French, MA

Graduate students in French and Froncophone Studies are members of a dynamic intellectual environment. In addition to their coursework in French language, literature, and culture, M.A. candidates at UK pursue their intellectual interests in adjacent fields such as philosophy, history, women’s studies, film studies, linguistics, English, and art history. Graduates of the M.A. in French and Francophone Studies program often pursue PhD degrees in French Studies at some of the best doctoral programs in the U.S, including, in recent years, Harvard, Michigan, UPenn, Duke, and Berkeley. Other graduates have gone on to teach in independent schools around the U.S. or have pursued a second Master’s degree at the UK in Teaching World Languages (MATWL) or Teaching English as Second Language (MATESL), or through the UK Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. Others have gone on to law school or graduate programs in, for example, international affairs, education and study abroad administration, or work in the U.S. Department of State.

Admission Requirements

• Evidence of completion of the equivalent of the University of Kentucky’s undergraduate major in French
• A minimum 3.25 undergraduate GPA in French on a four-point scale
• A statement of purpose for seeking the M.A. in French and Francophone Studies
• Completion of the GRE
• Three letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s qualifications for graduate work in French
• A writing sample in French by the applicant (analytical prose, typically a graded term paper; not a creative work)
• Non-native speakers of French must submit a digital recording (3-4 minutes) of themselves reading a contemporary prose passage in French (a newspaper or magazine article, not a literary work). Because there is no way to upload this recording directly into the Graduate School’s application system, applicants should send the recording as an email attachment directly to the Director of Graduate Studies.
• Non-native speakers of English must submit a digital recording of themselves reading a contemporary prose passage in English (a newspaper or magazine article, not a literary work). Because there is no way to upload this recording directly into the Graduate School’s application system, applicants should send the recording as an email attachment directly to the Director of Graduate Studies. In addition, they must fulfill the UK Graduate School’s Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) requirement. 

Degree Requirements

• 30 credit hours
• FR 553 TEACHING OF FRENCH  
• 27 hours of graduate-level coursework in French and Francophone Studies
• Successful completion of the Master’s Examination during the fourth semester of study
• Documented reading proficiency, as defined by the UK Graduate School, in a second world language

https://mcl.as.uky.edu/ma-french