GRADUATE STUDY IN FRENCH

ADMISSION TO THE GRADUATE PROGRAM

The application for admission to the graduate program must be submitted to the Graduate College, along with transcripts and other required documents. The Graduate Dean reaches a decision based on the recommendation of the Department.

Thank you for your interest letter (word doc)

Requirements for admission to full graduate standing in the Department are as follows:

1. A Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in French, or equivalent hours in the major.
2. A 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work.
3. Three letters of recommendation.
4.  A narrative statement of intent written in French.  It must describe the applicant's accomplishments and plans for the future.
5.  A placement examination is mandatory for all students seeking admission to the graduate program.
   
   

Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in another field and a 3.0 grade point average may be admitted to the graduate program provided they fulfill the undergraduate requirements for a B.A. in that field after enrollment.  Applicants who hold a B.A. in French but do not have the requisite 3.0 grade point average may be admitted on probation for one semester, provided they have at least a 2.75 grade point average.

Applicants who have not fulfilled the following undergraduate requirements must do so in the course of their graduate program:

1.  One college level course in European History.

MASTER'S PROGRAM

THE MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM IN FRENCH

The M. A. degree in French is offered in both a thesis and a non-thesis program. 

NON-THESIS: Students in the non-thesis program must complete thirty-two (32) hours of acceptable graduate-level course work (including the courses specifically required) and receive a passing grade on the final comprehensive examination.

THESIS: Requirements for the thesis program are twenty-four (24) hours of acceptable graduate-level course work, a thesis for which a maximum of six (6) credit hours is granted, and a final comprehensive examination.

A total, not to exceed six (6) hours on the 4000-level, is allowed as part of the major.

General requirements:

1.      A concentration consists of nine (9) hours and is optional.  4000-level courses may be counted toward the concentration, but no more than 9 hours on the 4000-level are allowed toward the Master’s Degree.  Approved concentrations include:  Language, English, European History, Linguistics, Anthropology, Philosophy, and approved graduate-level Education courses. 

2.      The following courses are required for the major in French:

- French 5313, Introduction to Old French (offered Fall semester only)

- French 5243, Explication de Textes

- MLLL 5073, Contemporary Literary Criticism, is required for the Master’s Degree.  

   (Offered Spring semester only.)

3.      All Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to enroll in MLLL 4813 during their first year.

4.  Students must demonstrate reading competency in a second language.  In order to do 

     so, they may take the departmental graduate reading exam or complete two semesters  

     or ten hours in another language.

5.  A comprehensive examination is required for the thesis and the non-thesis programs.    

     The examination is administered during the twelfth week of each semester.  It is based 

     on courses taken by the student and on the reading list.

6.  Graduate Assistants are required to enroll in a minimum of six (6) credit hours of 

     graduate-level courses per semester.

THE M. A. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

Students enrolled in the thesis and non-thesis programs take the same M. A. comprehensive examination. Students are urged to take the examination no later than the fourth semester of graduate study.

The comprehensive examination is a written examination which is scheduled for the 12th and 13th week in each semester. It is based on courses taken by the student and on the reading list. The entire major field is covered; work in the minor field is excluded.

FRENCH MAJORS IN THE THESIS OPTION take a two-hour examination in three of the below six fields. The French faculty determines which three fields to test. FRENCH MAJORS IN THE NON-THESIS OPTION take a two-hour examination in each of the following fields:

Day One

-Medieval French

-16^th Century

-17^th Century

Day Two

-18^th Century

-19^th Century

-20^th Century

At the discretion of the French faculty, students may be asked to take an oral exam within one week of the written exam in case some areas are found to be deficient.

Faculty members prepare questions in their fields of specialization and grade all portions of the examination. If a portion of a student's examination is of failing or doubtful quality, at least one other faculty member reads that portion. When the entire examination is of doubtful quality, the graduate faculty of the major field makes appropriate recommendations. The student may be asked to repeat the examination or be granted a passing grade with the recommendation not to continue graduate study towards the Ph. D.  Students who fail the examination in whole or in
part may repeat it (or the failed portion) only once during the regularly scheduled period.

The department notifies candidates and the Graduate College of the examination results. Candidates for the non-thesis degree who have completed all course requirements and the comprehensive examination, must file the report of the final examination with the Graduate College.  Candidates for the thesis degree must follow the guidelines listed below for the M. A. thesis.

Students are responsible for complying with Graduate College regulations concerning applications for graduation and payment of fees. When all procedures have been completed, the student's name is placed on the graduation list for the next commencement and the degree is awarded as of that date.

FILING FOR A DEGREE

THE M. A. THESIS (THESIS PROGRAM ONLY)

Students in the thesis degree program should choose an area of specialization for the thesis as early as possible. After a thesis topic is chosen, students, with the approval of the graduate advisor, select three members of the graduate faculty in the major field to serve as the thesis committee. A member of the graduate faculty specializing in the student's major area acts as the thesis director and chair of the committee. The topic and thesis title are reported to the Graduate
College on the thesis subject card.

A maximum of four (6) thesis hours is allowed toward the M. A. degree. After initial enrollment in thesis credit, students must maintain continuous enrollment during each regular semester (summers excepted) in at least two hours of thesis credit (5980) until the degree is completed or the candidacy discontinued. Exceptions will be made for military service. However, enrollment in 5980 is mandatory in any semester or summer session during which the student is actually doing thesis work, regardless of the number of other hours of enrollment. An oral defense of the thesis is required.

Students must comply with departmental and Graduate College regulations concerning thesis preparation and submission of the reading copy to the Graduate College. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5^th Ed., 1999) should be followed in preparing the thesis. After completion of the thesis, the student must file the report of the final examination with the Graduate College and submit copies of the thesis to the library.

PH. D. PROGRAM

The Department grants the following Ph. D. Degrees:

1. The Romance Language degree, consisting of a French major and Spanish minor or a Spanish

    major and French minor.
2. The Ph. D. degree in French, with a minor in a related field in the humanities or in education.

PLEASE NOTE: Only graduate-level courses (4000/5000 level) are applicable toward the major and the minor.

The total number of hours required for the Ph. D. is ninety (90) hours beyond the Bachelor’s degree, including credit earned for the M. A., if applicable to the Ph. D. program. The Romance Language degree requires forty-five (45) hours of course work in the major and in the minor fields. The Ph. D. degree in French requires sixty-one (61) hours of course work in the major and nine (9) hours of course work in the minor.  Approved minors include:  Language, English, European History, Linguistics, Anthropology, Philosophy, and approved graduate-level Education courses.  Other fields for a minor must be approved by the student’s committee.

The Romance Language degree requires ten (10) hours of Latin as a prerequisite.

Prerequisites for admission to the Ph. D. program in French include the following:

(1)   Master’s degree in French or equivalent.

(2)   Three letters of recommendation.

(3)   3.50 (on the 4.00 scale) on all graduate course work presented on accompanying transcripts.

(4)   Students must demonstrate reading competency in a second language.  In order to do so, they        

may take the departmental graduate reading exam or complete four semesters in another language.

(5) Application must be completed by April 1 for consideration for admission in the Fall

semester, and by October 1 for the Spring semester.
(6) The application must include a narrative statement of intent written in French.  It must

describe the applicant's accomplishments and plans for the future.

(7) All students will be required to take a placement examination before enrolling in
            graduate-level courses.

Students entering the program are encouraged to show evidence of residence in a French-speaking country.

THE PH. D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE ADVISORY CONFERENCE

During the fourth semester of graduate study, members of the Ph. D. advisory committee shall be selected by the Departmental Chair and/or the Graduate Studies Committee in consultation with the student.

The Ph. D. advisory committee is composed of five members of the graduate faculty, including at least one regular graduate faculty member (not retired) at the University of Oklahoma from outside the major department. The committee member whose academic specialty is the student's dissertation field is the chair of that committee. Students should prepare for distribution to the advisory committee a list of the undergraduate and graduate courses already completed in the major and minor fields, degrees earned, and a statement of the area of specialization within
the major. The committee then meets with the graduate advisor and the student to plan the doctoral program in keeping with the Department and University requirements and the student's specific needs and interests. The committee also decides what previously acquired credit may be applied to the Ph. D. program.

The graduate advisor files the report of the Ph. D. advisory conference with the Graduate College, signed by all members of the advisory committee. All subsequent changes in the program must be approved by the committee.

Changes in the composition of the committee must be approved by all faculty involved and reported to the Graduate College on the proper forms.

Students who have completed or nearly completed all required coursework file a Graduate College application for the General Examination requesting that the committee be authorized to administer the Ph. D. General Examination. The student must explain on this form all variations from the original report of the advisory committee. The committee may give the examination after obtaining authorization to do so.

THE PH. D. GENERAL EXAMINATION

The Ph. D. General Examination is normally given during the twelfth week of the
semester as follows:

1. Examination in the area of specialization within the major: three (3) hours;
2. All other examinations in the major and minor fields: two (2) hours each. The examination in a minor field outside the Department may take place during the regularly scheduled oral examination.

There are six areas in the major which will be tested. They are:

-Medieval French

-16^th Century

-17^th Century

-18^th Century

-19^th Century

-20^th Century

The General Examination covers the entire major field and courses taken for the minor field. The Ph. D. committee is responsible for preparing the examination questions or for asking other graduate faculty to prepare questions in their specific area of specialization. The Ph. D. Committee grades all portions of the examination.

In addition to the M. A. reading list, Ph. D. candidates must request additional bibliographies from Ph. D. committee members.

When the majority of the committee decides that the student's performance is clearly satisfactory or unsatisfactory, the committee shall inform the Graduate College Dean by letter within seven (7) days after completion of the oral portion of the examination. The letter must be signed by the entire committee, and any dissent from the majority opinion must be specifically noted.

The oral examination is scheduled within two weeks after the last written examination. Students are required to present a prospectus of their dissertation at the oral examination (see dissertation below). No Ph. D. examinations, whether written or oral, may be scheduled during University finals week.

In the case of inadequate results on the examination, two minor areas of the examination may be retaken. Failure in the area of specialization within the major and/or in more than two minor areas requires the retaking of the entire examination.

Upon successful completion of the Ph. D. General Examination, students who do not hold an

M. A. degree in their major field may be awarded one by making application and paying the required fees.

THE PH. D. DISSERTATION

Students in the Ph. D. program are urged to choose a topic for their dissertation as early as possible. A dissertation prospectus (five pages minimum, plus selected bibliography) is required at the time of the oral examination; students should expect to be examined over the prospectus as part of the oral exam.

Candidates conducting research or writing their dissertations enroll in dissertation hours (French 6980). Following the initial enrollment, a student must maintain continuous enrollment during each regular semester (summers excepted) in at least two (2) hours of 6980, until the degree is completed or the candidacy discontinued. Exceptions will be made for military service. However, enrollment in 6980 is mandatory in any semester or summer session during which the student is actually doing dissertation work regardless of other hours of enrollment.

The advisory committee guides the student in the research and writing of the dissertation. As each chapter is completed, copies are distributed to committee members for approval and suggestions for revision.

Upon completion of the dissertation, one reading copy must be submitted to the Graduate College for approval before the final copies are made. The chair of the advisory committee schedules the defense of the dissertation which is attended by all committee members. The candidate must prepare an abstract and bring to the defense copies of the dissertation and all the forms to be signed by the committee members. If the committee approves the student's defense, all members sign the copies and the report of the final examination. If the defense is unsatisfactory, the committee prepares the report with appropriate recommendations. The candidate submits the report to the Graduate College. If the report is satisfactory, three (3) copies of the dissertation are submitted to the library.

Candidates must comply with Graduate College regulations in applying for graduation and payment of fees. When all requirements have been fulfilled and all university procedures completed, the candidate's name is placed on the list for the following commencement, and the degree is awarded as of that date.

Graduate information:  mlllgradinfo@ou.edu

06/23/02