Program Overview

Overview of the French Program

The French program at Trinity College Dublin is a four-year course that provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the French language, literature, and culture. The program is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a career in a variety of fields, including arts administration, translation and interpreting, diplomacy, tourism, publishing, and investment banking.

Course Details

• Awards: B.A. Honours Bachelor Degree (NFQ Level 8)
• CAO Information: CAO Points 371-577 (2024)
• Number of Places: 12 Places
• Duration: 4 Years Full-Time

Course Options

French is studied as a Joint Honours subject with one of the following options:

• TR018 Law
• TR085 Business Studies
• TR114 Ancient History and Archaeology
• TR208 Economics
• TR239 Classical Languages
• TR277 English Studies
• TR324 Film
• TR326 Geography
• TR445 History of Art and Architecture
• TR563 Middle Eastern, Jewish and Islamic Civilisations
• TR588 Linguistics
• TR636 Music
• TR639 Philosophy
• TR666 Religion
• TR757 Social Policy
• Modern Language (Early Irish, German, Irish, Italian, Russian, Spanish)

Admission Requirements

• Leaving Certificate: H4 in French, H3 for combinations with Law (TR018) and Business (TR085)
• Advanced GCE (A Level): Grade C in French
• International Baccalaureate: IB HL Grade 5
• English Language Requirements: All applicants to Trinity are required to provide official evidence of proficiency in the English language. Applicants to this course are required to meet Band B (Standard Entry) English language requirements.

Course Fees

For a full list of undergraduate fees, please refer to the relevant section of the university's website.

Study Abroad

A year or semester studying abroad is one of the highlights of a student's Trinity experience, and immersing oneself in the language and culture is also one of the most valuable ways of achieving fluency when studying a language. Single Honours students have a compulsory third year of study abroad, and other students are encouraged to spend a year or a semester in their third year in one of the university's partner universities.

Graduate Skills and Career Opportunities

Trinity French graduates are working in a variety of fields, including arts administration, translation and interpreting, diplomacy, tourism, publishing, and investment banking. Many go on to take postgraduate courses in areas such as law, marketing, and business, for which a degree in arts and humanities provides an ideal background. The combination of an arts degree and a more vocational or professional programme of studies has proved to be highly attractive to prospective employers.

Your Degree and What You'll Study

At entry, French must be combined with one other subject. In later years, you will be able to select additional subjects and electives. The development of reading, analytical, and critical skills, through both oral and written exercises in French, form the bedrock of this course. A range of optional subjects are available over the course of the four years.

First and Second Years

The programme in the first year includes an introduction to French language, literature, and history. First-year subject areas include:

• French grammar and grammatical analysis
• Written and oral comprehension
• Modern fiction, theatre, cinema, and poetry In the second year, you will build on this foundation by following courses in the history of French ideas and politics, French literature, French linguistics, and in the practice of the French language itself.

Third and Fourth Years

In the third and fourth years, a wide variety of optional modules building on courses previously undertaken are available. These range from Renaissance and Enlightenment writing to Romantic and Modern French literature; from French language, politics, society, and identity to French critical theory, philosophy, history, and cinema. In your final year, you will research and write a Capstone project in English or French on a subject of your choice in consultation with a supervisor.

Assessment

At all levels, you will be assessed by a combination of continuous assessment and exams. The university uses a mix of traditional and innovative continuous assessment methods – essays, project work, online grammar tests, presentations, book reviews, dossiers, and podcast creation. Language modules are traditionally assessed by written, oral, and aural examinations.