French Studies

at University of Warwick

In your first year, you will take language classes to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken French. You will also study the core module The Story of Modern France. This module examines primary texts from major periods and events in French history, literature, and contemporary politics, as well as introducing key critical approaches to enrich your analysis. You will then choose two further modules, one of which may be from another academic department or from the Language Centre.

Having acquired foundation skills in your first year, you will go on to develop your language skills in the intermediate and final years. At the same time, you will be able to pursue your own interests beyond the language. Our modules reflect the research specialisms of academics in the French department and cover a broad range of subjects in French and Francophone culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film and history.

As a single honours student, you will be able to select from modules in the French department, as well as from interdisciplinary cross-School modules. If you wish, you can also study one outside option per year.

Year One
Modern French Language 1
You will deepen your understanding of French grammar and syntax with the help of tutors experienced in facilitating the transition from A-level to university-level competence. You will learn appropriate technical vocabulary and handle complex structures. You will develop the skills required to produce authentic and accurate translations of written texts in both English and French. Finally, writing in formal French introduces you to the structures and methods used to debate ideas on contemporary issues. You will increase your reading and comprehension skills and develop your ability to exploit texts for vocabulary, idioms, syntax and grammatical structures. Working with a native speaker in small groups, you will discuss topics on contemporary French and Francophone culture and society, using audio, video and written resources.

The Story of Modern France
Why is modern France so deeply invested in the past? What are the milestones in the creation of modern France? How have notions of France and Frenchness been shaped through the stories told about them? These are some of the questions you will explore through close reading of primary sources from major periods and events in French history. You will explore a range of written, visual, and audio-visual materials, from the student posters of May 1968 to prints dating back to the French Revolution, and from stories of Charlemagne to films and texts reflecting France’s ongoing preoccupation with its (often controversial) recent past. Equipped with these foundations, you will be well prepared to study further aspects of French and Francophone culture in the later stages of your degree.

Two optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

Intermediate Year
Modern French Language 2
You will consolidate and develop the productive and receptive language skills acquired in your first year. By the end of the module, you should have appropriate knowledge of vocabulary and syntactic and grammatical structures to produce written French in two prescribed genres. You will develop your skills in translation to and from French, with a focus on specific translation problems, and increase the accuracy with which you use grammatical structures. In spoken French, you will comprehend and produce structured spoken French on a range of topics of contemporary significance in the context of simulated scenarios.

A selection of optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

Final Year
Modern French Language 3
You will consolidate and develop your ability to write and speak confidently and at a level of intellectual sophistication in correct French. By the end of the course, you should be able to produce a structured written argument on a given topic, in French that is grammatically correct, idiomatic, varied in vocabulary and grammatical structure, and in an appropriate register. You should be able to translate from French to English and English to French accurately, using your detailed knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and idiom, and employing an appropriate register. You will strengthen your skills in pronunciation and intonation and demonstrate these through fluent oral presentation and discussion of an intellectually serious topic.

A selection of optional modules (one of which may be an approved outside option in another department or the Language Centre)

Optional modules

• Literatures of the Great War Modern French Thinkers
• French Presidents and the Media
• Introduction to French Linguistics
• The Right in France, from the Dreyfus Affair to the Present
• Representations of the Holocaust
• Violence, Religion and Revolt in Renaissance France
• The Medieval World and its Others: Gender, Race, Religion
• The French Revolution
• Women and Madness in Nineteenth-Century French Writing
• Sex and Sexuality in Contemporary French Writing
• States of the Nation: French Cinema and Society from 1990 to the Present
• Slavery and After: Writing the Francophone Caribbean
   

All applicants, regardless of their visa requirements, are required to show that their ability to understand and express themselves in both written and spoken English is sufficiently high for them to derive full benefit from their degree course. The level of competence required depends on what type of degree you wish to study. Many applicants can demonstrate this through a satisfactory level of achievement in, for example, GCSE English Language or the English courses within the International Baccalaureate.

Applicants whose academic qualifications meet the University’s admissions requirements, but whose English language qualifications are not accepted as equivalent, may be offered a place at Warwick conditional on an acceptable English language qualification being achieved before they join the University. A number of English language tests are accepted; some of the most frequently offered ones are detailed below.

Please note that certain English tests (including IELTS and PTE) must be taken within two years and one month prior to the start of your course at Warwick. Applicants whose tests fall outside this timescale will need to retake a suitable English language test.

Applicants who require a visa to study in the UK may, depending on the circumstances, be asked to provide evidence of a secure English language test (e.g. IELTS for UKVI (Academic)), rather than an examination (such as International Baccalaureate English) due to the visa requirements set by the UK government.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (2022 Entry)

If you do not meet the English Language Requirements for your course in full, you may still be eligible for the course on condition of:

• Meeting the English Language Requirements for our Pre-sessional English course, and
• Successfully completing the Pre-sessional English course

Please use the table below to find the relevant band for the course(s) in which you are interested. You can sort the table by clicking on the heading of the column you wish to sort by.

If you are an overseas or EU student enrolling in 2022, your annual tuition fees will be as follows:

• Band 1 – £22,280 per year (classroom-based courses, including Humanities and most Social Science courses)
• Band 2 – £28,410 per year (laboratory-based courses, plus Theatre and Performance Studies, Economics, and courses provided by Warwick Business School, with exceptions)

Fees for 2023 entry have not been set. We will publish updated information here as soon as it becomes available, so please check back for updates about 2023 fee rates before you apply.

Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship 2022

We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities. This new scheme will offer international fee-paying students 250 tuition fee discounts ranging from full fees to awards of £13,000 to £2,000 for the full duration of your Undergraduate degree course.

A languages degree will equip you with skills applicable to a wide variety of different jobs and career paths. Our students often go on to careers using their languages after graduation. They also develop transferrable communicative and analytical skills that are highly sought after by employers.

Graduates from Modern Language courses have gone on to work for employers including:

• Amazon
• British Airways
• Civil Service
• Grayce Consulting
• HM Revenue and Customs
• HSBC
• Ipsos Mori
• Lidl
• NBC Universal
• Save the Children International
• The Department for International Trade

They have pursued careers such as:

• Business and financial project management professionals
• Chartered and certified accountants
• Financial accounts managers
• Human resources and industrial relations officers
• Management consultants and business analysts
• Public services associate professionals
• Teachers and other educational professionals