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Department of French and Italian

Welcome to the French Program in UMD's School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

Explore French Studies

Undergraduate Programs

Undergraduate Degrees in French

An undergraduate program in French enhances your intercultural competency and global mobility by allowing you to gain language proficiency while also discovering the rich literary, cinematographic, historical, and cultural traditions of the French-speaking world. Our program offers a B.A. in French Language and Literature and a B.A. in Romance Languages. Hear from Sophia Franklin, Class of 2023, double major in French and Government and Politics who explains why French is important in today's world.

Approximately ten hours a week of free tutoring is available to students in any French course.


Graduate Programs

Graduate Degrees in French

Our M.A. and Ph.D. students benefit from outstanding mentorship from dedicated faculty specializing in leading-edge areas of research, including cinema and media studies, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonialism, ecocriticism, and digital humanities.


Special Programs

Special Programs

Discover countless opportunities to explore the French language and experience the variety and richness of French-speaking cultures from around the world.


People

Faculty

The French faculty at UMD includes internationally recognized specialists in French and Francophone literature, linguistics and cinema from the Early Modern period to the present.

French Faculty and Graduate Students

About The French Program

The French program features a dynamic, accomplished, and collegial community of teachers, scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, passionate in their study of the French language and French and Francophone culture in all its forms. Programs offered by the department include a B.A. in French Language and Literature, a M.A. in French Studies, and a PhD. In Modern French Studies.

Each semester, we offer a wide range of courses, most taught exclusively in French, on language, literature, culture, film, history, philosophy, linguistics, politics, current events, and the world of business. Our courses span from the 16th century to the present, from early-modern manuscripts to digital media, and from Paris to Marrakesh, Fort-de-France, and Québec City. The French program fosters collaborative work across disciplines, languages, media, centuries, and fields and provides thorough pedagogical training and teaching experience in French language, literature and culture courses. It is home to a diverse community of internationally recognized scholars and researchers focusing on French and Francophone studies, critical theory, film, literature, and linguistics, from the Early Modern period to the present day.

Advising and Courses

Advising

The French Program undergraduate advisor is available to answer questions related to the French undergraduate programs. It is recommended that students meet with the advisor at registration time each semester to verify the successful completion or degree requirements. If this is your first semester, make sure to take the Foreign Language Placement Assessment before meeting with the advisor to better understand where you will begin in the course progression. 

Advisor: Dr. Hannah Wegmann
Office: 3106G Jiménez Hall
hwegmann@umd.edu

Virtual and in-person office hours available

The College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) Office of Student Affairs provides college advising for all ARHU undergraduates in 1120 Francis Scott Key Hall.

Courses

See the Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog for a full list of our course offerings and Testudo for our current courses.

Program Director

Valerie Orlando

Professor, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Professor & Chair, French
Professor, Cinema and Media Studies
Affiliate Faculty, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center

3106C Jiménez Hall
College Park MD, 20742

Program Advisor

Hannah Wegmann

Lecturer, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Lecturer and Undergraduate Advisor, French

3106G Jiménez Hall
College Park MD, 20742

(301) 405-4032

Director of Graduate Studies

Sarah Benharrech

Associate Professor, French
Affiliate, Classics
Associate Professor, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

3104 Jiménez Hall
College Park MD, 20742

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Hervé Campangne

Professor, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Professor, French

3106E Jiménez Hall
College Park MD, 20742