Requirements for the Major

Download: French Studies Major Checklist

The major in French Studies promotes the acquisition of superior language skills along with an opportunity to explore via a set of multidisciplinary approaches the richness of French and Francophone cultures. Emphasis is placed on developing skills in critical analysis that enhance appreciation of print and visual texts while also broadening and deepening students’ understanding of values foreign to their own.

A minimum of 10 courses is required to complete the major for students starting at the 200-level. Students who begin their study of French at Colby in the required 125-126-127 sequence need to take 9 additional courses, including 128 or 131. Students who begin in either 128 or 131 need to take 9 additional courses. Students who enter the major from Colby in Dijon may count FR240D toward the major.

The required courses completed on campus or abroad must include one course focused on early modern France or pre-1800 (such as FR232 and designated 300/400 level courses), one course focused on the Francophone world (such as FR236, FR237, FR238, and designated 300/400 level courses), and as of the class of 2020, one course focused on the acquisition of critical tools and methods or application of theory (such as FR233, FR 252, and designated 300/400 level courses).

One course conducted in English in a department such as art, government, or history, in which the principal focus is France or Francophone countries, may be counted toward the major; it must be approved in advance by the advisor in the major or department chair.

An independent study cannot take the place of the requirement for majors to take a course in the department each semester.

I. Coursework at the 100 level (first and/or sophomore year): FR125-126-127 OR 128-131

II. Coursework at the 200 level (first and/or sophomore year): FR231 and two other 200-level electives

III. Coursework at the 300 level (sophomore and/or junior year): Courses taken abroad must be approved by the major advisor. This can normally be done via e-mail after the program begins, when students know which courses are offered. Approved courses on non-Colby programs count toward the major, but grades do not count toward the student’s GPA. Up to 3 courses from a semester program abroad—and a maximum of 5 from a year-long program or from two semesters abroad—can be counted toward the major.

IV. Coursework at the 300 and 400 level (senior year): Majors must take at least one course conducted in French each semester; after completing a semester of study abroad, these courses must be numbered 300 and higher. The senior capstone (FR493) may be fulfilled by the seminar section of a 300-level course either in the fall or the spring, with supplementary work authorized by the instructor.