Poser sa candidature

Successful applicants must have completed an undergraduate program:

• in French with a cumulative average of B (75%) in a recognized four-year Honours BA degree program in a Canadian university (or its equivalent) may be admitted to this program as regular students;
• in a four-year Honours or equivalent undergraduate program of studies in French, but who have not attained a cumulative average of B (75%) overall may be recommended and admitted as probationary students if certain conditions are satisfied;
• in an Honours program of studies in a discipline other than French, may seek admission as transitional students. Candidates for admission must have knowledge of French that is equivalent to French 400 at the University of Waterloo; or
• that is the equivalent of the three-year General BA program in French with at least a B (75%) average in a Canadian university may be accepted as qualifying students.

Note: Full-time and Transitional MA candidates are eligible for entrance scholarships and for Teaching Assistantships. Qualifying and Probationary students are not eligible for either, but may be granted part-time, non-teaching, employment within the Department.

Successful applicants must have completed and received a minimum of 80% in an MA program in French Studies or a closely related field.

The PhD program is comprised of three distinct research fields. Students may be admitted into one of the three fields.

• Digital archiving, editing, and publishing in a Francophone context
  This unique field includes the study of manuscript retrieval and editing, new media studies, the study of the impact of digital media on French and Francophone literatures and cultures, questions on the history of the book and the e-book, digital and multimedia teaching of French and Francophone literatures and cultures, and also the archiving of book illustrations and other cultural material such as letters, personal archives, and private texts.
• Early modern French literary studies and theory
  Early modern French literary studies and theory have long been a traditional strength of the Department of French Studies at the University of Waterloo. A cluster of internationally known scholars are working in innovative areas in the period ranging from the early Middle Ages to the end of the eighteenth century. These areas include among others the study and publishing of texts produced by women, research and archiving of travel literature and epistolary documents, and the examination of the importance of print culture in the creation a literary institution.
• Cultural Studies in a Francophone context
  This field focuses on cultural and literary studies in a Francophone context (France, Quebec, Francophone Ontario, Africa, the Caribbean), from the nineteenth century to the present. In addition to considering literature as the product of conditions in a particular place and time, the cultural studies field encourages interdisciplinarity through the critical study of cultural artefacts produced in a variety of media: literary texts, popular literature and cultures, theatre, film, music, painting, etc. This field draws upon diverse methodologies (semiotics, intermediality, feminist and queer theory, poststructuralist theory, post-colonial theory, ecocriticism, psychoanalytical theories and minority studies) to study a variety of cultural products.

The professors of the French Studies Department are specialized in various research areas.

There are three study options for the MA in French. Students should discuss their preferred study option with the Graduate Officer early in their programs, preferably during their first term.

Course study option requirements

• Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
• 8 courses, including FR600 (Research methods in French Studies)
• Students may take 1 course in another department, upon approval of the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. 
• All courses should be completed successfully within three terms.

The minimum average required for graduation is 72%.

A student receiving a course grade below 70% may be asked to withdraw from the program. Students are automatically enrolled in the Course study option during their first term in the MA Program.

Research paper (mémoire) study option

• Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)

• 6 courses, including FR600 (Research methods in French Studies)
• Students may take 1 course in another department, upon approval of the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies.
• Research paper (mémoire) of approximately 50 pages, written in French.

No more than one course with a grade lower than 70% is permitted.
The research paper topic must be approved by the French Studies Graduate Committee. The paper will be written under the supervision of a professor of the Department. Please see a list of our faculty research areas.

The research paper must be read and approved by a Reading committee of two professors, the supervisor and an internal reader. The student will normally be notified within three weeks of submission of the research paper (mémoire) of its approval/rejection by the Reading Committee.

Thesis study option

• Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
• 4 courses, including FR600 (Research methods and professional communication)
• Students may take 1 course in another department, upon approval of the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies.
• Thesis paper of approximately 100 pages, written in French, and thesis defense

To be accepted to the thesis study option, you must first pass two graduate courses with a minimum average of 80%. A student receiving a course grade below 78% must revert to the course study option.

The thesis paper topic must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department. The paper will be written under the supervision of a professor of the Department. Please see a list of our faculty research areas.

The thesis must be approved by the thesis supervisor and two other readers appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee, and must be defended orally before the thesis committee.

Exigences pour compléter le programme en fonction de ce qui est stipulé dans le Graduate Studies Academic Calendar de l’Université de Waterloo.

• Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
• FR600
• Five additional graduate courses
• Reading proficiency test in a language other than French and English. First languages are normally accepted, as is the successful completion of two introductory language courses
  Please confirm with the Department’s Associate Chair, Graduate Studies.
• Selection of a specific area of research and a thesis supervisor
• Submission of the form Proposition de sujet de doctorat (.doc) to the Graduate Studies Committee (end of first year in PhD program)
• Comprehensive exams
• PhD dissertation and oral examination

Comprehensive examinations

During their second year of study, PhD students are required to complete a series of comprehensive exams (PDF) :

Prepared under the direction of the thesis supervisor, comprehensive examinations include a set of written and oral components, and are intended to ensure breadth, to assess competence in the field of French Studies, and to prepare students for the writing of the PhD thesis.

• Students must prepare and read, under the supervision of their thesis supervisor, a list of primary texts (a “corpus”), and develop a broad critical and theoretical bibliography in areas relevant to the proposed thesis topic. This first component is followed by an oral examination. 
• Students then write a field exam that is submitted to the thesis committee for approval. 
• Finally, students must submit, under the supervision of their thesis supervisor, a dissertation proposal and outline. The bibliography, the field exam, and a dissertation proposal and outline are defended orally before the committee. 

Students must successfully complete all three components in order to proceed to the writing of the thesis.

The PhD thesis

During the third and fourth years of study, students conduct research and write the PhD thesis. The thesis is evaluated by a committee comprising the thesis supervisor, two additional members of the Department, one internal university reader and one external examiner. Students must also successfully defend their thesis during an oral examination, open to the public. 

Schedule for PhD programme of study

Important Note : Students must plan to submit their thesis at least EIGHT WEEKS before their planned defence date. Please discuss your planned timeline with the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies.