FRENC-BA - French (BA)

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.

Degree plan worksheet must be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS).

These listed courses are possible examples typically approved for the degree. Students should refer to course descriptions to make sure the course is being taught in French the year they take it or else it may not count toward the degree progress.

• 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. ESF courses must be 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 should add up to meet the 60 unit major minimum.

Note that not all course options will be offered every year.

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.

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 maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in their major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL’s honors program.

See the Honors webpage for more information.

Program Requirements

To earn honors, students must complete a minimum of 9 units (3 units per quarter), submit a thesis, and present at the Honors Colloquium at the end of their senior year.

• The French and Philosophy subplan requires 66 units. Students interested in this option should review the Philosophy and Literature website. 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.