French Major

Major Requirements

The major in French requires 9 courses above FREN 033 CM - Intermediate French , or the equivalent, distributed as follows:

1. Required Courses (2 courses)

2. Electives (7 courses)

At least 1 of the elective courses must pertain to the 20^th century. Courses offered at Pomona College or Scripps College may be used for the major with permission of the department chair.

Senior Thesis in French

The senior thesis is a general education requirement and the capstone experience of a student’s undergraduate education. Students must complete a senior thesis in at least one of their majors under supervision of a faculty reader who teaches within that major, unless granted a special exception.

Students interested in doing a 2-semester thesis project complete a one-half (0.5) credit or full (1.0) credit thesis research course in the 1^st semester and the senior thesis in the 2^nd semester. The senior thesis and the thesis research course may not be counted as courses in the major.

Special Options for Majors

Dual Major

Students with a dual major including French must complete at least 7 courses in French above FREN 033 CM .

Students with a dual major including French are encouraged to write their senior thesis on a topic in French. For further information, see Senior Thesis in French above.

Honors in French

To be eligible for departmental honors in French a student must:

Submit a petition for honors candidacy to the chair of the Modern Languages department at the beginning of the senior year,
Achieve an A- (11.00) average in the major, and
Obtain at least an A- (11.00) for an honors thesis in French.

Study Abroad

A semester or year of study abroad in France or another French-speaking country is highly recommended. Two of the 9 courses required for the major may be completed abroad for each semester spent studying abroad, provided the course is not a language or grammar class.

General Education Requirements for Humanities Majors

For the general education requirement in the social sciences and the humanities, CMC students majoring in a field of the humanities must take designated courses in 3 of the 4 fields of the social sciences (economics, government, history, and psychology), and in 3 of the 4 fields of the humanities (literature, philosophy, religious studies, and literature in a foreign language). Majors with a dual or double major in either the humanities or the social sciences will be required to take an additional course in those categories.

Learning Goals and Student Learning Outcomes of the Modern Languages and Literatures Program

Learning Goals

The learning goals of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures encompass the mission of the College and promote respect and appreciation of different languages, cultures, and societies.

To enable students to communicate effectively in one (or more) language(s);
To enable students to acquire a deep knowledge of literatures and cultures represented by the language(s) chosen;
To foster appreciation of the richness and complexities of other societies and cultures;
To enable students to do research in the target language with a sophistication commensurate with their level of language study.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing the major in French or Spanish should be able:

To speak and understand the target language(s) at the Advanced level, as detailed in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines;
To read and write the target language at the Advanced level (ACTFL);
To demonstrate an understanding of the important issues in one or more national traditions represented by the target language(s);
To use the target language(s) to discuss, orally and in writing, literary and visual texts of the target culture(s) critically and analytically, with appropriate vocabulary;
To identify and incorporate appropriate sources in the target language in their research papers and presentations;
To write an advanced research paper/senior thesis that articulates a sophisticated argument about a text or series of texts from the target culture(s).