Ph.D. in French Curriculum

Prerequisites:

Completion of M.A. degree at K.U. or a comparable institution.

Since the Ph.D. is a research degree, it requires not only a general preparation in French literature, but also the specialized knowledge and abilities stated below:

  • Candidates must be able to speak French correctly and fluently and to write grammatically and stylistically correct French and English prose.
  • They must have solid preparation in French literature, and as it applies, French film, with an understanding of genres, periods, authors, and specific works.
  • They must give evidence of the ability to make sophisticated critical statements about individual works (themes, characterization, style, structure, etc.) and about relationships among works.
  • They must give evidence of the ability to carry on extended and original research with only the normal faculty guidance.

Requirements:

The following requirements are in addition to those of the Office of Graduate Studies:

  • 24 hours of post-M.A. work (exclusive of dissertation hours). Ph.D. students who did not receive their M.A. in French at KU must complete a total of 30 post-M.A. hours, including (if not already taken at the M.A. level) :
    • FREN 704: Methods in French Language Instruction
    • FREN 720: Introduction to Graduate Studies in French
  •  6 hours of graduate-level course work outside the department (to be included in the required hours of Ph.D. course work) as an interdisciplinary minor field of concentration.
  • Proficiency in a second language, which can be a second Romance language, Latin, Greek, German, Arabic, or another language pertinent to the student’s career path and approved by the DGS. Proficiency may be demonstrated by completion of the fourth semester course (or equivalent) or by examination.
  • During the last semester of course work, Ph.D. students must enroll in 3 hours of FREN 995 Investigations and Conference, with the faculty member who will likely become the student’s dissertation director. These hours will count towards the 24 to 30 hours of postM.A. coursework.
  • A comprehensive written and oral examination in French. Please consult the Ph.D. Reading List. (See the Graduate Student Handbook for more details).
  • Completion and defense of a satisfactory dissertation