The French major consists of 33 credits. Students majoring in
French may choose one of three distinct options: French cultural
studies, French linguistics, or French literary studies. All French
majors are strongly urged to spend at least one term in residence in
the French House or in a French-language dormitory and/or to
participate in a program of study in a French-speaking country.
A grade-point average of 2.0 in all French courses taken at Rutgers at the 213 level or above is required of all majors.
French Cultural Studies
This option is designed to provide students with a critical knowledge
of the culture, civilization, and history of France and Francophone
areas. It consists of 33 credits, including 01:420:213, 214, 215 or
217, and 216 or 218, plus 21 credits on the 300 and 400 levels, of
which 12 must be on the 400 level, 6 must be in literature, and only 3
may be taken in English. Students entering the program too late to take
01:420:215 or 217, and 216 or 218 must take 6 credits of 300-level
literature instead. If approved in writing by a French adviser,
students may replace 01:420:213 and/or 214 with 300-level courses. One
300- or 400-level course may be taken, as part of the major
requirement, in a discipline such as history, art history, political
science, or economics, provided it focuses on French or Francophonic
subjects, and is approved in writing by a French adviser. Nine of the
required 400-level credits must be taken with French professors in the
New Brunswick/Piscataway Faculty of Arts and Sciences. All students
must take the senior seminar 01:420:481, usually in the fall of their
senior year.
French Linguistics
This option
focuses on the study of the nature of the human language faculty and
aims at providing an understanding of what it means to "know" a
language. While the curriculum centers on the French language, it
acquaints the student with the central questions of modern linguistics
and introduces elementary tools of formal syntax, phonology, and
morphology. The French linguistics major consists of 33 credits,
including 01:420:213, 214, 215 or 217, 216 or 218, 01:615:201 (in the
Department of Linguistics), plus 18 credits on the 300 and 400 levels,
of which 12 must be on the 400 level, and only 3 may be taken in
English. Students entering the program too late to take 01:420:215 or
217, and 216 or 218 must take 6 credits of 300-level literature
instead. If approved in writing by a French adviser, students may
replace 01:420:213 and/or 214 with 300-level courses. Of the 300- or
400-level credits, at least 12 must be in French linguistics and/or the
history of the French language. Of the remaining credits, 3 may be
taken in the Department of Linguistics.
French Literary Studies
This option is designed to acquaint students with a wide spectrum of
French literature and to provide them with the skills and methodology
for the critical analysis of literary texts, history, and theory. It
consists of 33 credits, including 01:420:213, 214, 215 or 217, and 216
or 218, plus 21 credits on the 300 and 400 levels, of which 12 must be
on the 400 level, only 6 may be nonliterary, and only 3 may be taken in
English. Students entering the program too late to take 01:420: 215 or
217 and 216 or 218 must take 6 credits of 300-level literature instead.
If approved in writing by a French adviser, students may replace
01:420:213 and/or 214 with 300-level courses. One 300- or 400-level
course may be taken in another literature department, provided it is
approved in writing by a French adviser. Nine of the required 400-level
credits must be taken with French professors in the New
Brunswick/Piscataway Faculty of Arts and Sciences. All students must
take the senior seminar 01:420:480, usually in the fall of their senior
year.
