The M.A. and Ph.D. programs deal with all-important aspects of
French literature and some related fields through a variety of critical
approaches. These programs are open to candidates whose academic
records and Graduate Record Examination scores give evidence of
distinguished accomplishment and promise of successful graduate work.
Applications for September admission to the M.A. and Ph.D. programs
should be submitted by February 1 in order to receive full
consideration for financial aid.
The M.A.T. program in French
studies is designed primarily for persons already involved in teaching
French or using their knowledge of French and French culture in some
professional capacity. Candidates for the M.A.T. are admitted on the
basis of formal background and professional activity and need not
submit Graduate Record Examination scores.
An application for
the M.A.T. program is normally considered only after the student has
completed one summer of course work (a minimum of two 3-credit courses)
in the Rutgers summer World Languages Institute. Nonmatriculated
students may take these courses.
Candidates for the M.A. must
satisfactorily complete 30 credits of course work (6 of which may be
devoted to a research problem if the candidate elects to write a
thesis). In addition, they must pass an examination based on course
work and a reading list. Those who wish to continue toward the Ph.D.
are screened for that program at the time of the M.A. examination.
Candidates for the M.A.T. also take 10 courses, offered primarily in
the summer by the World Languages Institute. Any M.A.T. student wishing
to take courses during the regular academic year (whether graduate or
undergraduate) may do so with the permission of the graduate director.
Doctoral candidates are required to complete 48 credits of course work
beyond the bachelor's degree (54 credits for transliteratures
fellowship students, who are required to take an extra two courses in
another language). Credit for graduate work taken at other institutions
may be accepted in partial fulfillment of the course requirement, but
in no case will the doctoral candidate do less than one full year of
course work (24 credits) at Rutgers.
Prospective candidates
for the Ph.D. degree fulfill the residence requirement through
full-time commitment to course work and/ or research during two
consecutive terms, excluding Summer Session. Doctoral candidates must
demonstrate by examination a reading knowledge of two foreign languages
in addition to French. These languages usually include a Romance
language and either German or Latin, but substitution of a different
language on the basis of relevance to projected research is possible.
Greater proficiency in one language, proven by the successful
completion of 6 credits of graduate course work in the literature of
that language, may replace the second language requirement. The Ph.D.
qualifying examination provides a head start on doctoral research and
leads directly to the dissertation. It requires the development of a
research field and the writing of a dissertation proposal, under the
supervision of faculty advisers. The examination consists of three
parts (two oral and one written), which are taken separately. The first
two parts focus on two contiguous periods of specialization or on one
such period and criticism and theory. The third part is a final oral
exam on the student`s chosen research field. It has to be taken last
(i.e., after 48 or 54 credits of course work have been completed, the
language requirements have been met, and the first two parts have been
passed), as it is the part leading directly to the dissertation.
Reading lists upon which the examinations are based, as well as the
Guide to the French Graduate Program, are available in the
department office or on the department`s web site. The graduate program
in French participates in the Transliterature Program (q.u.).
