What’s the significance of learning French in our globalised world? How can developing linguistic and intercultural skills allow you to truly become a ‘global citizen’?
This course gives you a broad understanding of French language and thought, in a variety of historical and geographical contexts. We focus particularly on the ways in which encounters with other cultures transform French language, culture and society: you’ll explore ethnic diversity in contemporary France and the complexity of French language cultures in places as diverse as Quebec, the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.
With this course, you’ll be well qualified for careers in the arts, the media, government, journalism, tourism, in human resources management and in many other fields. Or, by studying French in conjunction with Education, you can become a fully qualified secondary or primary school teacher.
Entrance requirements
Year 1
Highers BBBB.
A-levels BBC.
IB Diploma with a total of 32 points.
HNC or HND with Bs in graded units.
Access courses and other UK/EU and international qualifications are also welcomed.
Year 2
A-levels or Advanced Highers ABB to include French.
HND in European Languages and Business (for entry to Intermediate stream).
General entrance requirements apply.
International students can study our Undergraduate Certificate if they do not possess the necessary entrance requirements to be admitted directly to the first year of an undergraduate degree course.
Other information
If examinations are taken over two sittings, or there are repeats or upgrades, the entrance requirements may be higher.
Required subjects
French Higher (B), A-level (C) or equivalent if taken at Advanced level. Introductory and Intermediate courses are also available.
Students may be admitted to Introductory or Intermediate French. These may be used as a bridge to Advanced French in Semesters 2 – 4.
English Standard Grade (2), Intermediate 2 (C), GCSE (C) or equivalent.
Funding
Modes of study
Full-time (three modules per semester).
Part-time (one or two modules per semester).
Course Director
Find out more
http://www.stir.ac.uk/arts-humanities
Degree course
You will take French plus two other subjects in the first year (Semesters 1 and 2).
Year 1 and Year 2 modules concentrate primarily on the development of France and the Francophone world from the French Revolution until the present day, with a primary focus on the 20th and 21st centuries. You will study aspects of French and Francophone language, history, society, business, literature, art and film. In the Year 3 and Year 4 you will continue your study of the French language, and there is the opportunity to specialise in a range of areas related to France and the wider ‘Francophone world’.
Semesters 1 - 4
Semesters 1 – 4 give you an understanding of contemporary French and Francophone cultures and their evolution. You may start French at Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced level. Introductory and Intermediate students may subsequently join the Advanced class and go on to Honours in French.
The Advanced class – for students with a Higher or A-level in French – combines language learning with the study of French/Francophone culture and society using texts, films and online material. It is also possible to study film in intercultural modules taught by the Literature and Languages in the School of Arts and Humanities.
Semesters 5 - 8
Semesters 5 – 8 offer increased specialisation. All students take core language modules in spoken and written French, in which you can develop your areas of expertise. Students choose from a wide variety of option modules including, for example:
- French and Francophone Detective Fictions
- Introduction to African Literature and Cinema
- The Cinema of the Fantastic
- Culture and Identity in Contemporary France
- Postcolonial France
- Transatlantic Cinema
- The French Atlantic Slave Trade
- Quebec Cinema
- French and Francophone Cultures of Travel
- Women Writers on Women
- Screening the City
- Exoticism in French Cinema
Teaching and assessment
Teaching is by a mixture of lectures, tutorials and small group language classes. In addition, the use of information technology and native language assistants encourages rapid progress. Assessment focuses on a variety of skills gained across the modules studied and ranges from translations to essays, from grammar tests to oral exams. We use both continuous assessment and final examinations.
Combined degrees
French can be studied with:
| Course | UCAS Code |
|---|
| Business Studies |
NRF1 |
| Computing Science |
GR51 |
| English Studies |
QR31 |
| Film and Media |
RP13 |
| History |
RV11 |
| Human Resource Management |
NRP1 |
| Journalism Studies |
RP15 |
| Law |
RM11 |
| Marketing |
N5R1 |
| Mathematics |
GR11 |
| Philosophy |
RV15 |
| Politics |
LR21 |
| Professional Education (Secondary) |
RX11 |
| Professional Education (Secondary)/Spanish |
RXD1 |
| Professional Education (Primary) with Modern Languages |
XR18 |
| Religion |
RV16 |
| Spanish |
RR14 |
(For a Combined Honours degree the higher entrance requirements of the subjects usually apply.) French can be studied as a component of other degrees.
Related degrees
Study abroad
On most degree courses involving French, Honours students must spend a period of residence abroad, usually in Semester 6, studying at a university or business school in France, Quebec or Switzerland. All students also have the option, in addition, of spending a year abroad between Semesters 4 and 5, typically as a language assistant teaching English in a school. In certain degrees, the whole of Semesters 5 and 6 can be spent at a French university. The School has exchange agreements with the Universities of Aix, Geneva, Laval (Quebec), Limoges, Nancy, Perpignan and Tours and with business schools in Cergy-Pontoise near Paris (EPSCI) and Strasbourg (EMS).
Strengths
French is studied as a global language at Stirling, with an emphasis placed on France’s importance within the European Union, but also on France’s relationships with other parts of the globe, ranging from Africa to North America. As well as examining France and the Francophone world from a range of different perspectives, you will also have a number of opportunities to spend time living, studying and/or working in France or another part of the Francophone world. You might, for example, apply to spend a year working as an English Language Assistant anywhere from the Alps to France’s Atlantic coast, or further afield in Quebec or in the French Caribbean. Many of the degree combinations we offer with French also include a semester of study abroad at one of our partner institutions in France, Switzerland or Quebec.
We also offer a number of innovative integrated degree courses, including a double degree with Ecole de Management in Strasbourg in International Management and Intercultural Studies and degrees in International Management Studies with European Languages and Society.
French at Stirling is particularly strong in areas related to film and other visual cultures, in innovative French language teaching, and in its focus on France’s connections with other countries, regions and cultures.
Our students
Having initially chosen the University of Stirling based on the flexible degree structure offered, I would now, as a recent graduate, highly recommend the French department at Stirling as a serious contender for any academic study of French language and culture. Both teaching and administrative staff in the department were immensely supportive, and lecturers took a keen interest in the progress of students.
With a diverse range of subject areas to be studied from across the wider Francophone world, the expertise offered by individual lecturers was always impressive and inspiring. The opportunity to spend time in France, both as a language assistant and as an exchange student, offered hands-on experience which undoubtedly added practical value to the language skills developed in class.
Currently planning to undertake postgraduate studies, I'm thrilled to have chosen Stirling and am grateful to all in the French department for making my undergraduate studies so memorable.
Cari Anderson BA (Hons) French, graduated 2011
My four-year French course at Stirling opened so many doors for me, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single minute of it. From learning about France – its culture, people, literature, art, media – to actually going and living there - studying at a French university and living with a French family – Stirling gave me every resource I needed to appreciate, absorb and perfect my language skills and indulge my passion for France.
Along the way I met like-minded students, eager to immerse themselves in French culture, and wonderful lecturers who gave me the best chance to become the best that I could be in my subject. If you are searching for a varied, interesting, challenging, fun, engaging course that will give you the opportunity to study and live abroad, then this is definitely the course for you.
Cathy McReynolds BA (Hons) French, graduated 2008
Career opportunities
Language graduates are confident communicators and growing European integration offers increasing job opportunities. Many go on to a wide variety of careers in publishing, journalism, television, advertising, translating or law, teaching in French or English as a foreign language, administration and management. The Combined courss with Professional Education permit students to train as a secondary teacher of one or two languages, or as a primary teacher with languages. Many students also choose to pursue further study upon completion of their undergraduate degree.
