What is a French major? Most obviously, French majors become fluent in French. That may seem like a daunting task, but college-level French courses are nothing like your high school ones. You will learn French in four years, especially if you take advantage of the incredible opportunity to study abroad that virtually every French major has. In addition to learning the language, you will take classes in French Literature, French Culture, French Civilization, and French Film or Politics. In addition, a French department should offer some view on the rest of the Francophone world. Traditionally, in northeastern U.S. universities, francophone studies point more to Québec, whereas in the majority of other U.S. colleges, francophone studies tend to focus more on Africa and perhaps the Caribbean.
What courses are French majors required to take? You’ll begin with basic French courses starting with your level as determined by a freshman placement test. Do not be afraid of challenge! Many French majors are placed into 3rd year French based on 4 years of high-school French; seize this opportunity and work hard in the first year. You’ll be surprised by how much French you actually do know.
Once you’ve finished the main stream of French language courses, you will take an introduction to reading literature, which will be followed by regular literature courses. In addition to literature, you will take a selection of courses that might include Advanced Grammar, Translation, Advanced Composition, French Phonetics, French Linguistics and a host of courses on civilization and culture. Every French major is encouraged to spend at least a semester abroad (preferably a year).
What are advantages and disadvantages of a French major? Advantages are that all of your classes will be small and that you will get to know all of your professors and fellow students. Most French departments are university families; you will have a very easy time getting letters of reference from your professors because they will know you well. Study abroad is a huge advantage too.
The disadvantages of the French major also stem from the program being small. You will not have 15 upper-level French courses to choose from each semester as your English major friends will, so you have to be open-minded and remember that that class on 17th century lit that you didn’t think was going to be interesting will probably turn out to be great. On very rare occasions, courses get cancelled because of under-enrollment.
What careers are available to French majors? If you are interested in being a teacher, look no further. There is a surging need for French teachers in America; in some states it is critical. The vast majority of French majors become French teachers or go on to graduate studies in French. Some majors become translators and others transition into related fields such as Linguistics, Literary Analysis, Comparative Lit., and Teacher Education.
Next: Read about other college majors such as linguistics, and about Academic Success tips such as how to avoid common mistakes when writing an essay.
