Graduate Studies
The Department of French offers a Master's Program with a concentration in French Linguistics or French Literature.
The French Graduate program complements and continues the undergraduate program with its options in linguistics and literature, and its commitment to encouraging students to combine studies in the two related disciplines. Graduate faculty in both areas, in their research and in their teaching pay particular attention to the points at which linguistic and literary analysis converge and diverge.
The French Graduate program, with its breadth of topics in literature and linguistics, offers an interdisciplinary curriculum. The linguistics component consists of the study of a variety of linguistic theories and their specific application to the analysis of French. The literature option includes a comprehensive genre- and period-oriented set of courses.
Since a major goal of all students enrolled in a French program is mastery of the language, all courses are given in French.
The Department of French cannot guarantee funding for all of its graduate students, however we do offer financial assistance in the form of Entrance Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships, Travel and Research Awards, and a number of Donor Awards. Graduate students also have the possibility to teach introductory French courses based on the Department's needs and budget.
Linguistics
The linguistics component consists of the study of a variety of linguistic theories, both European and North American, and their specific application to the analysis of French.
Linguistic analysis of French, varieties of French (social, regional and stylistic variations), French creoles, French linguistic theories, French applied linguistics, theoretical approaches to the acquisition of French as a second language. A variety of practical applications of linguistic theory may be envisaged: pedagogy, translation, stylistic analysis, etc.
Literature
The literature option includes a comprehensive genre- and period-oriented set of courses.
Periods and genres: Medieval and Renaissance literature; 17th-century literature; poetry and the novel from 1850 to 1900; poetry, the novel and theatre from 1900 to the present; Québécois literature.
Critical approaches: literature and society, women writers, history of literature, cultural studies, discourse analysis, interdisciplinary approaches to literature, and teaching of literature.