French Ph.D. Degree Program
Major Program
The Ph.D. program builds on the broad foundation of study undertaken at the M.A. level. You will take further coursework and engage in independent research projects designed to explore and develop areas of individual specialization. You will gain expertise in the interpretive and analytic methods appropriate to your area of specialization and acquire greater knowledge of intellectual and theoretical traditions that have shaped the study of literature and culture.
Minor or Supporting Program
You will also establish a sub-field by doing a minor program or by taking courses in related disciplines. This experience in areas such as art history, history, Italian, Spanish, German, comparative literature, and feminist, medieval or African studies, complements your work in French literature and culture by offering another disciplinary perspective or critical tradition.
Ph.D. Preliminary Examination
The aim of the preliminary exam is to develop broad knowledge of the discipline of French and Francophone studies, knowledge of a specific field within that discipline, and the research skills required for writing a dissertation. Preparation for the preliminary exam will include the following:
- a disciplinary bibliography, with “discipline” designating the texts that have shaped the French and Francophone literary and critical tradition;
- an extensive critical review essay that presents and analyzes scholarship in a specific field, with “field” designating the broad area within the discipline in which the dissertation will be situated;
- an outside paper (typically written with the outside member of the advisory committee);
- preliminary examination essay(s).
Following successful completion of the preliminary examination, a thesis proposal is submitted to the advisory committee.
Ph.D. Thesis
An individually designed project, the Ph.D. thesis based on original research and thinking and is expected to make a significant contribution to scholarship in the field of French studies. It defines to some extent your intellectual profile and serves as the foundation for your future research agenda.
Program Requirements
- A minimum of 45 graduate credits or 15 courses (including courses taken during the M.A. or transferred from another graduate institution)
- A minimum of 12 credits of coursework in a minor or related field. (This is a Graduate School requirement.) The unit offering the minor may require additional credits. (See the Graduate School Catalog for this information.)
- 24 thesis credits
- Demonstrated knowledge of Old French or history of the French language (may be satisfied by coursework at the University of Minnesota or another institution)
- Language requirement:
- For the Ph.D., higher proficiency in one language other than French and English suitable as a research tool must be demonstrated in one several ways (see the Graduate School Catalog). You are encouraged to consider Italian as an option. Higher proficiency is considered language competency of at least an undergraduate upper division level (3xxx). You are encouraged to develop sufficient fluency so as to be able to follow graduate courses in the research language.
- If you intend to specialize in the Middle Ages, Renaissance or Early Modern period (prior to 1666), you must demonstrate knowledge of Latin.
Credit Transfers for the Doctoral Degree
The number of transfer graduate credits that may be applied to the Ph.D. is determined in consultation with the director of graduate studies and your advisory committee.
Credits may be transferred if they are from:
- University of Minnesota graduate programs
- authorized courses taken through Continuing Education (maximum of 12 semester credits of graduate-level coursework)
- other recognized graduate schools
In the case of non-U.S. institutions, credits must have been earned in programs the Graduate School considers comparable to a graduate degree program in a graduate school of a regionally accredited institution in the United States.
Courses taken before the awarding of a baccalaureate degree cannot be transferred.
For more complete information, consult the director of graduate studies or the Graduate School website.