French M.A. Program

See Also: Ph.D. Program

The Master of Arts in French has a core literary emphasis. However, students who have interests in other fields can incorporate them into the M.A., by doing course work in one the following areas: Cinema, Linguistics or Applied Linguistics, and Theater.

In addition to completing all course requirements and final examinations, students are expected to carry out research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in French. It is possible to choose either the thesis option or the non-thesis option. Students planning to continue to a Ph.D. program will gain practice writing a thesis with the first option. However, students pursuing a terminal M.A. degree normally select the non-thesis option.

Thesis Option

1. Completion of a minimum of 24 semester hours in coursework plus at least 6 hours in course 500 Thesis. French 501 is required. A maximum of 6 hours may be taken at the 400 level, the rest at the 500 level, and under certain conditions the student may take 600-level seminars. If the student chooses to have a minor (such as Italian or Portuguese), at least 24 hours (including 6 hours of thesis) must be taken in the major, 6 in the minor.
   
   
2. A thesis, with a minimum of 6 semester hours in course 500.
   
   
3. A written examination covering the coursework and selected items from a master reading list.
   
   
4. A final oral examination covering the thesis.

Non-Thesis Option

1. Completion of at least 30 semester hours, with a maximum of 9 at the 400 level, the rest at the 500 level, including French 501. Under certain conditions, the student may take 600-level seminars. If the student chooses to have a minor (such as Italian or Portuguese), at least 24 hours must be taken in the major, 6 in the minor.
   
   
2. A research paper from a course developed to approximately twenty-five (25) pages in length, which has been approved by your committee.
   
   
3. A written examination covering the coursework and selected items from a master reading list.
   
   
4. A final oral examination to discuss the papers.