Graduate Program in French

Faculty

Susan Blood, Associate Professor (PhD - Johns Hopkins University) Baudelaire; 19th Century French literature, literary and aesthetic theory

Brett C. Bowles, Assistant Professor (PhD - Pennsylvania State University) 20th century cultural history; cinema, society, and politics; cultural history of the popular front and Vichy; literature and ideology

Eloise A. Brière, Associate Professor (PhD - University of Toronto) literatures, cultures and language issues of the Francophone areas of the world, particularly West Africa, the Caribbean (Haiti, Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and North America (Quebec, New England, Louisiana): women's writing; cinema of Francophone West Africa, Caribbean and Quebec

Jean-François Brière, Associate Professor (PhD - York University) cultural studies; social and cultural history of France; history of French expansion; political and intellectual developments connected to the evolution of the French colonial empire in the late 18th and early 19th centuries

Cynthia A. Fox, Associate Professor (PhD - Indiana University, Bloomington) French linguistics; sociolinguistics; applied French linguistics

Herman P. Salomon, Professor (PhD - New York University) Portuguese Inquisition; Portuguese, Dutch and French literatures and culture

Joan Savitt, Adjunct Associate Professor (PhD - SUNY Buffalo) linguistics; French; study abroad; secondary education

David Wills, Professor (doctorat - Université de Paris-Sorbonne Nouvelle) French and comparative literature; contemporary French philosophy, particularly post-structuralism, deconstruction and the work of Jacques Derrida; film theory; theories of technology

Mary Beth Winn, Professor (PhD - Yale University) French literature; Medieval and Renaissance studies; women in Medieval and Renaissance French literature; literature through music; the history of the book

Faculty Emeriti

Arnolds Grava, Professor (PhD - University of Nebraska)
Robert W. Greene, Professor (PhD - University of Pennsylvania)
Martin Kanes, Professor (PhD - University of Pennsylvania)
Frederick W. Moore, Professor (PhD - Yale University)
Carl J. Odenkirchen, Professor (PhD - University of North Carolina)
Raymond J. Ortali, Professor (PhD - University of Michigan)
Jack Richtman, Associate Professor (PhD - Columbia University)
George Santoni, Professor (PhD - University of Colorado)

Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid

Application Information
Applications to the program are accepted throughout the year. However, to be considered for a graduate assistantship or fellowship, students must apply before February 1. Outstanding applicants to the PhD program whose dossiers are complete by mid-to-late January may be awarded funding through two campus-wide initiatives: the Presidential Fellowships and College Scholar's Programs. Assistantships and fellowships are awarded in the month of April for the following academic year.

The French program does not require the GRE for admission. However, since assistantships and fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis, applicants are strongly encouraged to take the GRE to enhance their application.

In addition to regular admissions materials, candidates applying for assistantships and all applicants to the Ph.D. program are asked to submit a writing sample in French of approximately 10 pages.

You may apply via the web by downloading an application from the University's Graduate Admissions page; or you may request an application by mail from:

The Office of Graduate Admissions
The University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany , NY 12222

Programs Leading to the Master of Arts Degree

The Master of Arts degree in French Studies is designed to provide essential knowledge in three sub-fields: literature and the arts, language and linguistics, and society and culture. Specific requirements are:

1. French Core Courses. 12 credits: Fre 505, 510, 512, and one course in advanced language (Fre 550; this requirement may be waived in exceptional cases).
2. Supporting Courses. 18 credits: up to 6 credits may be taken, with approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, outside the Department.
3. Satisfactory completion of a major field examination in French.
4. Foreign language requirement. Although competence in a second appropriate foreign language is not required for the master's degree, it is highly recommended for students planning further graduate study.

Students whose language proficiency in French is inadequate may be required to take one or two advanced language courses over and above the usual 30-credit program.

Combined B.A.- M.A. Program

Qualified undergraduates may apply for admission to the M.A. program and, if accepted, simultaneously work toward completion of the requirements for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Students should consult with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. See Combined Baccalaureate- Master's Degree Programs for details.

Master's Comprehensive Examination

Students not holding the master's degree must pass a Comprehensive Major Field Examination upon completion of the first phase of the program and thereby qualify for the master's degree. Students already holding the master's degree from other institutions will normally have attained this degree of competence; in contrary cases such students will be required to take those master's level courses deemed necessary by the Program.

Successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination will qualify the student to move on to the next level. Students deemed to have passed the Comprehensive Examination with a minimum level of competency will be advised to leave the program with the master's degree.

Program Leading to the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The Ph.D. in French Studies is based upon training in language and linguistics, society and culture, and literature and the arts. A core of graduate courses will address each of these areas. Students will be required to demonstrate competency in all areas before proceeding to more advanced studies in one or another of them.

Program of Study

Students will meet the following requirements:

1. The completion of at least 60 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree;
2. The satisfaction of a research tool requirement of competency in another foreign language. This requirement may be met in a variety of ways, depending upon the student's preparation and career plans;
3. The completion of a professional Internship or a Teaching Practicum. Although the Department will help students in devising and executing internships, the ultimate responsibility for this requirement will lie with the student;
4. The completion of a Qualifying Examination;
5. The proposal, execution and defense of a dissertation.

Admission

The program will admit only those graduate students who possess sufficient background to successfully pursue an interdisciplinary program relating to French Studies. Minimally this would take the form of a baccalaureate degree in French. Other possibilities, however, will be entertained: a strong minor in French with a relevant major (art history, for example); a strong liberal arts undergraduate degree followed by considerable residence in a French-speaking country; etc. It is assumed that graduates of the program will find careers either in higher education or in public and private entities engaged in international activities of some sort, and admissions will be based partially upon a perception of the student's likelihood of being able to fulfill such career plans.

Program Requirements

The first level of the program will consist of a series of core courses required of all students holding the baccalaureate degree and required as advised of all holders of master's degrees, plus a further selection of 500-level courses. Students will be expected to pass these courses with the grade of B or higher.

The three Core Courses (carrying three credits each and required of all students) introduce the three major areas of French Studies:

1. Fre 505 Approaches to French Society and Culture;
2. Fre 510 The Structure of French;
3. Fre 512 Approaches to French Literature.

Research Tool Requirement

All doctoral students will be required to demonstrate a reading competency in a language other than English or French. The level of competency required will be that necessary to follow scholarship and criticism in his or her field of specialization. The specific language chosen will be decided upon by the student, in consultation with the graduate director and/or the dissertation committee.

Qualifying Examination

Upon completion of the post-master's courses, the student will be eligible to take the PhD Qualifying Examination. The examination covers the three areas of French Studies with particular emphasis on the area of special interest and culminates in the writing of the dissertation proposal.

Internship or Practicum

Either immediately prior to or following the Qualifying Examination, each student must complete an approved Internship or Practicum appropriate to his or her career plans. Students will register for French 700. This course carries S/U grading.

Internships are designed for those students planning non-academic careers. The Program will make every attempt to create suitable opportunities for internships. However, the ultimate responsibility for finding and completing the internship will rest with the student.

Practicum’s are designed as teaching experiences beyond the traditional elementary language courses.

Students wishing to prepare an internal Practicum will arrange to work with a member of the faculty in preparation of a segment of an existing course offered by that faculty member.

Students wishing to prepare an external Practicum will arrange to work with a member of the faculty in the preparation of a course to be taught at another institution. Students will render periodic reports to the supervising faculty member, and a final summation of the experience.

The Practicum requirement may be waived for doctoral students who have had extensive experience teaching French Studies beyond the elementary level.

Admission to Candidacy

Students will be admitted to doctoral candidacy upon the following:

1. Satisfactory completion of course requirements;
2. Satisfactory completion of the research tool/foreign language requirement;
3. Completion of University residence requirements;
4. Satisfactory completion of the Qualifying Examination;
5. Satisfactory completion of the Internship or Practicum.

Dissertation

The dissertation will conform to all standards and guidelines generally applicable at the University.

Upon completion of the post-master's courses, the student will be eligible to take the PhD Qualifying Examination. The examination covers the three areas of French Studies with particular emphasis on the area of special interest and culminates in the writing of the dissertaion proposal.

Courses in French Studies

The following courses are a sample of recent special offerings in the Graduate Program:

Fre 555 Life and Letters

• Early Renaissance
• France Since 1914
• Immigrants in France , 1950-2005
• Writers & Revolution

Fre 581 Francophone Literatures  

• Childhood in African Literature  
• Neo-Quebecois Literature
 
• Postcolonial African film
 
• Postcolonial Francophone Theatre
 
• Women Writing in West Africa
 
• Francophone African Literature and Film
 
• The Novel of Quebec
 
• Quebec Novel and Cinema
 

• Paris in Art & Literature
• Cinéma: esthétique et critique
• The French and The Americans
• Medievalism

Fre 611 Special Topics in Francophone Linguistics

• Franco-American French: Data from the Field
  

For a complete listing and descriptions of French graduate courses please visit the online Graduate Bulletin. Courses being currently offered may be found at Classes and Schedules.

Dissertations recently defended

Brucher, Markus D. Regards et engagements helvétiques dans la colonisation de l'Algérie: la Compagnie genevoise de Sétif, 1853-1871 (JF Brière)

DeGroult, Nathalie M. Portraits maternels dans le cinéma du nord (G. Santoni)

De Poortere, Machteld. Les idées philiosophiques et littéraires de Mme de Genlis et de Mme de Stael . (Susan Blood)

Dissertations in progress

Byrne, Jacqueline. Deux consciences de femmes: Colette et Gabrielle Roy (S. Blood and E. Briere)

Draper, Paul K. Le visible, le lisible et le livre: image et texte dans le livre illustré en France aux 19ème et 20ème siècles (D. Wills)  

Grant, Charlene M. Rapture in Language: A Cross-Cultural Study of the Works of Taos Amrouche and Claribel Alegría (E. Brière)  

Jeannot, Marie Sheila. Etude comparative entre l'Antigone en créole de Morisseau-Leroy et celle de Sophocle: Problèmes politico-sociolinguistiques et sématiques de la traduction. (E. Briere)

Jones, Robert J. A Critical Edition of Yvain en prose. (MB Winn)

Stelling, Louis Edward. Morphosyntactic Variation and Language Shift in Two Franco-American Communities . (C. Fox)