Graduate Programs in French
Spring 2008 Graduate Course Listing
Contact: Dr. Andrea Frisch
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of French and Italian
University of Maryland
3215 Jimenez Hall
College Park, MD 20742-4821
e-mail: afrisch@umd.edu
Request an application to the Graduate School
The University of Maryland is a very large and active campus located in College Park, about eight miles from downtown Washington, D.C., and some 23 miles from Baltimore. It is in the heart of one of the nation's richest and most varied areas in terms of accessibility to art, music, drama, historical landmarks, embassies and international cinemas. Graduate students in our French program are drawn from all over the United States and from many foreign countries.
DEGREE PROGRAMS
M.A. Programs. Within the M.A. in French Language and Culture, the student may choose between two options: the M.A. with Qualifying Paper or the M.A. with Thesis. Broadly speaking, the M.A. programs can serve as preliminaries to the Ph.D. or they can be pursued as independent degrees useful for such purposes as job certificates, professional continuing education or for other career enhancement goals. Both M.A. programs are designed to provide the foundations of their respective disciplines at the graduate level. Both offer a range of choices in course work and both require the completion of a research project.
Ph.D Program. The Ph.D. in Modern French Studies encompasses the Renaissance to the present. The composition of the Graduate Faculty makes it possible for students to specialize in a wide variety of areas in French language, literature, and culture. The department is part of a larger School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures that encourages and facilitates interdisciplinary scholarship, particularly in Film Studies and in Cultural Studies.
INTELLECTUAL LIFE
Since 2002, graduate students in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures have organized an annual interdisciplinary conference with the participation of professors and graduate students from universities across the country. Upcoming in March 2008: “Silence, Erasure, Ruins”
Recent lectures and conferences sponsored or co-sponsored by the French program are available here
FACILITIES AND SPECIAL RESOURCES
With a total student enrollment of over 35,000, the University of Maryland is supported in its academic endeavors by the University Libraries, a system of eight libraries and more than three million volumes. The University Libraries comprise the largest library system in the state. Other area research facilities include two of the world’s outstanding libraries: the Library of Congress and the Folger Library. The University of Maryland's Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies, the Women's Studies Program, and the David C. Driskell Center For The Study of The Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and The African Diaspora, among other campus units, offer seminars, lectures, and symposia on a wide variety of topics relevant to graduate students in French.
GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS
Graduate Fellowships are available on a competitive basis. Fellows are nominated by the department and fellowships are awarded by the Graduate School.
GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
A number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships are awarded each year. These carry ten-month stipends, plus remission of all fees (10 credits) other than those for registration and health facilities. For more information, click hereASSISTANTSHIP IN FRANCE
Each year one of our native English-speaking graduate students is selected to spend the year teaching in the Département d'anglais at the Université de Nice.TRAVEL GRANTS
Travel grants are available for graduate students in the advanced stages of their degree program who are presenting a paper at a national conference.PLACEMENT AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Students recently awarded the UMD Ph.D. degree in French Studies have been successful in finding positions in teaching and administration at a wide range of colleges and universities, including American University, Georgetown College, McDaniel College, Michigan State University, Ohio University, Penn State University, University of Delaware, University of Maryland at Baltimore, University of the Pacific, Washington State University, Western Washington University, and Whittier College. Others have found positions in secondary education, as well as outside academia with organizations such as the World Bank and the National Security Agency, both headquartered in nearby Washington, D.C.