The major in French is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to communicate effectively in French both orally and in writing. The French program further seeks to familiarize students with the most influential literary, philosophical, critical, and cinematographic works in French, properly understood within their cultural and historical context; to introduce them to the major social and political developments that have shaped the Francophone world, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean; and to provide them with an understanding of the structure of the French language, attitudes towards its use, and the variation it displays across time, geographical space, and social groups.

Students may also explore Louisiana Creole and Louisiana French in linguistics classes and fieldwork. The junior year and semester abroad programs are integral to the majors in French and are also encouraged for non-majors.

Placement

To simplify the registration process for French language classes, students do not need to take a placement test and can simply place themselves based on the guidelines provided on the Language Learning Center website.

A total of 10 or 11 courses, 32-35 credit hours, are required. 

Course List

Course ID	Title	Credits
Five required courses:
FREN 2030	Intermediate French 1	4
FREN 2040	Advanced French 1	3
FREN 3210	Topics in French and Francophone Literature	3
FREN 4010	French Short Story (Writing Intensive)	4
FREN 5950	Special Topics in French (capstone course requiring a final paper/ Spring only) 2	3
Select two of the following:		6
FREN 3060	Business French
FREN 3140	French Phonetics
FREN 3170	French Pop Culture
FREN 3180	French for World Affairs
FREN 3250	Topics in French Society & Institutions
FREN 3350	The Secrets of French Grammar
FREN 3710	Revitalizing French in Louisiana
FREN 4400	Sustainable Development in the Francophone World
Electives		9-12
Four electives at the 4000 or 6000 level (12 credit hours) are required for single majors
Three electives at the 4000 or 6000 level (9 credit hours) are required for double majors
Total Credit Hours		32-35

¹

Students who completed FREN 3150 prior to Spring 2024 are permitted to substitute FREN 3150 for FREN 2040. 

²

The Senior Seminar is offered in the spring semester only. It is required of all French majors, even those who are double majors. In other words, the Capstone experience is a requirement of the major.

Electives

• Two of the advanced electives must be literature courses.
• For one of the advanced electives, students may substitute a 3000-level course taught in English by the Department (e.g. FREN 3110 French Cinema (3 c.h.) ) OR an advanced course in a related field (e.g. a course in French Art, French History, French Politics).
• A senior thesis written for Honors in French can count as one of these electives.
• 5000-level courses taken abroad that have been approved as counting toward the FREN major are generally included among the Group III electives.

Nota Bene

• FREN 4560 Internship (1-3 c.h.) and FREN 4570 Internship (1-6 c.h.) (Internship Studies) do not count toward the major. The typical Internship involves 60 hours of work, carries 1 credit hour and is graded on an S/U basis.
• In order to complete the major, the student must have taken at least five French courses taught on this campus.