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French Studies BA (R120)

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Discover more about our French Studies degree at Warwick

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R120

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Bachelor of Arts (BA)

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4 years full-time, normally including a year abroad

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26 September 2022

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Modern Languages and Cultures

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University of Warwick

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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.

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Explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of French and Francophone language and culture at Warwick.

Our French Studies degree lets you collaborate with expert academics to develop your language skills. Together, we will examine the historical, cultural, geographical, and political contexts in which French is spoken across the world.

Our flexible course covers topics such as philosophy, literature, and visual culture. Core modules develop an in-depth understanding of the French language. You can then choose optional modules to match your academic interests.

You will spend a year studying abroad in France or a French speaking country. This is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the language and culture, and perfect your language skills.

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In your first year, you will take language classes to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken French. You will also take the core module The Story of Modern France. This module examines 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 in the second and final years. At the same time, you will be able to pursue your own 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.

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We employ a variety of teaching styles within the School of Modern Languages including:

Lectures
Seminars (consisting of around 15 students and focussing on student participation)
Written and spoken language classes in small groups

You will spend the rest of your time:

Studying independently
Preparing for classes
Reading
Analysing materials set for study
Writing essays
Working on your language skills

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Seminars generally involve around 15 students.

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12 hours per week (15 hours per week in first year).

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We will track your progress through:

Language assignments
Essays
Presentations
Portfolio submissions
Examinations (written and oral)

To help you improve your skills you will receive detailed and personalised feedback throughout your course.

Your intermediate- and final-year marks each contribute 50% of your final degree classification.

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Study abroad

We strongly recommend that you take a year abroad as part of your modern languages degree, if you are able to. If you are unable to take a year abroad you may move to a three-year degree. In such cases, you will be required to complete further language reinforcement work. You will also 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. Find out more about flexible Year Abroad options

4a

A level typical offer

ABB to include French.

A level contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is BBB including B in French. See if you’re eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.

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IB typical offer

34 points to include 5 in Higher Level French.

IB contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is 32 including grade 5 in Higher Level French. See if you’re eligible.

General GCSE requirements

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We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside A level French.

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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.

Two optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

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.

A selection of optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

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.

A selection of optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

5b

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
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

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Find out more about fees and funding.

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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.

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