French, Ph.D.

Program Overview

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's French Ph.D. program provides comprehensive training in French and Francophone literature and culture, emphasizing both broad coverage and specialization. Students develop critical thinking, research, and teaching skills, preparing them for careers in academia and beyond. The program fosters ethical conduct and encourages students to contribute original research to their field.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The French Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison offers a first-rate faculty in all 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.

Objectives:

• 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.
• Show the ability to synthesize and define a field of inquiry in a persuasive, coherent, and original way.
• Make effective use of research sources, tools, and strategies in the field of French and Francophone literature.
• 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.
• Articulate awareness of various questions, problems, and limitations implied by their framing of their topic.
• Contribute substantially to their area of specialization, and be able to engage in a dialogue with other experts in that area.
• Communicate and defend complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner, in both French and English.
• Be capable of applying their investigative skills to a variety of fields within French-speaking literature and cultures.
• 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).
• Be prepared to be effective teachers of French/Francophone literature, culture, and language at the college and university levels.
• Foster ethical and professional conduct.

Outline:

Year 1:

• Core courses: FRENCH 569 (Critical Approaches to Literature and Culture: French and Francophone Perspectives) and FRENCH 752 (Research Laboratory II: Producing Professional Research).
• Choose elective courses (typically one course per semester), in consultation with the advisor.
• Begin work on a portfolio of scholarly achievements that will document progress.

Year 2:

• Continue taking elective courses.
• Prepare for the Qualifying Examination, administered at the start of the second semester.

Year 3:

• If admitted to the doctoral program, finalize dissertation proposal in consultation with dissertation advisor.
• Form dissertation committee.
• Draft dissertation proposal and working bibliography.
• Take Field Exam, a 48-hour open-book take-home exam.

Year 4:

• Revise and defend dissertation proposal at an oral exam.
• Complete dissertation research and writing.
• Apply for graduation.

Assessment:

• Qualifying Examination: To be admitted to the doctoral program, students must pass the Qualifying Examination, a written exam designed to assess the student's knowledge of French and Francophone literature and their ability to conduct research.
• Field Exam: After being admitted to the doctoral program, students must pass the Field Exam, a 48-hour take-home exam that assesses the student's knowledge of their chosen dissertation field.
• Dissertation Proposal Oral Exam: Students must defend their dissertation proposal in an oral exam with their dissertation committee.
• Dissertation: The dissertation is the culmination of the student's research and writing, and must make an original contribution to the field of French and Francophone literature.

Teaching:

• The French graduate program offers training for teaching and research in all areas of French and Francophone literature and literary history, in critical theory, film, gender and queer studies, romance philology, and foreign language pedagogy.
• French is the usual language of instruction in graduate courses and seminars.
• The department offers the opportunity for international exchange through participation in exchange programs.
• Teaching assistantships are the most common form of support in the department and offer the pedagogical experience and training necessary to be competitive on the academic job market.