FRENC-MA - French (MA)
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Program Overview
The French MA allows students to pursue coursework at all levels in French language, literature, cultural and intellectual history, theory, film, and Francophone studies. It understands the domain of French Studies as encompassing the complex cultural, political, social, scientific, commercial, and intellectual phenomena associated with French-speaking parts of the world, from France and Belgium to Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Visiting faculty and instructors regularly contribute to the life of the French section. The section maintains contacts with the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, and the Ecole Polytechnique.
A curator for Romance languages oversees the extensive French collection at Green Library. The Hoover Institute on War, Revolution, and Peace also includes materials on 20th-century France and French social and political movements.
Admissions Information
Applicants for the Master of Arts in French
Applicants should consult Graduate Admissions for information related to the application process. Candidates for this degree are not eligible for financial aid or teaching assistantships.
Applicants for the Coterminal Master of Arts in French
Each year the department admits a small number of undergraduates to the coterminal MA degree in French. Applications for autumn quarter must be submitted to the department Director by January 31 of the senior year. Students must submit the Coterminal Online Application and include the following:
a written statement of purpose
two letters of recommendation from faculty at Stanford
a transcript.
Students accepted into the coterminal program must have been undergraduate majors in French and must meet all BA and MA requirements.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Graduate Degrees lists university requirements for the MA degree.
The terminal MA in French provides a flexible combination of language, literature, cultural history, and methodology coursework designed to enhance the preparation of secondary school, junior college, or college teachers.
Candidates must complete a minimum of 45 units of graduate work with all courses being taken for a letter grade and a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.3, and pass the master’s examination at the end of their studies. To fulfill the requirements in a single year, enrollment must be for an average of 15 units per quarter.
Candidates must take one cultural history course (to be taken either inside or outside the Department of French and Italian). All remaining units are to be taken in advanced French literature courses (200 level or above), three of which must be concerned with the pre-revolutionary period of French cultural history.
The terminal MA examination is administered between the third and fifth week of spring quarter by a three-member committee selected each year by the Director. It consists of two parts:
Written Exam
The two-hour written exam tests the candidate’s general knowledge of French literature and is based on the French PhD reading list, which may be obtained from the Director, Student Services Manager, or by referencing the French and Italian Graduate Student Handbook.
The exam requires that the candidate answer two questions (out of three) in a manner that demonstrates their ability to synthesize and draw parallels between periods, genres, and systems of representation based on the standard reading list. One question must be answered in French. The use of a dictionary is allowed.
If the student’s performance on the exam is deemed a ‘pass’ by two out of three of the members of the examining committee, the student is then permitted to go on to the oral examination (taken later the same week). Candidates who fail the MA written exam are given a second chance at the end of spring quarter.Oral Exam
The 90-minute oral exam is based on the student’s answers on the written exam. It examines the candidate’s knowledge and understanding of French literary history based on the standard reading list.
After the oral exam, the examination committee meets in a closed session and discusses the student’s performance on the written and oral portions of the examination. If it is judged adequate, the MA degree is granted. In no event may the master’s written and oral exams be taken more than twice.
Coterminal Master's Degrees describes university requirements for the coterminal MA. For university coterminal master’s degree application forms, see the Registrar’s Office Publications page.
University Coterminal Requirements
Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master's Degrees describes university requirements for the coterminal MA. Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the master’s degree.
After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.
In this master’s program, courses taken during or after the first quarter of the sophomore year are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career; the timing of the first graduate quarter is not a factor. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.
Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.
The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
The terminal MA examination is administered between the third and fifth week of spring quarter by a three-member committee selected each year by the Director. It consists of two parts:
Written Exam
The two-hour written exam tests the candidate’s general knowledge of French literature and is based on the French PhD reading list, which may be obtained from the Director, Student Services Manager, or by referencing the French and Italian Graduate Student Handbook.
The exam requires that the candidate answer two questions (out of three) in a manner that demonstrates their ability to synthesize and draw parallels between periods, genres, and systems of representation based on the standard reading list. One question must be answered in French. The use of a dictionary is allowed.
If the student’s performance on the exam is deemed a ‘pass’ by two out of three of the members of the examining committee, the student is then permitted to go on to the oral examination (taken later the same week). Candidates who fail the MA written exam are given a second chance at the end of spring quarter.Oral Exam
The 90-minute oral exam is based on the student’s answers on the written exam. It examines the candidate’s knowledge and understanding of French literary history based on the standard reading list.
After the oral exam, the examination committee meets in a closed session and discusses the student’s performance on the written and oral portions of the examination. If it is judged adequate, the MA degree is granted. In no event may the master’s written and oral exams be taken more than twice.