Graduate Program

Welcome to the Graduate Program in French at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, which offers outstanding academic opportunities for advanced study leading to the M.A., Ph.D., and M.A.T. degrees.

An ambitious and balanced curriculum of literary and interdisciplinary studies encourages students to shape their own programs while acquiring a comprehensive knowledge of literatures in French. Our distinguished faculty of fifteen offer seminars that explore a broad range of perspectives in all areas of French literature, including literatures in French of Africa, the Americas, and Asia, as well as topics in critical theory, cinema, and culture.

French faculty are associated with the Zimmerli Art Museum and with programs in African Studies, Cinema Studies, Comparative Literature, Medieval Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies. The Doctoral Program in French welcomes students who hold a B.A. or M.A. and wish to pursue individual research in French, with a connection to these or other related fields.

The M.A./Ph.D. track offers fellowships and assistantships to applicants with strong academic records and scholarly promise. Fellowships offer tuition remission and stipends of $26,000; teaching assistantships bear similar awards, plus benefits. The program guarantees outstanding applicants a combination of these forms of support, for up to five years.

Teaching experience and teacher training have been a key factor in the successful placement of our graduates, who have garnered major national fellowships and have gone on to successful academic careers in the U.S. and Canada.

The M.A.T. program in French is open to schoolteachers seeking professional development and new materials to bring into the K-12 classroom. Applications are considered after the candidate has successfully completed two courses in the summer Rutgers' Language Center on the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus.

For M.A./Ph.D. Candidates:

* Learn about how to earn alternate route French teaching certification in New Jersey

* Study with faculty specializing in all periods and areas of French and Francophone literature, as well as related fields.

* Participate in the Department’s year-long exchange programs with the prestigious École Normale Supérieure in Paris (rue d’Ulm).

* Earn a graduate certificate in African Studies , Cinema Studies , Medieval Studies , or Women’s and Gender Studies while fulfilling the requirements for the doctorate in French.

* Join the staff of the Rutgers Summer Program in Paris for six weeks as an assistant to the Director, or spend a year as an “assistant(e) d’anglais” in a French secondary school.

* Develop reading comprehension in German, Italian, Spanish or Latin by attending a free summer course, or learn a lesser-taught language through the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium.

* Participate in University-wide activities and programs with an international focus through the Graduate Student Organization.

For K-12 Teachers:

* Complete a Masters of Arts for Teachers in three summers through Rutgers’ award-winning Language Center. Specially designed courses focus on language, culture, and literatures in French as well as on methods of language instruction.

* Learn about the latest developments in pedagogy by taking part in workshops organized by The Language Center.

* Prepare under the direction of a mentor a capstone teaching portfolio that reflects your grade level, district needs, and career objectives.