Courses of Study

The Department of French and Italian offers a major in French and, pending final approval, a minor in Italian. Both programs promote the acquisition of superior language skills, while broadening and deepening students' understanding and appreciation of the cultures and literatures of Italy, France and the Francophone world. Emphasis is placed on developing the critical and analytical skills that enhance the appreciation of literature and on broadening and deepening students' understanding of values foreign to their own.

Below are the requirements for completion of these programs. Note that the Italian minor is subject to final approval from the Academic Affairs Committee, and that the requirements for the French major are new as of December 1, 2001. Students who have already declared a major in French may either continue to satisfy the requirements under which they enrolled or subscribe to the new ones.

Requirements for the Major in French Studies

The major requires ten courses, beginning at the 200 level. Within the Department of French and Italian, students will normally be required to take French 231, two other offerings at the 200 level ( 232, 233, 238, 252) and 493. Majors must take at least one course given in French each semester until graduation. For students returning from foreign study, these courses must be numbered 300 or higher. Potential majors, and especially students beginning their French studies at the Fr 125-126 level, should consult with the department early on to determine the appropriate sequence.

No more than one course in English may be counted toward the major; it must be approved in advance. It may be taken in departments such as Art, Government, or History when a course's principal focus is France or francophone countries. Students are required to spend at least one semester studying in a French speaking country, and are strongly encouraged to spend a full academic year there. No more than the equivalent of four semester courses of transfer credit may be counted toward the major for a year of study away from Colby, and no more than two for a semester away. See the study abroad page for more information.

An exemption or waiver from a required course must be confirmed in writing. Course waivers do not reduce the number of courses required for the major; nor do they carry with them credit hours to be counted toward the requirements for either the major or graduation.

The point scale for retention of the major is based on all French courses numbered above 127. No major requirements may be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. See the course catalogue program description for more details about program requirements.

Honors in French

Students majoring in French Studies may apply to write an honors thesis, which counts as one of the ten courses required for the major. Formal application must be received no later than September 15 of the student's Senior year, preferably in the Spring of the Junior year. The guidelines established by the Department are as follows:

Eligibility - French majors with a 3.5 average or higher in the major at the end of the junior year may apply to do a senior honors thesis. The grades in all French courses taken in the major, either on campus or abroad (on a Colby or a non-Colby program), will be included in determining the average. The senior honors thesis will be undertaken in addition to all required courses for the major; it does not replace any part of the major.

Description - The thesis is to be a substantial study (50-70 pages) of a carefully defined literary subject, an original thesis supported by critical sources. It will be written in French and will conform to The MLA Style Manual.

Proposal - By September 15th, the student will submit a 1-2 page proposal to the Department Chair. Written under the supervision of the faculty member who has agreed to serve as director of the thesis, the proposal will offer an overview of the works to be studied and the approach to be taken.

Individual Thesis Committee - If the proposal is accepted by the Department, the student and the thesis director will form a Thesis Committee with two additional faculty members (readers) from the Department. Readers will meet twice with the thesis director: at the end of the fall semester, to discuss the student's progress; and at the end of the spring semester, to assign a grade to the thesis. The student communicates only with the thesis director, who will share with her or him the readers' comments and suggestions.

Calendar - Ideally, the student will begin reading during the summer months before courses begin in the fall semester. During the fall semester, under the supervision of the thesis director, the student will thoroughly research the topic, and will submit a detailed outline of the thesis before Christmas. The January and spring terms will be devoted to the writing of the thesis. Its final draft will be due on April 1. The Individual Thesis Committee may ask the student to make revisions before a final grade is assigned.

Grade - The thesis must receive a final grade of A- or higher to qualify for Honors. The grade will be computed by averaging the grades of the director and the readers.

Credits - The student will register in French 483/484 (Senior Thesis) for two credits in the fall semester, one credit in the January term, and two credits in the spring semester. If the student is making satisfactory progress, non-graded credits (CR) will be posted for the fall and January terms. Once the thesis is completed and assigned a grade at the end of the spring semester, this grade will then replace the CR posted for the fall and January terms. If a student's thesis does not receive the required minimum grade of A-, the grade assigned will replace the CR posted for the fall and January terms, but the Registrar will change the registration to 493/494 (Independent Study) for all three terms. If for whatever reason a student does not bring the honors thesis to satisfactory completion after having received non-graded credit(s) in either or both the fall and January terms, the grade of CR will remain in the student's transcript for those terms (If the members of the Individual Thesis Committee consider that a student is not making satisfactory progress towards the completion of the thesis, they reserve the right, at any time, to ask the student to withdraw from the honors thesis program).

Defense - Upon completion of the thesis, there will be an oral defense in French, which will be open to all members of the Department and invited guests. The student will submit a clean, bound copy of the thesis to the Chair of the Department.

Students who successfully complete the honors thesis, including the oral defense, will graduate with "Honors in French."

Requirements for the Minor in Italian

The minor requires six courses: a minimum of four in the Italian program beginning with IT 127, and up to two, in English, in other departments, either at Colby or abroad, on topics dealing centrally with Ancient Rome, Italian art, literature, music or history. Students are strongly encouraged to spend one semester in Italy, in combination with their major. Up to two courses taken in Italy, approved in advance by the Director of the Italian program, may be counted toward the minor.