Department of World Languages & Cultures
Department History & Mission
Why World Languages & Cultures?
DIVERSITY & EQUITY STATEMENT
Languages Offered
Language and Culture Certificate
SEGO Graduate Student Conference
BA Language Requirement
Grad Language Requirement
Purchase Language Credits
Graduate Teaching Assistants
Nominate Professor
OUTSTANDING SENIORS
Why World Languages & Cultures
Graduate Language Requirements
Faculty Meeting Room
WLC Lounge Room
Seminar Meeting Room
DiBona Lab 1910
Faculty Advising Corner
Current Page: French
French Literary and Cultural Studies Program
Bienvenue aux études françaises et francophones à l'Université de l'Utah ! Our program is designed to introduce students to the language, literature, arts, and cultures of the French-speaking world. Whether you major or minor in French Studies, your curriculum begins with intensive grammar and progresses through the cultural history of l'Hexagone (France) and many of the more than 50 other nations today that use the French language.
French (MA)
French with Licensure (MA)
View Graduate Program
French (BA)
French Teaching (BA)
French Teaching
French Majors
Students majoring in French will gain a deeper understanding of French and Francophone cultures through the study of language, literature, and society. A degree (BA) in French Teaching is also available. Students should declare their major at least two semesters before their expected graduation date.
Bridge Dual Language Immersion students may see how the Bridge program interacts with the University of Utah's French major on our Bridge program website here.
Sample of French Courses, Spring 2021
Language Competence
Demonstrate "Advanced" proficiency in French speaking, listening, writing, and reading (as defined by the ACTFL guidelines).
Courses that contribute to this outcome: French 3040, 3050, 3060, 3600, 3910, 3950, 4510, 4514, 4550, 4560, 4570, 4600, 4610, 4620, 4630, 4640, 4650, 4900, Study Abroad in Francophone countries
Analyze the literature, language, and cultures of the French-speaking world drawing upon an ability to evaluate and synthesize relevant primary, critical, and theoretical sources.
Courses that contribute to this outcome: French 3050, 3060, 3800, 3900, 3910, 3950, 4510, 4550, 4560, 4570, 4600, 4610, 4620, 4630, 4640, 4900, CLCS 2010, 2020, 3900 Study Abroad in Francophone countries
Demonstrate the ability to articulate and defend in speech and writing clear and orderly thought on literary, cultural, and linguistic topics.
Courses that contribute to this outcome: French 3050, 3060, 3800, 3900, 3910, 3950, 4510, 4550, 4560, 4570, 4600, 4610, 4620, 4630, 4640, 4650, 4900, CLCS 2010, 2020, 3900 Study Abroad in Francophone countries
Connect academic experience to personal and professional goals.
Courses that contribute to this outcome: 3040, 3050, 3060, 3600, 3800, 3900, 3910, 3950, 4510, 4514, 4550, 4560, 4570, 4600, 4610, 4620, 4630, 4640, 4650, 4900, Study Abroad in Francophone countries
Download Major Requirements
FRENCH MAJOR FRENCH TEACHING MAJOR WLC Practicum Options
French Major (BA)
36 Total Credits
Completed at least 1 of the following
WLC2010 Introduction to the Study of Literature and Culture (3)
WLC2020 Language in Society (3)
Completed the following
FRNCH3040 Intensive French Grammar (3)
Earned at least 15 credits from the following
FRNCH3116 Adventure and Discovery: Journeys through the French and Francophone Worlds (3)
FRNCH3117 Francophonie: Past, Present, and Future (Francophonie: Passé, Présent, et Avenir)
FRNCH3118 Paris, Ville des Lumières
FRNCH3050 French Language and Culture in Context (3)
FRNCH3330 French Study Abroad (1 - 6)
FRNCH3600 French Conversation (1)
FRNCH3800 French Literature in Translation (3)
FRNCH3900 French Popular Culture (3)
FRNCH3910 Special Topics (3)
FRNCH3940 Community Engaged Learning (3)
FRNCH4510 French Business and Current Issues (3)
FRNCH4514 French to English Translation (3)
FRNCH4515 French Translation: Theory and Practice (3)
FRNCH4550 French Culture and Civilization (3)
FRNCH4560 Topics in French Cultural Studies (3)
FRNCH4570 Francophone Cultures (3)
FRNCH4600 Introduction to Literary Analysis(3)
FRNCH4610 Survey of Medieval and Renaissance Literature (3)
FRNCH4620 Early Modern French Studies (3)
FRNCH4630 Nineteenth-Century French Studies (3)
FRNCH4640 Twentieth and Twenty-first C. French Studies (3)
FRNCH4650 Francophone Studies (3)
Completed one practicum (3) - see Advisor for options
Minimum Degree Hours
122 Total Credits
Minimum Major Hours
All classes must be passed with a C or better
Students must take at least 15 credits of the major in residence at the University of Utah
French Teaching Major (BA)
39 - 61 Total Credits
Earned at least 6 credits from the following
FRNCH4600 Introduction to Literary Analysis (3)
WLC5410 L2 Methodology (3)
WLC5015 Foundations of Dual Language Immersion (3)
Oral Proficiency Interview
See Advisor
Secondary Teacher Licensure Required Courses
These classes are NOT required to complete the French Teaching BA but ARE required for secondary teaching licensure. Please contact the College of Education academic advisors for more information on acquiring a teaching license.
EDU1010 Introduction to Teaching (3)
ECS2150 Introduction to Multicultural Education (3)
ED PS3721 Child Development and Learning: Understanding Adolescents Grades 7 - 12 (3)
PSY1230 Psychology of Adolescence (3)
FCS5230 Adolescence (3)
EDU5200 Teacher Language Awareness (3)
ED PS5151 Educational Applications of Technology in Grades 6-12 (3)
SP ED5012 Teaching Students with Disabilities in Inclusive Secondary Classrooms (3)
SP ED5021 Principles of Assessment & Data-Based Decision Making (3)
SP ED5022 Principles of Instruction & Behavioral Support (3)
ECS5645 Assessment of Linguistically Diverse Populations (3)
ECS5709 Building Family-School Partnerships for Youth Success (3)
EDU5490 Field Practicum: Secondary (3)
EDU5201 Teaching Practices, Ethics, and Professional Development (1)
EDU5491 Professional Development and Teacher Research (1 - 12)
EDU5495 Student Teaching: Secondary (1 - 12)
Optional ESL Endorsement
ECS5647 Instructional Methods for Linguistically Diverse Populations (3)
Completing this major does not give you a teaching license. In order to recieve a teaching license, students will need to complete the Secondary Teacher Licensure coursework. This may increase the minimum degree hours.
Students with advanced language skills (e.g., native speakers, heritage speakers, students who have lived for an extended period abroad) should not enroll in first, second, and some third-year courses. If you do not know what your language level is or if you think your situation justifies petitioning for an exception, contact the WLC advisors before enrolling in classes. For pedagogical reasons, the department reserves the right to remove advanced speakers who have not successfully petitioned from classes not appropriate for their language level.
French Minors
Minor in French or French Teaching can open many doors for you. Pair this minor with other fields of interest for career opportunities in international relations, administration, business, publishing, non-profit work, healthcare, and more.
Bridge Dual Language Immersion students may see how the Bridge program interacts with the University of Utah's French minor on our Bridge program website here.
Download Minor Requirements
FRENCH MINOR FRENCH TEACHING MINOR
Earned at least 12 credits from FRNCH 3000 - 5999
Minimum Minor Hours
At least 6 credits of minor requirements must be taken in residence at the University of Utah
French Teaching Minor
All courses must be passed with a "C" or better.
Students must complete 21 upper-division credits for this minor, 9 must be taken at the University of Utah.
All 4600 + classes must be taken at the University of Utah.
Students with advanced language skills (e.g., native speakers, heritage speakers, students who have lived for an extended period abroad) should not enroll in first and second year courses. If you do not know what your language level is or if you think your situation justifies petitioning for an exception, contact the WLC advisors before enrolling in classes. For pedagogical reasons, the department reserves the right to remove advanced speakers who have not successfully petitioned from classes not appropriate for their language level.
A department like ours is something like a small liberal arts college that caters to individual student needs, promotes programmatic innovation, and fosters forward thinking and intellectual freedom. This freedom is reflected in coursework, which you will find engages a wide variety of subjects from film to fashion, epic to lyric, the romanesque to romance, painting to porcelain, and dramas of revolution, nationhood, otherness, and identity.
Learning abroad is the opportunity to live, study and intern abroad while completing your degree here at the University of Utah. Learning Abroad helps connect you to over 500+ program options in over 50 countries, many of which are great for improving your proficiency in another language. Learn more about Learning Abroad by visiting learningabroad.utah.edu and completing Learning Abroad 101.
To get started, see below for program options for French.
For questions, email Learning Abroad at learningabroad@utah.edu, call them at 801-581-5849, or visit in person at Union 159.
U of U faculty lead students on short-term programs centered on specific coursework, which is commonly integrated into your major or minor requirements. When participating on a faculty-led program you have the benefit of taking U of U courses abroad that combine in-country experiential learning with classwork.
Intensive French Language & Culture in Grenoble, France
The U partners with universities around the world to offer you the opportunity to complete coursework in an immersive university environment alongside local students. Coursework can be quite flexible with students oftentimes completing major, minor, and general education requirements. Additionally, the cost of an exchange program is the same as paying U of U resident tuition, which makes exchanges one of our most affordable options!
University Grenoble Alpes
The University of Utah partners with external organizations (Affiliates) that run programs on behalf of the University of Utah. Affiliates offer academic programs at study centers, local institutions, or a combination of both. Programs are commonly structured around a particular theme or topic, such as "Language, Culture, and Society". Options can also include internships, service learning & community engagement opportunities.
French focused affiliate programs: click here
Pi Delta Phi - The French National Honor Society
Pi Delta Phi, the French National Honor Society
Pi Delta Phi is the National French Honor Society for undergraduate and graduate students at accredited public and private colleges and universities in the United States. The highest academic honor in the field of French and the oldest academic honor society for a modern foreign language in the United States, Pi Delta Phi was founded as a departmental honor society at the University of California at Berkeley in 1906. The Society was nationalized when the Beta Chapter was established at the University of Southern California in 1925. The Society was officially endorsed by the American Association of Teachers of French as the only collegiate French honor society in 1949.
The purpose of the Society is to recognize outstanding scholarship in the French language and Francophone literatures, to increase the knowledge and appreciation of Americans for the cultural contributions of the French-speaking world, and to stimulate and to encourage French and francophone cultural activities.
There are currently more than 370 chapters of the Society in the United States and two representative chapters at the American Universities in Paris and Aix-en-Provence in France. The society was admitted to membership in the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) in 1967. Pi Delta Phi operates as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization. For more Pi Delta Phi history, visit our History page.
The Society's Executive Board is chaired by an elected President, and includes four elected regional Vice-Presidents, and an Executive Director and Newsletter Editor that are appointed by the President. All Board positions are volunteer. The official publication of Pi Delta Phi is the Newsletter.
Pi Delta Phi Website
"The classes I've taken in the French program have gone above and beyond my expectations. The program offers a diverse range of classes — from film, poetry, and fairy tales to Francophone cultures and Medieval and Renaissance literature. Students will not only learn the language, they will learn about the culture – and they will have a lot of fun doing so."
- Molly Barnewitz
"Voltaire wants you to study French. You're not going to disappoint Voltaire, are you?"
- Jonathan Lusty
We encourage our undergraduate students to be pro-active in seeking out these scholarship and research opportunities, and we help in every way we can.
The Department of World Languages and Cultures, College of Humanities, and University offer many Scholarship opportunities.
VIEW AND APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) provides undergraduate students and mentors the opportunity to work together on research or creative projects.
UROP provides a $1,200 stipend (effective Summer 2019) and educational programming for students who assist with a faculty member's research or creative project or who carry out a project of their own under the supervision of a faculty member. Students may apply for UROP any semester and may be eligible for a one-semester renewal. UROP awardees are hired as temporary, part-time UROP Participants by the Office of Undergraduate Research and are paid $1,200 (effective Summer 2019) for 120 hours of research or creative work during the semester.
LEARN MORE ABOUT UROP
French Studies Resources
French language resources at Marriott Library
(dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. from the Middle Ages to the present)
Francophone resources
French Embassy one-year English teaching poste d'assistant
Alliance Française de Salt Lake City
Boyer French-English, 1702
Career Opportunities - Why Study French?
Our Major course of study provides excellent preparation for pursuing graduate work and entering a variety of professions where critical reading, writing, and thinking skills are at a premium.
Recent graduates from our program have pursued further studies in M.A. programs in French, Comparative Literature, and International Studies. Others have sought professional degrees in law, medicine, and dentistry. Still others have taken jobs in private or public high school teaching and administration, business, publishing, international relations, translation, Foreign Service, non-profit, and healthcare professions.
Tenure-Line Faculty
Thérèse De Raedt
therese.de-raedt@utah.edu
Vanessa Brutsche
vanessa.brutsche@utah.edu
Career-Line Faculty
Anne Lair
Professor, Lecturer
anne.lair@utah.edu
Jesse Hurlbut
Visiting Associate Professor
Jesse.hurlbut@utah.edu
Paula Collmar
pcollmar@yahoo.com
Claire Tocaven
clairetocaven@yahoo.fr
Bridge Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program
Students who participated in the Bridge Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Program, which includes taking the AP French Exam and one or more 3000-level French courses in high school, can go to our French Bridge program webpage here to see how they can complete the French major or minor at the University of Utah.
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Last Updated: 1/3/23