Degree Requirements

Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online at https://utexas.box.com/v/UTAustinGraduateHandbooks. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

Master of Arts

Applicants to the graduate program in French apply directly to the Ph.D. The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is awarded on the way to the Ph.D. provided that the student fulfills the requirements described below. The Master’s degree in French requires that the candidate have a bachelor’s degree with a major in French or demonstrate equivalent knowledge.

Completion of the M.A. in French requires four semesters and 30 semester hours of coursework, with a minimum of 24 semester hours of coursework in French and 6 semester hours of coursework outside the Department.

Doctor of Philosophy

The doctoral program is offered in French. Students entering with a BA will complete their first two years of graduate coursework in French, demonstrating their competency to continue into the PhD program through satisfactory progress in coursework and research. Students will take a minimum of 18 hours, or full-time enrollment in two long semesters, including a minimum of at least one French (FR) graduate course each semester.

Students must demonstrate competency in Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, or any other modern language approved by the Graduate Advisor at a fourth semester level or a classical language at the second semester level.

Candidates must pass a comprehensive examination before beginning work on the dissertation. An examination committee is formed by each graduate student; in consultation with the graduate advisor, the committee oversees the student’s progress and eventually administers a comprehensive examination based on coursework, research, and specialized areas of interest. One of the graduate faculty members conducting the examination may come from outside the program.

After passing the comprehensive examination, students must develop a supervising committee and present a written dissertation prospectus to the committee before applying for doctoral candidacy. Following admission to doctoral candidacy, students will write a dissertation that is expected to make a substantial contribution to existing scholarship in the field. A satisfactory oral defense before the dissertation committee is required for approval of the dissertation.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) in the spring 2024 semester.

David P Birdsong Marc Bizer Carl S Blyth Benjamin Claude Brower Barbara Ellen Bullock Mounira M Charrad Judith G Coffin Emily L Drumsta Patience L Epps Zenzi Margareta Griffin Julie Hardwick David D Kornhaber

Melanie Lamotte Richard P Meier Sofian Merabet Martha G Newman Herve Picherit Marc Pierce Cinzia Russi Almeida J Toribio Alexandra K Wettlaufer Lynn R Wilkinson Hannah Chapelle Wojciehowski