FRENC-PHD - French (PhD)
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Program Overview
Pursuing a PhD in French literature and culture allows students to explore the many facets of French and Francophone cultures from a literary, historical, philosophical, artistic, and more generally interdisciplinary perspective, drawing it into an active dialogue with contemporary global culture. While receiving a strong foundation in the French and Francophone literary traditions, students are encouraged to contextualize and problematize these texts with coursework in philosophy, political science, anthropology, film and media studies, art history, history of science, and medical humanities. The program is committed to forming PhD graduates capable of teaching French and Francophone literature and culture at all levels but also articulate public intellectuals, able to connect their academic pursuits to real-world problems.
Admissions Information
Information on how to apply for graduate study at Stanford is available on the university’s Graduate Admissions website. Application information specific to French and Italian can be found at https://dlcl.stanford.edu/departments/french-and-italian.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
All courses counted toward the 135-unit requirement for the Ph.D. must be at the graduate level. Students must take at least 60 units under the FRENCH designation. Students must take classes from at least four different full-time professors of French literature and culture. From each of these professors, students must take at least one class for at least 5 units. All coursework must be selected in consultation with the Department Director.
Ph.D. students in the department must take required courses for a letter grade if available, and they are expected to earn a grade of B+ or better in each course taken. Any grade of B or below is considered to be less than satisfactory. Grades of B or below are reviewed by faculty, and the following actions may be taken:
The grade stands, and the student’s academic performance is monitored to ensure that satisfactory progress is being made
The grade stands, and the student is required to revise and resubmit the work associated with the course
The student may be required to retake the course
The principal conditions for continued registration of a graduate student are the timely and satisfactory completion of the university, department, and program requirements for the degree and fulfillment of minimum progress requirements. Failure to meet these requirements results in corrective measures, including a written warning, academic probation, and/or the possible dismissal from the program.
Apart from the required courses above, students are granted considerable freedom in structuring a course of study appropriate to their individual needs. It is expected that first-year students will complete most of their coursework within the Department of French and Italian to ensure adequate preparation for the Qualifying Examination. Students are encouraged to take a variety of courses in order to be exposed to different periods and issues. Students are not permitted to take Independent Study during their first year. Beyond the first year, however, the program of study is tailored to the student’s specific interests.
The first Qualifying Examination, which takes place in the week prior to autumn quarter of the second year, tests the student's knowledge of language and literature.
The exam is based on a standard reading list covering major works from all periods of literature in the language(s) of study, from the Middle Ages to present day. The list may be expanded to reflect a student's particular interests, but not abridged. The reading list is available in the French graduate handbook.
Students already holding an advanced degree in the relevant area may request to be excused from the Qualifying Exam. However, the student must present a formal request for a waiver to the Department Director by the end of autumn quarter of the first year. Such a request must document the course work completed elsewhere and include all relevant reading lists. A waiver may only be granted when taking the Qualifying Exam would involve substantial repetition of already completed work.
Students may not take any department or university exam if they have a grade of Incomplete in any of their courses.
The Field Examination takes place in the week prior to the autumn quarter of the third year of study. Students permitted to waive the Qualifying Exam take the field exam in the week prior to the autumn quarter of the second year.
Students may not take any department or university exam if they have a grade of Incomplete in any of their courses.
Teaching is core to the academic and professional training of Ph.D. students in our program. As such, all students must complete three quarters of language teaching in their second year in the program. An additional two quarters of teaching in language and/or literature are required to further pedagogical and professional skills. Teaching assignments will be determined in consultation with the Department Director and based on departmental and Language Center needs. Typically, students teach more than the required number of courses.
A student who does not complete the five-quarter teaching requirement fails to meet academic requirements and is thus not making satisfactory academic progress.
Admission to candidacy is an important decision by the department based on the department faculty’s overall assessment of a student’s ability to complete the Ph.D. program. Students are expected to follow department qualifying procedures and apply for candidacy by the end of the second year in residence. In reviewing a student for admission to candidacy, the faculty considers a student’s academic progress, including but not limited to:
Advanced language proficiency
Performance in courses and completion of required coursework
Performance on departmental examinations and milestones
Successful completion of teaching assistantships
Completion of at least three units of work with each of four Stanford faculty members
Students applying to candidacy must provide for their annual review a writing sample in French (or English for French native speakers) corresponding to a paper completed for a course taken at Stanford. In addition to successfully completing departmental requirements for years one and two a student is only admitted to candidacy if the faculty makes the judgment that the student has the potential to complete the degree program requirements successfully. Candidacy is determined by faculty vote. Failure to be admitted to candidacy results in the student’s dismissal from the Ph.D. program.
This examination takes the form of a dissertation proposal defense. It is to be taken no later than spring quarter of the student's third year. Students must have completed all required coursework and language requirements before the quarter in which they take the University Oral Examination. One quarter prior to the University Oral Examination, students must schedule the exam date and time as well as work with their primary advisor to obtain an outside chair for the examination.
Students may not take any department or University exam while course work is incomplete.
The standard format in our field is a monograph comprising five chapters, including the introduction and dissertation. Depending on the topic and approach, other structures may be considered and should be discussed with the advisor as the project develops. In consultation with their advisor, students may elect to submit as a dissertation a collection of 3-4 published, or publishable, articles, together with an introduction.
Attaining native or near-native fluency in French is a requirement to qualify for the PhD degree. Upon entering the program, candidates must contact the Language Center and arrange to take the OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) to determine their fluency in French. An advanced level or above must have been reached by the time candidates take their qualifying exam in autumn quarter of the second year of study. If a student fails to score in the advanced bracket of the OPI test upon entering, they are tested again at the beginning of the second year. The candidates are responsible for designing a course of study to improve their proficiency in French. Candidates who do not meet the minimum language requirement must discuss their plans to meet this requirement with the Director of Graduate Studies.
In addition, candidates are required to achieve a high level of proficiency in one additional foreign language, with the language in question to be determined by the student and advisor as a function of the student’s area of specialization. Such proficiency may be demonstrated by completing a graduate seminar in the language in question or passing an exam establishing a third-year or above level of competence in writing, reading, and speaking. In the case of ancient Greek and Latin, a high level of proficiency means a level superior to a second-year collegiate level of proficiency in reading and writing. The second foreign language requirement must be completed by the end of the third year.