‘French and Romance Languages and Literatures’ involves the in-depth study of the French language.

You will study the French language, in its native language form, in all its different dimensions: linguistic and literary, contemporary and historical. In more detailed terms, the programme covers:

• old French;
• French since its latin origins;
• the functioning of the language;
• the history of French literature studied in its European literary context;
• the study of major French-language authors and different critical approaches;
• close textual analysis;
• advanced oral and written expression.

As the programme title suggests, you will need to combine your study of French with that of another Romance language, either Spanish or Italian, along with the corresponding literature component. Please note that Saint-Louis is the only university where it is possible to study all three of these Romance languages together.

There are a wide range of career destinations open to French and Romance languages graduates, including:

• French teaching (in secondary and higher education, in social advancement),
• the teaching of French abroad,
• Spanish and/or Italian language teaching,
• the information, media and communication sector (journalism, literary criticism, teaching in the field of communication and marketing),
• university research,
• cultural institutions (museums, theatres, cultural centres),
• the publishing world (collection editor, publications strategy, proofreading, author relations),
• the book profession (book sellers, libraries, resource and documentation centres),
• human resource management,
• the public sector.

The French and Romance Languages and Literatures programme is composed of core and specialist courses, plus a ‘minor’ option. These are detailed below.

• The core and specialist courses constitute the bulk of the overall programme.

The main programme comprises essential core courses that are taken by all French and Romance Languages and Literatures students. These include courses in human sciences that are taught as standard in literature, philosophy, historical criticism, or in art history. They are taught principally in the first year, the objective being to establish a broad interdisciplinary platform, and also to enable students to switch to a different programme from their second year if they wish. Another advantage of a strong core and interdisciplinary component in the first year is that it makes it possible for students to pursue a second degree as part of a dual-degree programme.

The focus of the main programme is on French and Romance Languages and Literatures. As specialists in romance languages we see the linguistic and literature fields as two sides of the same coin, and as a romance languages student you will have a wide choice of fully complementary language and literature courses to choose from.

The specialist courses of the main programme include:

• a literature component, including: histoire de la littérature française, littérature comparée, auteurs français anciens, modernes, contemporains, analyse de textes, théorie de la littérature, auteurs latins.
• a linguistic component, including: fonctionnement du langage, étude du français contemporain, grammaire, origine et évolution de la langue française, comparaison du français avec les autres langues romanes

In addition to French, as a romance languages student you must learn at least one other romance language (Spanish or Italian), as well as familiarise yourself with its literature.

• You may also incorporate a minor in your main programme. This enables you to broaden the academic scope of your studies by including another discipline. At Saint-Louis a minor comprises a selection of optional courses in a particular field that is studied over the three years of the bachelor’s programme.