Program Overview

Introduction to the PhD Program in French Studies

The PhD program in French Studies at the University of Waterloo is a four-year program that offers students the opportunity to engage in advanced research in the field of French Studies. The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the discipline, as well as the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a career in academia or other fields related to French Studies.

Research Fields

The PhD program in French Studies at the University of Waterloo offers three main research fields:

1. Digital Archiving and Editing — New Media: This field of research focuses on the study of transcription and editing of manuscripts, research on hypertext, studies on the impact of digital media on French-language literatures and cultures, and questions related to the history of the book and digital books.
2. Literature of the Ancien Régime and its Theories: This field of research has long been a strength of the Department of French Studies at the University of Waterloo. A group of internationally recognized researchers are working in various areas of research, from the High Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. These areas of study include the study and editing of texts by women writers, the archiving of travel accounts and letters, and the development and impact of printing on the constitution of literary institutions.
3. Cultural and Literary Studies of Francophonies: This field of research includes cultural and literary studies of the French-speaking world (France, Quebec, Ontario, Africa, Caribbean), from the 19th century to the present. In addition to taking into account the conditions of production and dissemination of works at a given time and in a given context, cultural studies aim to establish a genuine dialogue between genres and arts: literary texts, paraliterature and popular culture, theater, cinema, music, painting, etc.

Requirements

To complete the PhD program in French Studies, students must meet the following requirements:

• Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
• FR600
• Five additional graduate courses
• Reading proficiency test in a language other than French and English. First languages are normally accepted, as is the successful completion of two introductory language courses.
• Selection of a specific area of research and a thesis supervisor
• Submission of the form Proposition de sujet de doctorat to the Graduate Studies Committee (end of first year in PhD program)
• Comprehensive exams
• PhD dissertation and oral examination

Comprehensive Exams

During their second year of study, PhD students are required to complete a series of comprehensive exams. The comprehensive exams include a set of written and oral components, and are intended to ensure breadth, to assess competence in the field of French Studies, and to prepare students for the writing of the PhD thesis.

1. Students must prepare and read, under the supervision of their thesis supervisor, a list of primary texts (a “corpus”), and develop a broad critical and theoretical bibliography in areas relevant to the proposed thesis topic. This first component is followed by an oral examination.
2. Students then write a field exam that is submitted to the thesis committee for approval.
3. Finally, students must submit, under the supervision of their thesis supervisor, a dissertation proposal and outline. The bibliography, the field exam, and a dissertation proposal and outline are defended orally before the committee.

Thesis

During the third and fourth years of study, students conduct research and write the PhD thesis. The thesis is evaluated by a committee comprising the thesis supervisor, two additional members of the Department, one internal university reader, and one external examiner. Students must also successfully defend their thesis during an oral examination, open to the public.

Schedule for PhD Program

• YEAR I: Course work. Selection of an area of research and thesis supervisor. Submission of subject proposal.
• YEAR II: Comprehensive examinations.
• YEAR III: Thesis.
• YEAR IV: Thesis completion, submission, and defence.