FRENC-BA - French (BA)
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Program Overview
The mission of the undergraduate degree in French is to expose students to various perspectives on the French language, culture, and history by providing majors and minors with training in writing and communication as well cultural, textual, and historical analysis. Through such skills, students develop into critical and global thinkers prepared for business, social service, journalism, and government careers or for graduate study in French.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
These units may not be used towards any other major or minor.
Courses applied to the major must be taken for a letter grade when possible, and a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or better must be achieved in each course.
Limit independent study courses to no more than 12 units of coursework for the major.
Relevant courses from other departments or programs and earn credit toward the major as electives with the prior consent of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Limit to 12 units of coursework completed at another university to count toward the major, and only with approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
To enroll in all French literature courses, students are highly encouraged to complete FRENLANG 124 - Advanced French: Composition, Writing, and Presentation - pass first-year French [FRENLANG 1, 2, 3 or FRENLANG 1A, 2A], or successfully test above this level through the Language Center.
At least 3 courses must be taken in the French language at the 100- or 200-level (FRENLANG 124 is the only language class that counts for this requirement) for a total of at least 12 units. Some examples of possible courses are listed below.
At least one of the required FRENCH 100- or 200-level courses must focus on a period before 1800. The courses that count for this will be agreed on with the department director.
Some examples of pre-1800 courses are listed above.
Coursework within the department. Additional FRENCH courses taught by French faculty (may be conducted in English or French) at the 100- or 200- level.
Language coursework. Up to three language courses in French at or above FRENLANG 21C for a maximum of 12 units.
Coursework in other departments relevant to the degree, with approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Bing Overseas Program. Courses taken at the Bing Overseas Studies in Paris program with prior approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Education as Self-Fashioning courses taught at least partially by a French and Italian Department faculty member. Students may count a maximum of ten units.
Structured Liberal Education. Students may count up to 10 units of SLE toward the major electives.
Digital Humanities course. Student work must reflect French interests. Prior approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Maximum of five units.
Elective courses taken within the following parameters listed here should add up to meet the 60 unit major minimum.
In their senior year, students must enroll in a three-unit Independent Study to prepare a final project that reflects their coursework in the major. In consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, students choose a project from a menu of options. Options include but are not limited to a creative project or short essay. They will present this project to members of the department before graduation.
* French and Philosophy subplan includes additional capstone requirements. See dropdown menu below for more details.
Students majoring in any DLCL department (i.e., Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German Studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures) who have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above and who maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in their major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL’s honors program.
Declaring Honors
Prospective honors students must select a senior thesis advisor from among their home department's faculty by May 1 of junior year. During the Spring Quarter, they should also meet with their department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies.
By the end of Spring Quarter, students must submit the Honors application form. This includes a unit distribution plan to accommodate the program, thesis outline or summary, preliminary reading list, unofficial transcript confirming they meet GPA requirements, and confirmed approval from both their primary advisor and second reader. Once a student submits their application, a notice will be sent to the advisor and reader listed in the application. They will confirm their acceptance of the responsibilities of the committee through an approval process workflow. The completed application is submitted to the DLCL Undergraduate Student Services Officer.
Once approved by both the department and the DLCL Undergraduate Student Services Officer, students will formally request honors through Axess.
Honors theses vary in length and approach depending on topic, historical scope, and methodology. They may build on work begun in coursework but must show enhanced comparative or theoretical depth. Quality, not length, is the primary criterion. Most honors theses range from 40 to 90 pages, excluding bibliography and notes.
Honors students are strongly encouraged to apply to Bing HonorsCollege (BHC), a two-week summer program that helps students develop their projects before senior year. Applications must be submitted through the Bing Honors College program website. Please note: the DLCL does not have a specific College, so reach out to the DLCL SSO for additional instructions for enrolling in the program.
Program Requirements
To earn honors, students must complete a minimum of 9 units (as outlined below) and submit a thesis. Honors theses are due to the primary advisor no later than 5:00 PM on May 15 of the senior year. A thesis that receives a grade of A- or higher qualifies the student for honors at graduation.
1. Autumn Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189A Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units S/NC) Taught by a DLCL appointed faculty member, this course focuses on researching and writing the honors thesis.
2. Winter Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189B Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units S/NC) Conducted under the primary thesis advisor, the focus is on writing and revising the thesis draft. Each Independent Study course requires a minimum of two meetings with your primary advisor.
3. Spring Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189C Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units, letter grade) Each Independent Study course requires a minimum of two meetings with your primary advisor. Students enroll with your primary thesis advisor and present their thesis at the annual Honors Colloquium, held between May 15 and May 30th. The grade for 189C reflects the grade for the thesis and is assigned by the primary advisor, with input from the second reader. Students finalize and submit the thesis to their thesis advisor and the Student Services Officer by May 15 at 5:00 p.m.
The honors thesis in the DLCL embodies Stanford's commitment to excellence in coursework and research. It serves both as a student’s intellectual legacy and as part of the University's scholarly record. Far more than a final paper, the honors thesis reflects original, rigorous research that contributes to broader academic conversations and showcases the intellectual vitality of the discipline.
For these reasons, DLCL honors theses will be visible to future scholars researching similar questions through full online access through the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR) and may be used as course materials for future Stanford honors preparatory courses. A printed copy may also be kept in DLCL spaces. Students who wish to limit the access or sharing formats may do so by submitting a restriction request form to the DLCL Student Services Officer.
To enroll in all French literature courses, students are highly encouraged to complete FRENLANG 124 - Advanced French: Composition, Writing, and Presentation - pass first-year French [FRENLANG 1, 2, 3 or FRENLANG 1A, 2A], or successfully test above this level through the Language Center.
At least three courses must be taken in the French language. FRENLANG 124 is the only language class that counts for this requirement; the rest must be FRENCH 100- or 200-level classes. Some examples of possible courses are in the list here.
This course should be taken as early as possible in the student's career, normally in the sophomore year.
One course from the PHIL 170 Ethical Theory series
Write an honors thesis on a topic at the intersection of literature and philosophy. Students must complete a minimum of 9 units (as outlined below) and submit a thesis. Honors theses are due to the primary advisor no later than 5:00 PM on May 15 of the senior year. A thesis that receives a grade of A- or higher qualifies the student for honors at graduation.
1. Autumn Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189A Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units S/NC) Taught by a DLCL appointed faculty member, this course focuses on researching and writing the honors thesis.
2. Winter Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189B Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units S/NC) Conducted under the primary thesis advisor, the focus is on writing and revising the thesis draft. Each Independent Study course requires a minimum of two meetings with your primary advisor.
3. Spring Quarter of the senior year (required): DLCL189C Honors Thesis Seminar (3-4 units, letter grade) Each Independent Study course requires a minimum of two meetings with your primary advisor. Students enroll with your primary thesis advisor and present their thesis at the annual Honors Colloquium, held between May 15 and May 30th. The grade for 189C reflects the grade for the thesis and is assigned by the primary advisor, with input from the second reader. Students finalize and submit the thesis to their thesis advisor and the Student Services Officer by May 15 at 5:00 p.m.
The honors thesis in the DLCL embodies Stanford's commitment to excellence in coursework and research. It serves both as a student’s intellectual legacy and as part of the University's scholarly record. Far more than a final paper, the honors thesis reflects original, rigorous research that contributes to broader academic conversations and showcases the intellectual vitality of the discipline.
For these reasons, DLCL honors theses will be visible to future scholars researching similar questions through full online access through the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR) and may be used as course materials for future Stanford honors preparatory courses. A printed copy may also be kept in DLCL spaces. Students who wish to limit the access or sharing formats may do so by submitting a restriction request form to the DLCL Student Services Officer.
Write a 5,000-word paper on a topic of their choosing, serving as the culmination of their work in the field. To write the paper, students must enroll in a 3-unit, letter-grade independent study with a faculty member (or affiliate) in the Philosophy and Literature Focal Group. The paper must involve philosophy and literature, and the faculty member must approve the topic by the add/drop deadline.
The French and Philosophy subplan requires 66 units, as described above. Students interested in this option should review the Philosophy and Literature website. Substitutions and transfer credits are generally not permitted for the PHIL 170 series class or the PHIL 180 series class and are never allowed for PHIL 80, FRENCH 181, or the capstone seminar. Up to 10 units of courses taken in the Philosophy department may be taken ‘CR/NC’ or ‘S/NC’; the remainder must be taken for a letter grade. Once a student has completed the SLE sequence (all three quarters), they may count up to 10 units towards this major. The SLE units can replace one history of philosophy course and one upper-division French course.