate advisor in French: FR 206, FR 220, FR 225, FR 240; and at least one of the following: FR 271, FR 272, FR 273, FR 278, FR 284. With the approval of the undergraduate advisor, up to two electives may be fulfilled by advanced-level courses taken in another department, in comparative literature, or by French 153 taken at the UR. All courses you intend to count toward the major must be approved by the undergraduate advisor.
• MLC 1: Introduction to Language, Literature, and Culture. A primary examination of the ideas of culture, language and literature which are at the foundation of the MLC program. This requirement may be fulfilled by any section of CLT 101, or by another CLT course chosen in consultation with the student's undergraduate advisor. This component should be taken by the fall of the junior year and may be taken concurrently with 200-level courses in the major.
• MLC 2: Major Seminar: A department-wide seminar conducted around a central topic such as "the representation of gender," "postmodernism" etc. (Because the material in the Major Seminar applies to advanced work in the major, students are encouraged to enroll in the Major Seminar (CLT 389) in their junior year if at all possible.)
• French Course Descriptions

Majors are expected to consult with the French undergraduate advisor before registering for courses.

Majors are urged to consider studying in a French-speaking country for a year, a semester, or in a UR-sponsored summer study program. The University is affiliated with the Institute of European Studies program at Paris and Nantes, and the Educational Programs Abroad internship in the French National Assembly, and the Paris Film Program. Work done in an approved study abroad program may be given concentration credit up to a maximum of four courses.

Majors intending to teach French at the secondary level or to do graduate work in French are advised to acquire a reasonable facility in another foreign language.

The minor in French requires five courses beyond FR 114. These will normally include FR 153 (Intermediate French), FR 200 (Advanced French), FR 202 (Introduction to French Literature), FR 204 (Contemporary France), FR 206 (French Cultural Traditions), and FR 157 and FR 207 (Summer Program in Rennes). With permission of the undergraduate advisor, another 200-level course may be substituted for one of the above. All courses you intend to count toward the minor must be approved by the undergraduate advisor.

Awarded annually to one or more sopho-mores who show particular excellence and promise in the study of the French language, and French and Francophone literature and culture.

Each year, the French program of the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures sends a graduating senior to teach at the Université de Rennes 2 (Haute Bretagne). Students teach English for the full academic year and are paid a salary that allows them to live comfortably and profit from the many activities in and around Rennes. Furthermore, they may enroll, free of charge, in academic programs and earn the Maîtrise degree.

Awarded annually to the graduating senior who has excelled in the study of French. The Arvin Prize carries with it a handsome cash award, and in some cases it may be divided between or among deserving students.

• Advanced French Language and Cultural Studies (H1FR007)
• Comparative Cultural Studies (H1CLT004)
• Comparative Film Traditions (H1CLT003)
• French Cinema (H1FR003)
• Intermediate French Language and Culture (H1FR006)
• Introduction to Comparative Literature (H1CLT001)
• Introduction to European Studies (H1MLC001)
• Introduction to French Language and Culture (H1FR005)
• Studies in Francophone Cultures (H1FR004)
• Textual Analysis of Literature in French (H1FR002)

For more information about French clusters click here.

• FR 101 Elementary French I
• FR 102 Elementary French II
• FR 111 Elementary French in Paris
• FR 112 Intensive French in Paris
• FR 114 Conversational French (2 credits)
• FR 115 Introduction to Reading French
• FR 153 Intermediate French
• FR 155 French Conversation and Composition
• FR 157 French in France (May - June )
• FR 158 Intermediate Francophone Studies/Summer
• FR 160 The New Europe
• FR 160W The New Europe
• FR 190 France Through the Lens
• FR 200 Advanced French
• FR 202 Introduction to Literature in French
• FR 204 Contemporary French Culture
• FR 205 Francophone Cultures
• FR 206 French Cultural Traditions
• FR 207 French in France (Summer)
• FR 211 Aspects of French Grammar
• FR 212 A Course in French Translation
• FR 220 18th Century Novel
• FR 221 Historical and Imaginary Paris
• FR 226 Reason and Scandal
• FR 230 19th Century Novel
• FR 231 Realism & Ideology in the Novel
• FR 234 Paris: Capital of the 19th Century
• FR 238 Romantic Orientalism
• FR 240 Le Roman francais
• FR 243 Mutilated Bodies, Mutilated Discourse
• FR 245 Revolution and Romanticism
• FR 247 Black Paris
• FR 248 Poets and Painters
• FR 254 Film History
• FR 255 Sartre and Heidegger
• FR 261 20th Century Novel
• FR 262 The Banquet Years
• FR 264 Contemporary French Thought
• FR 265 The Cult of the Body
• FR 268 Rhetorics of Everyday Life
• FR 271 Introduction to Francophone Lit
• FR 272 Madness and Post Colonial Literature
• FR 273 The Francophone Novel
• FR 274 Caribbean Novel & Theory
• FR 275 Freud and Lacan
• FR 276 Contemporary Women's Writing and French Feminisim
• FR 277 Post-Structuralism to Post-Modernism
• FR 278 African Novel
• FR 279 Immigration in Literature and Film
• FR 280 French Film - The New Wave
• FR 281 History of French Cinema
• FR 282 Films of Jean-Luc Godard
• FR 283 Contemporary French Film
• FR 286 Growing up in French
• FR 288 French in Film - Africa, Caribbean, Quebec
• FR 289 Philosophy of Art

The College Board Subject Test Advanced Placement Scores or International Baccalaureate rankings assist departmental advisors in finding the right course level for you. Information on how you learned the language or languages you know will also help us advise you on the most appropriate courses for you in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. The first step is to take the online placement exam in French. You will receive a score that will be used along with the survey information you provide and with any AP or IB scores you have submitted that will help determine your placement in a specific language course. Please note that any semester placement you may receive with your online numerical test scores are not University of Rochester placement rubrics.

Students will receive a “Course planning, placement, and recommendations” sheet with their language placement information from Academic Advising during Orientation and via email.

THOMAS DIPIERO
(Ph.D., Cornell University). Professor of French 18th Century French novel. Literary and cultural theory, most specifically in the domains of identity politics and psychoanalysis.

CILAS KEMEDJIO
(Ph.D., The Ohio State University)FDI Curriculum Director, Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies. Fields of research include Francophone African and Caribbean literatures, French theory, and cultural studies. "L'esclave est d'abord celui qui ne sait pas. L'esclave de l'esclavage est celui qui ne veut pas savoir." (Édouard Glissant).

ROBERT DORAN
(Ph.D., Stanford University). Assistant Professor of French. Areas of research and teaching interest include nineteenth-century French and comparative literature, literary theory, music and literature, aesthetics, intellectual history, visual culture, film, and the relations between Islam and the West.

JULIE PAPAIOANNOU
(Ph.D., University of Rochester) Visiting Assistant Professor in French.

ANDREE DOUCHIN
(Ph.D., University of Rochester), Senior Lecturer in French.

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