Master of Arts in French Studies

Prior Training & Preparation for the M.A.

Applicants for a Master of Arts in French should present an undergraduate major or its equivalent in French literature and culture. Their preparation should be equivalent to the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in French at the University of Washington. All applicants must prove proficiency in the speaking and writing of the French language.

Course Work Requirements

A total of 45 applicable credits (400-level and above) are required in course work, and an additional 10 credits in French 600 are given for exam preparation. Fifteen credits of the course work must be taken at the 500 level (courses limited to graduate students). Five coursework credits are given for the required pedagogy methods seminar for first-time TAs. In order to remain in good standing the student must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.6. The minimum acceptable grade for any given course is 2.7.  Click here to see the M.A. Summary Sheet (PDF file). 

Students must fulfill 4 out of the department's 7 period distributions.  In addition, they must take one class in the History of Criticism / Critical Theory rubric. 

Students are encouraged to take courses (up to 15 credits) in disciplines other than their major field of study.  These credits must be approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator at the time or registration.   Credits in such supporting or related fields are allowed only for courses numbered 400 or above. 

The M.A. program should normally be completed in 5 or 6 full-time academic quarters (with a Teaching Assistantship, full-time enrollment is 10 credits per quarter). The last quarter is usually reserved for study and exam preparation. 

NOTE:  Teaching Assistants are required to enroll in a course on the Methodology of Foreign Language Instruction.

Foreign Language Requirement

M.A. candidates must pass a foreign language reading ability examination in a language other than the major or their native language. Students will stipulate their choice at the time of first enrollment, after consultation with the Graduate Program Coordinator, and will be examined no later than the fourth quarter of graduate study. These examinations must be scheduled by the student and the language department administering the examination. Examinations may also be taken at the Educational Assessment Center (in Schmitz Hall). It is the student’s responsibility to be informed of the dates on which they are given and to register in time.

Time Schedule

Year 1

General course work required for a broad knowledge in French literature and
culture across the centuries

Required course work in critical theory/history of criticism (one class from French 576, 577, Comparative Literature 507, 508, 509, 510)

Spring Quarter: establish M.A. committee, composed of three French Studies faculty

Year 2

General course work required for a broad knowledge in French literature and culture across the centuries

Spring Quarter: 10 credits of reading hours; M.A. examinations completed by week 8.

Interdisciplinary Study in the M.A. Program

M.A. students are encouraged to take up to 15 credits (a total of 3 courses) in disciplines other than their major field of study. These classes must be at the 400 or 500 level.  In order to assure a coherent program of study, the Graduate Program Coordinator approves the selection of credits taken outside French Studies in consultation with the M.A. student.

The Masters Examination

The M.A. degree requirement avoids early specialization, and prepares students for the doctoral program by acquiring a solid grounding in French literature and culture The M.A. examinations are therefore designed both to equip students with the basic knowledge of all genres of French literature from the Middle Ages through modernity and to help them hone their skills of argumentation.

Students undertake written and oral examinations to be administered after preparing a general reading list. There are four important components of the M.A. examination that illustrate the intellectual as well as practical goals of the program.

The M.A. Reading List

To prepare for the M.A. examinations, students complete a reading list spanning the French literary and cultural tradition. This list covers the general parameters of French Studies in North American universities while placing emphasis upon the specific intellectual commitments and strengths of our faculty to the study of literature in its historical and interdisciplinary contexts. In order to assure M.A. students general familiarity with the reading list prior to their examinations, the French faculty offers graduate courses on most periods of French literature and culture on a regular basis.  Click here to view the UW Course Catalog for the French Division.  

Administration of M.A. Examination

1. The Graduate Program Coordinator, in consultation with the student and appropriate faculty members appoints a committee of three French faculty members. The supervisory committee should be formed no later than the first week of the quarter prior to the examination.

2. The M.A. examinations (written and oral) are to be taken in the sixth quarter of study.

3. Please note that all incomplete course work (any "I" or "X" on a student's transcript) must be completed before advancing to the M.A. examination.

Written Examination

Students are expected to write informed essays on three broadly defined periods of French literature and culture (e.g. Medieval; Pre-Modern; Modern; or Francophone).   Two of these examinations will be written in English; the third will be written in French.  Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to synthesize and draw parallels between periods, genre and systems of representation. 

If the student fails the written examinations, no re-examination will be offered and the student will not be advanced to the doctoral program. 

Students complete the written examination at home. A typical examination schedule is as follows.

Please remember to make hard copies of each section of your examination to distribute to all the members of your committee and to the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

Oral Examination

A student successful in the written portion of the examination will pass to an oral examination of two hours duration not more than two weeks later. The student will be asked to make a fifteen-minute presentation of the intellectual agenda s/he wants to pursue at the Ph.D. level in French Studies and of his/her career aspirations. Questions on the student’s presentation and on the material on the reading list will conclude the examination process.

Excellence in Writing Award

Faculty members will be asked to nominate students for the "Excellence in Writing Award” to be held in the Spring Quarter of each academic year. Each faculty member will submit the best essay from among those received from M.A. and Ph.D. students in upper division and graduate seminars. Graduate students will also be encouraged to nominate their own essays. The faculty as a whole will vote on the best paper based upon its excellence in argumentation, research and potential for publication.

Graduate Student Evaluation Form & Summary Sheet

The faculty will evaluate student final essays and course work by completing and reviewing the Graduate Student Evaluation Form for each M.A. and doctoral student in the graduate program. The Graduate Student Evaluation Form is to be completed by each faculty member for each student in any upper division course or seminar. The Summary Sheet forms for the M.A. student and the Ph.D. student are formulated to track the student’s progress to the pertinent examination. In the case of the Ph.D. student, the Summary Sheet form works to track the development of individualized curriculum geared to form the necessary background and writing for the dissertation project. All course work forms will be held in the student’s file until the annual review of each graduate student to be conducted by the Graduate Program Coordinator and a review committee.