French PhD at University of Wisconsin Madison

The M.A. and Ph.D. programs in French offer a first-rate faculty in all the areas of French and Francophone literature and culture. The program emphasizes broad coverage as well as specialization, and is organized so as to take advantage of the quality and range of the faculty. A Wisconsin Ph.D. has the ability to teach not only a very focused topic of research, but also much of the French literary tradition.

The French graduate program offers a wide array of courses and seminars each semester, providing a fairly even distribution across the various literary periods in most academic years. Courses typically meet two or three times a week and are quite broad in focus, generally exploring well-defined periods or genres, while seminars are held once a week for two hours and take up narrower topics in greater depth. Both the offerings and the requirements of the M.A. and Ph.D. programs are designed to give students not only the tools necessary for specialization, but also an excellent knowledge of these extremely rich literary traditions.

Strong emphasis is placed on the practice of the language. French is the usual language of instruction in graduate courses and seminars. The department offers possibilities for international stay through exchange programs and further promotes the use of French through lectures, films, theater, and events at the French House.

The French Ph.D. program has a fine job placement record. Its students' solid foundation in the French and Francophone literary tradition is increasingly rare among North American literature programs, as is the extensive training students receive in language pedagogy.

1. Demonstrate thorough knowledge and critical understanding of two areas of French and Francophone literature, and of the historical and social contexts that have influenced the works examined in their dissertation.
2. Show the ability to synthesize and define a field of inquiry in a persuasive, coherent, and original way.
3. Make effective use of research sources, tools, and strategies in the field of French and Francophone literature.
4. Demonstrate, in the writing of their Ph.D. dissertation, an originality of thinking and insight that reaches beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within the field of study.
5. Articulate awareness of various questions, problems, and limitations implied by their framing of their topic.
6. Contribute substantially to their area of specialization, and be able to engage in a dialogue with other experts in that area.
7. Communicate and defend complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner, in both French and English.
8. Be capable of applying their investigative skills to a variety of fields within French-speaking literature and cultures.
9. Show reading knowledge of a second foreign language pertinent to their research specialty (and, for specialists of Medieval and 16th-century French literature, a third foreign language).
10. Be prepared to be effective teachers of French/Francophone literature, culture, and language at the college and university levels.
11. Foster ethical and professional conduct.