French Program
We offer several options for French:
- Minor: 18 hours at any level
- Bachelor of Arts: 35 credit hours above French II (FLF 1123)
- Dual major in International Business and French: 35 credit hours total in French
- Master of Arts in French
Details on the B.A. in French are available in the Undergraduate Catalog:
Further details on the M.A. in French are available in the Graduate Catalog:
For more information on the French minor requirements, see https://www.cmll.msstate.edu/academics/minor/
Degree Requirements
123 total degree hours consisting of 35 FLF credit hours (French I & II count as electives toward the 123 overall hours but not the 35 French hours) in addition to College of Arts & Sciences and University requirements.
Why Study French?
Here are a few of the many reasons why you should study French.
- French is one of the most important languages for cultural diplomacy.
- French is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
- Given that it is spoken in many countries all across the globe, a solid command of French is a requirement for many positions that are linked to the humanistic initiatives of the United Nations.
- France is one of the world leaders in the high-technology business sector.
- French companies have a longstanding reputation of being trend setters in the fashion industry.
- In the hospitality industry, companies are always looking to hire people who speak French fluently.
- A French degree helps prepare students for law school, medical school, and fashion school.
Study Abroad in Tours, France
Each summer we offer a faculty-led study abroad program in Tours at the prestigious Institut de Touraine. We offer a four-week and a six-week program. While living with local French host families, students will explore the historic medieval district in Tours and soak up regional culture, including one full-day excursion and two half-day excursions to the famous châteaux of Touraine. Students will also discover the City of Lights, with a four-night stay in Paris, visiting major cultural sites such as the Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre and world-class museums.
Additional Study Abroad Opportunities
In addition to our faculty-led study abroad program in Tours, we have partnerships in place with Laval University in Quebec City and the University of Liège in Belgium where MSU students can study for a full semester or academic year without paying out-of-state tuition.
For more details, see the links below:
https://msstate.studioabroad.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=38988
https://msstate.studioabroad.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=27278
Clubs and Organizations
Our French club has organized a wide array of activities over the years including French film festivals, French language tables, poetry readings, French game night, French cultural showcases, and a French food table at the annual International Fiesta or culinary celebration at Mississippi State University.
- Pi Delta Phi (French Honor Society)
We have an active chapter of the national French honor society Pi Delta Phi which works in tandem with our French Club in order to organize cultural events. We have an annual induction ceremony during which our best students are recognized for their scholarly achievements. Pi Delta Phi members are also encouraged to apply for scholarships and awards sponsored by the French Honor Society.
Opportunities for Graduate Students in French
- We offer funding for teaching assistants in the form of 100% tuition remission benefits and a monthly stipend.
- Graduate students are mentored by a highly-qualified language coordinator.
- During their second year of study, graduate students are often given the opportunity to serve as the instructor of record for basic language courses, which puts them at the helm of their own sections of undergraduate students.
- Graduate students often serve as assistants for the summer study abroad program in Tours.
- We have a proven track record of placing our students into excellent doctoral programs at many institutions across the United States including the University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota, Louisiana State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Alabama.
- We collaborate with the association Southern Teachers Agency that has helped our M.A. students procure positions at some of the best private institutions at the secondary level in the United States.
Courses
Undergraduate Courses
FLF 1113: French I. Two hours lecture. Two hours recitation. An introduction to conversational French)
FLF 1123: French II (Prerequisite: FLF 1113 or equivalent). Two hours lecture. Two hours recitation. Conversational French. Reading of graded texts.
FLF 1800: Beginning French Study Abroad (Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor). Credit and hours to be arranged (3-6 hours). Beginning level study abroad of the French language and culture.
FLF 2133: French III (Prerequisite: FLF 1123 or equivalent). Three hours lecture. Rapid review of French grammar; oral-aural practice; reading of intermediate texts.
FLF 2143: French IV (Prerequisite: FLF 2133 or equivalent). Three hours lecture. Oral-aural practice; reading of intermediate texts. Honors section available.
FLF 2163: Intensive French Expression (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or consent of instructor). This communicative course focuses on production in the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational)
FLF 2800: Intermediate French Study Abroad (Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor) (3 to 6 hrs.). Credit and hours to be arranged. Intermediate level study abroad of the French language and culture.
FLF 2900: Special Topic in FLF. (Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years).
FLF 3114: Advanced French Composition (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture and laboratory. Required of all majors. Advanced instruction in all aspects of the written language.
FLF 3124: Advanced French Conversation (Prerequisite: FLF 2143, FLF 2125 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture and laboratory. Required of all majors. A continuation of FLF 3114. Advanced instruction in all aspects of the spoken language.
FLF 3143: French Civilization (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Illustrated survey of French cultural heritage.
FLF 3163: Intensive French Expression II (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or consent of instructor). The communicative course focuses on advanced-level tasks in the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational).
FLF 3313: Business French I (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. The French language as used in business practices and marketing; emphasis on acquisition and application of French commercial terminology in import/export correspondence.
FLF 3513: Survey of French Literature (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Required by all majors. A survey of French literature from the Middle ages to the Seventeenth Century.
FLF 3523: Survey of French Literature (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or equivalent or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Required of all majors. A survey of French literature from the 18th century to the present.
FLF 3800: Advanced French Study Abroad. (Prerequisite: Consent of instructor). Credit and hours to be arranged. An advanced-level course for French students studying abroad (3 to 6 hrs.).
FLF 4000: Directed Individual Study (Hours and credits to be arranged).
FLF 4053: 19th Century: Baudelaire (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A close study of Baudelaire's literary and critical work.
FLF 4073: 20th Century French Drama (Prerequisite: FLF 3523 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Reading of works of outstanding writers and discussion of literary currents of the century.
FLF 4103: 20th Century French Novel and Short Stories. (Prerequisite: FLF 3523 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Reading and critical evaluation of modern French novels and short stories of various literary schools.
FLF 4163: Francophone Literature (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or graduate standing). Three hours lecture. A survey of important authors and literary movements from around the French-speaking world outside of mainland France.
FLF 4173: Introduction to Francophone Cinema (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A study of landmark Francophone films, their regions and cultures.
FLF 4183: Francophone Theater (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or graduate standing). Three hours lecture. An in-depth exploration of Francophone theater from many different playwrights from many different regions of the Francophone world.
FLF 4193: 18th Century French Literature (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. An introduction to French Literature and essential literary movements from the 18th century.
FLF 4223: French Novel Before 1945 (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. A course dedicated to the major French novelists for the first half of the twentieth-century and the literary movements that they represent.
FLF 4233: Modern French Poetry (Prerequisite: FLF 2143). Three hours lecture. An introduction into modern French poetry and the literary movements that epitomize this time period.
FLF 4273: The Human Condition (Prerequisite: 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. A course emphasizing the concepts of the "Human Condition" as conceptualized by seminal French writers and thinkers.
FLF 4333: 19th Century Decadents, Dandies, and Bohemians (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A study of three subcultures of modernity in the 19th century France.
FLF 4990: Special Topic in FLF (Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years).
***A few of the innovative, transdisciplinary seminars that we teach as special topics include: French Diplomacy, The Structure and Evolution of the French Language, French Environmental Discourse, French Environmental Fiction, and Representations of Consumerism in French and Francophone Literature.
Graduate Courses
FLF 6053: 19th Century: Baudelaire (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A close study of Baudelaire's literary and critical work.
FLF 6073: 20th Century French Drama (Prerequisite: FLF 3523 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Reading of works of outstanding writers and discussion of literary currents of the century.
FLF 6083: Survey of French Lyric Poetry (Prerequisite: 3513). Three hours lecture. Reading and interpretation of masterpieces. Discussion of literary currents and personalities of the century.
FLF 6103: 20th Century French Novel and Short Stories (Prerequisite: FLF 3523 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Reading and critical evaluation of modern French novels and short stories of various literary schools.
FLF 6163: Francophone Literature (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or graduate standing). Three hours lecture. A survey of important authors and literary movements from around the French-speaking world outside of mainland France.
FLF 6173: Introduction to Francophone Cinema (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A study of landmark Francophone films, their regions and cultures.
FLF 6183: Francophone Theater (Prerequisite FLF 2143 or graduate standing). Three hours lecture. An in-depth exploration of Francophone theater from many different playwrights from many different regions of the Francophone world
FLF 6193: 18th Century French Literature (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. An introduction to French Literature and essential literary movements from the 18th century.
FLF 6213: Historical French Grammar (Prerequisites: FLF 3114 and 3124 or consent of instructor). A history of the French language from the Strasbourg Oaths to Montaigne.
FLF 6223: French Novel Before 1945 (Prerequisites: FLF 3114 and 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A course dedicated to the major French novelists for the first half of the twentieth-century and the literary movements that they represent.
FLF 6233: Modern French Poetry (Prerequisite: FLF 3114 and 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. An introduction into modern French poetry and the literary movements that epitomize this time period
FLF 6273: The Human Condition (Prerequisite:FLF 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. A course emphasizing the concepts of the "Human Condition" as conceptualized by seminal French writers and thinkers.
FLF 6323: Le Clézio Seminar (Prerequisite: FLF 2143 or the equivalent). Three hours lecture. A profound exploration of the diverse literary repertoire of one of France's greatest contemporary authors, J.M.G. Le Clézio).
FLF 6333: 19th Century Decadents, Dandies and Bohemians (Prerequisite: FLF 3124 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. A study of three subcultures of modernity in the 19th century France.
FLF 6990: Special Topic in FLF (Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years))
***A few of the innovative, transdisciplinary seminars that we teach as special topics include: French Diplomacy, The Structure and Evolution of the French Language, French Environmental Discourse, French Environmental Fiction, and Representations of Consumerism in French and Francophone Literature.
FLF 7000: Directed Individual Study (Hours and credits to be arranged).
FLF 8000: Research/Thesis (Hours and credits to be arranged)
FLF 8063: Seminar: 19th Century French Drama (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8073: Seminar: 20th Century French Drama (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8093: Seminar: 19th Century French Novel (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8103: Seminar: 20th Century French Novel (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8113: Seminar: French Classicism and Neo-Classicism (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8123: Seminar: 20th Century French Novel and Short Stories (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8163: Seminar: Francophone Literature (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8183: Seminar: Francophone Theater (prerequisite: Graduate standing)
FLF 8990: Special Topic in FLF (Prerequisite: Graduate standing). Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years).
Transdisciplinary Seminars in English:
CMLL regularly offers transdisciplinary seminars taught in English for all of our graduate students in French, German, and Spanish including Introduction to Ecolinguistics, Introduction to Biosemiotics, Cultural Studies, Advanced Foreign Language Pedagogy, Foreign Language Planning, Instruction, and Assessment, and Introduction to Literary Criticism.