The French major and minor programs are designed to prepare students to communicate with French speakers all over the world and to develop a level of fluency that will allow them to use French in their work and for their personal enrichment. Students learn to think critically, write well, and succeed in an increasingly globalized and competitive world. The major and minor pair well with any other concentration; French is an asset in careers in international business, marketing, journalism, teaching, translation, diplomacy, government, and many other fields.

Students in the French major program build their language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing and develop their cultural fluency by studying many aspects of Francophone cultures across time: their literatures, history, philosophy, ideas, cinema, art, music, current events, politics, food, and sports. Courses on the use of French in professional settings prepare students to succeed in a variety of francophone work environments, including businesses and NGOs, and to apply French in problem solving, such as developing sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

All students enrolled in French courses develop their listening and speaking skills by participating in our Native Speaker Program: 50 minutes of French conversation/immersion per week in small groups of 3-5 students led by native French speakers.

French majors are required to spend a semester or summer studying in a French-speaking country or region.

Students interested in teaching French at the secondary level (middle and high school) may double major in French and Secondary Education.