French

Overview

What is French Studies?

A degree in French studies is not simply made up of French language as ‘French’ was as an A Level subject, but includes a variety of other disciplines such as history, politics, literature, film and music. The degree will include a core module of French language divided into classes in translation, oral, grammar and written French and then, dependent upon the particular degree structure, the student will be able to choose complementary modules including those listed below. This is a great degree if you have an interest not only in language but also in the culture and history of a certain country or region. 

A language degree is often heavily literature based with compulsory modules in literature which may be difficult for those who have not taken a literary A level as the analytical and evaluator skills required even at first year level can be high. 

The third year of a language degree is spent abroad. This is the year where the focus is almost entirely upon the language component of the degree whereas in year 1, 2 and 4 the language module is not superior to the other elements that make up the degree. Students have the freedom to choose from three options for the year spent abroad; Erasmus year at a university abroad, work as a British council language assistant or an independent work placement. Each of these three options offer different opportunities and so the choice made is dependent upon the particular aims and interests of the student. While many different routes can be taken for the year spent abroad it offers to all the opportunity to live and study/work independently in a foreign country acquiring valuable skills and language fluency. 

Assessment

As a consequent of the mixture of modules to choose from to make up a language degree the assessment methods do vary. Language modules are generally assessed by an end of year oral exam, translation papers and essays. 

Entry requirements and suitability

An A level in French language is required and, while not specified, an A level in another humanities subject is helpful in providing a grounding for the history and literature modules that may be taken. 

Common joint degree subjects

While French language can be taken as a single honours degree it is very common to take a language as part of a joint honours degree structure. Languages can be combined with almost anything else, commonly;

• Another language
• Politics 
• History
• English Literature
• Business Studies
• Philosophy
• Linguistics
• Economics
• Education
• Film Studies

Top 20 Universities*

 *Source: The Complete University Guide

This Guide Was Written By:

Jessica Docherty- who studies French with International Relations at Warwick University 2010-2014