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 semester in residence in the French House 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, 315, 316, plus 15 credits on the 300 and 400 levels, of
which 9 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 Francophone
subjects, and is approved in writing by a French adviser. Six of the required
400-level credits must be taken with French professors in the School 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 9 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 9 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. Six of the required 400-level credits
must be taken with French professors in the School of Arts and Sciences. All
students must take the senior seminar 01:420:480, usually in the fall of their
senior year.
