French and Francophone Studies

Overview

The French and Francophone Studies program of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has an excellent record in preparing students for admission to some of the top PhD programs in the country, sending students just since 2009 to doctoral programs at Yale, Princeton, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Northwestern, Penn State, Tulane, University of Connecticut and UMass Amherst. And because of the flexible, interdisciplinary nature of our programs, we have prepared students for doctoral programs not only in French, but also in history, applied linguistics, education, comparative literature and political science, as well as for careers in translation and interpretation. Likewise, our MAT program has prepared students for positions at some of the best public and private secondary schools throughout the region, as well as for doctoral programs in education.

Master of Arts

The Master of Arts (MA) in French and Francophone Studies is a two-year, 30-credit program that serves students who have a strong preparation in French at the undergraduate level (a major or possibly a minor) and who seek to undertake more advanced work in a humanistic discipline and gain a more thorough knowledge of the broad French intellectual tradition, including French language and linguistics, French and Francophone literatures and cultures, and literary and cultural theory. The program is designed to offer a rigorous educational experience not only to students intending to pursue a PhD program, but also to those interested in careers in fields in which expertise in French is directly relevant or a valuable complement: government and public service, communications, research, public health, the hospitality industry, fashion, business and international relations, translation and interpretation, as well as high-school and community-college teaching. The program includes both thesis and non-thesis options.