Graduate Program

The graduate program in French Studies, offering degrees both at the Masters and Ph.D. level, is distinctive for the strength of its faculty, the close attention it offers to each of its students, and its rich, interdisciplinary approach. It strives to meet the needs of candidates interested in all fields of French literature and culture from the Middle Ages to the present, but with faculty including literary theorists, philosophers, historians, linguists, and cultural critics, it is a program intended to situate French culture within the broadest possible context of European and World history. Courses range quite broadly from the chanson de geste to French feminism, postcolonialism, and contemporary philosophical postmodernity.

The interdisciplinary approaches embodied in our program are facilitated by ongoing workshops on campus sponsored by the Center for the Study of Cultures, an interdepartmental organization that bridges the research interests of faculty members and graduate students in the humanities and social sciences. For second language instruction and research, the Center for the Study of Languages provides a framework of pedagogical, scholarly, and cultural support. Finally, distinguished scholars from both the United States and Europe are often invited for public lectures. Past visitors have included: Marc Augé, Jean Baudrillard, Leo Bersani, Cornélius Castoriadis, Jacques Derrida, Gérard Genette, René Girard, Edouard Glissant, Maurice Godelier, Richard Howard, Jean-François Lyotard, Naomi Schor, and Joan Scott.

Holders of the B.A. degree, the M.A., or their equivalents from accredited institutions are eligible to apply.

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Degree Requirements

Graduate students normally take three seminars each semester and are expected to acquire a broad background in the various fields of the program and in research approaches. For students entering with the B.A., 57 semester hours of course work are required for the Ph.D.; for students with the M.A., 30 semester hours of course work are required.

Preliminary Examinations: Written and oral preliminary examinations on the Ph.D. reading list must be completed before the student is admitted to candidacy. The entire exam may be taken following completion of course work, normally within one semester of the last course.

Foreign Language: For the Ph.D., the student is expected to complete satisfactorily an upper level course in a language other than French, English, or one's native language, to be chosen in consultation with the graduate advisors on the basis of its relevance to the student's possible research interests. This requirement may be met prior to the student's enrollment at Rice and must be fulfilled prior to taking the preliminary examinations. With the permission of the Graduate Committee, this requirement may also be met through satisfactory performance on a written language examination.

Teaching: The teaching of language courses under the supervision of a member of the department is considered an integral part of the Ph.D. program. Such teaching involves normally one three-hour course per semester. Graduate students are not required to teach in their first year of study at Rice.

Doctoral Dissertation: Each student is expected to present a dissertation research proposal to the graduate faculty soon after the completion of the preliminary examinations. The dissertation should constitute an original contribution to scholarly research.

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Financial Aid:

A generous program of financial support is available. Students entering our program receive graduate stipends and tuition waivers, awarded on the basis of merit. Students who remain in good standing thus can normally expect a minimum of four years of support. A fifth year of support may also be available (see Rennes and Clyde Gerguson Bull Fellowship, below). See the Cashier's Office for current tuition and fee rates.

The department also nominates outstanding applicants to Rice University's program of Presidential Fellowship, which provides financial support in addition to the graduate stipend.

The School of Humanities provides funds to defray expenses incurred while traveling to professional conferences as well as for summer research. In the recent past, our graduate students have thus conducted research or delivered papers in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe.

An exchange program with the Universite de Rennes and fellowships from the Clyde Bull Ferguson fund also provide the opportunity to conduct research in France, generally for the doctoral dissertation, once the course requirement has been completed.

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Application Requirements:

Your completed dossier should include the following:

Application form
Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (sent directly to this department)
Official TOEFL Scores, for foreign students (sent directly to this department)
Four (4) letters of recommendation
Official transcripts (all higher education schools attended, sent directly to this department)
Writing sample in French (prefer a paper prepared for a class at least ten pages in length)
$35 application fee

Your application must be completed and postmarked by February 1 for consideration of admittance in the upcoming fall semester. Applications will not be considered complete if any of the above items are missing. Please mail or have additional items sent to:


  Department Coordinator
  Department of French Studies, MS-31
  Rice University
  PO Box 1892
  Houston, TX 77251-1892

On-line APPLICATION

Download an APPLICATION

For additional information, please send your request to fren@rice.edu or call 713-348-4851.

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