French Studies (BA) (Full-Time, 2021 Entry)
This course is closed
for Clearing 2024
This course is closed for Clearing 2022
If you would like to study at Warwick, there are other courses available for 2025 entry.
UCAS Code
R120
Qualification
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Duration
4 years full-time, normally including a year abroad
Start Date
27 September 2021
Department of Study
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Location of Study
University of Warwick
French Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary richness of French and Francophone language and culture, while developing your fluency in the language.
Course overview
French Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of French and Francophone language and culture in collaboration with recognised experts in the field. You’ll study the French language through and alongside the historical, cultural, geographical, and political contexts in which French is spoken across the world.
During your three years on campus, you’ll cover topics spanning politics, philosophy, literature, visual culture and history. Wherever you decide your interests lie, you can tailor your programme of study in a way that suits you. You’ll be part of a dynamic, interdisciplinary research culture, playing an active part in your own learning. Having developed foundation skills in your first year, you will hone your language abilities in subsequent years, and explore your own academic interests beyond the language. You’ll normally spend your second or third year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning in a Francophone environment.
Course structure
In your first year, you will take language classes designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken French. You will also take the core module The Story of Modern France, where you will examine primary texts from major periods and events in French history, literature, and politics. You will be able to choose two further modules in your first year, one of which may be from another academic department or from the Language Centre.
Having acquired foundation skills in your first year, you will go on to develop your language skills on our compulsory language modules in the second and final years. At the same time, you will be able to pursue your own particular interests beyond the language. Our modules reflect the research specialism of academics in the French department and cover a broad range of subjects in French and Francophone culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film and history. As a single honours student, you will be able to select from modules in the French department, as well as from interdisciplinary cross-School modules; if you wish to, you can also study one outside option per year.
How will I learn?
We employ a variety of teaching styles, including: lectures; seminars of about 15 students, in which the emphasis is on student participation; and written and spoken language classes in small groups. You will spend the rest of your time studying independently, preparing for classes, reading and analysing materials set for study, writing essays and working on your language skills.
Contact hours
12 hours per week (15 hours per week in first year).
Class size
Seminars generally involve around 15 students.
How will I be assessed?
We will track your progress through language assignments, essays, presentations, portfolio submissions and examinations (written and oral). Throughout your course you will receive detailed, personalised feedback to help you to improve your skills.
The final degree classification is determined by your intermediate- and final-year marks; each of these years contributes 50%.
Your year abroad
We strongly recommend that students take a year abroad, if they are able to. Students may move to a three-year degree if circumstances do not permit them to complete a year abroad. In such cases, there will be further language reinforcement work and students will be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.
You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:
- Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
- Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
- On a work placement
The year abroad options are flexible so we recommend you check the department's subject pages for more details.
General entry requirements
A level:
- ABB to include French
IB:
- 34 points to include 5 in Higher Level French
BTEC:
- We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside A level French
Additional requirements:
You will also need to meet our English Language requirements.
International Students
We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.
Find out more about international entry requirements.
Contextual data and differential offers
Warwick may make differential offers to students in a number of circumstances. These include students participating in the Realising Opportunities programme, or who meet two of the contextual data criteria. Differential offers will be one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer (to a minimum of BBB).
Warwick International Foundation Programme (IFP)
All students who successfully complete the Warwick IFP and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme (selected courses only).
Find out more about standard offers and conditions for the IFP.
Taking a gap year
Applications for deferred entry welcomed.
Interviews
We do not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on your UCAS form which includes predicted and actual grades, your personal statement and school reference.
Year One
Modern French Language 1
You will deepen your understanding of French grammar and syntax with the help of tutors experienced in facilitating the transition from A-level to university-level competence. You will learn appropriate technical vocabulary and handle complex structures. You will develop the skills required to produce authentic and accurate translations of journalistic material from French to English. Finally, writing in formal French introduces you to the structures and methods used to debate ideas on contemporary issues. You will increase your reading and comprehension skills and develop your ability to exploit texts for vocabulary, idioms, syntax and grammatical structures. Working with a native speaker in small groups, you will discuss topics on contemporary French culture and society, using audio, video and written resources.
The Story of Modern France
Why is modern France so deeply invested in the past? What are the milestones in the creation of modern France? How have notions of France and Frenchness been shaped through the stories told about them? These are some of the questions you will explore through close reading of primary sources from major periods and events in French history. You will explore a range of materials, from the cartoons of May 1968 to prints dating back to the French Revolution, and from stories of Charlemagne to films and texts reflecting France’s ongoing preoccupation with its (often controversial) recent past. Equipped with these foundations, you will be well prepared to study further aspects of French and Francophone culture in the later stages of your degree.
Intermediate Year^
Modern French Language 2
You will consolidate and develop the productive and receptive language skills you acquired in your first year. By the end of the module, you should have appropriate knowledge of vocabulary and syntactic and grammatical structures to produce written French in two prescribed genres. You will develop your skills in translation to and from French, with a focus on specific translation problems, and increase the accuracy with which you use grammatical structures. In spoken French, you will comprehend and produce structured spoken French on a range of topics of contemporary significance in the context of simulated scenarios.
Final Year
Modern French Language 3
You will consolidate and develop your ability to write and speak confidently and at a level of intellectual sophistication in correct French. By the end of the course, you should be able to produce a structured written argument on a topic related to your intellectual interests or of cultural concern, in French that is grammatically correct, idiomatic, varied in vocabulary and grammatical structure, and in an appropriate register. You should be able to translate from French to English and English to French accurately, using your detailed knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and idiom, and employing an appropriate register. You will strengthen your skills in pronunciation and intonation and demonstrate these through fluent oral presentation and discussion of an intellectually serious topic.
Examples of optional modules/options for current students:
- Literatures of the Great War
- Modern French Thinkers
- French Presidents and the Media
- Introduction to French Linguistics
- The Right in France, from the Dreyfus Affair to Le Pen
- The Left and the Trade Unions in France
- Representations of the Holocaust
- Violence, Religion and Revolt in Renaissance France
- The Medieval World and its Others: Gender, Race, Religion
- The French Revolution
- France and the Orient: The Politics of Difference
- Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary French Writing
- States of the Nation: French Cinema and Society from 1990 to the Present
- Slavery and After: Writing the Francophone Caribbean
Tuition fees
Find out more about fees and funding.
Additional course costs
There may be costs associated with other items or services such as academic texts, course notes, and trips associated with your course. Students who choose to complete a work placement or study abroad will pay reduced tuition fees for their third year.
Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship 2021
We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities. This new scheme will offer international fee-paying students 250 tuition fee discounts ranging from full fees to awards of £13,000 to £2,000 for the full duration of your Undergraduate degree course.
Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship 2021
Your career
Graduates from Modern Language courses have gone on to work for employers including:
- Amazon
- British Airways
- Civil Service
- Grayce Consulting
- HM Revenue and Customs
- HSBC
- Ipsos Mori
- Lidl
- NBC Universal
- Save the Children International
- The Department for International Trade
They have pursued careers such as:
- Business and financial project management professionals
- Chartered and certified accountants
- Financial accounts managers
- Human resources and industrial relations officers
- Management consultants and business analysts
- Public services associate professionals
- Teachers and other educational professionals
Helping you find the right career
Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:
- What are you doing after Warwick? Career planning for final year language students
- Careers in the Public Sector
- Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
- Completing effective CVs and Application Forms for students from the School of Modern Languages
- Reflecting on Your Year Abroad
- Languages Alumni Evening
"Friendly and easy to talk to"
"The department is incredible, they’re always on hand to help me whether it was with my year abroad queries or just general language-related issues. The best thing about them is that they’re really friendly and easy to talk to."
Isabella
BA Modern Languages
"My favourite module so far is France and the Right, from Dreyfus Affair to Le Pen, mainly because I love looking at French politics. You also get to interact with different source materials such as songs, videos and pamphlets which makes it really interesting, and for the assessment in the module I’m able to write an essay with my own title."
Adam
BA English and French
About the information on this page
This information is applicable for 2021 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.