French and Philosophy BA

Course overview

On this course you will combine studies in French language, literature and culture with a wide range of philosophical topics. You will normally devote half your time to each discipline. Core French language modules are followed, along with core modules in logic, moral philosophy, and other philosophical problems. Additional modules can be selected in a variety of topics including French literature, linguistics, history, politics, culture and film.

Year one 

In French, you will receive a firm grounding in the structures of the language through the core language module and pursue a choice of introductory studies in reading French texts, contemporary France, French history or linguistics. In Philosophy, you will be introduced to the subject through a series of core modules in central philosophical problems and you will also be able to choose optional modules.

Year two

In French, your language studies will be consolidated and developed to prepare you for the year abroad. You will study a choice of modules aimed at developing your knowledge in some or all of the fields mentioned in the course description.

In Philosophy, there are further core modules in central areas and a wide variety of optional modules that will allow you to develop and broaden your philosophical skills and knowledge.

Year three

You will spend year three in France or a Francophone country, on a programme of studies in a higher education institution, as an assistant in a school or on a work placement.

Year four

In French, you will perfect your command of the language and its use in increasingly sophisticated contexts, and study optional modules drawn from a list covering a wide range of topics in the fields mentioned in the course description. In Philosophy, there will be free choice from a wide variety of more advanced modules, and the opportunity to write a dissertation on a topic of your own choosing.

More information 

See also the Department of Philosophy.

Entry requirements

A levels: AAB, including A in French at A level; also C in maths at GCSE

English language requirements 

IELTS 7.0 (no less than 6.0 in any element)

TOEFL iBT 100 (no less that 21 in listening and writing, 22 in reading and 23 in speaking)

Alternative qualifications 

For details please see the alternative qualifications page

Modules

The modules we offer are inspired by the research interests of our staff and as a result, may change from year to year. The following list is therefore subject to change but should give you a flavour of the modules we offer.

Typical year-one modules

• Self, Mind and Body
• Reasoning and Argument: An Introduction to Philosophical Method
• The French Language
• Contemporary France

For information on Philosophy modules, please contact the Department of Philosophy.

Typical year-two modules

• The Nature of Meaning
• The French Language
• Huit tableaux: Art and Politics in 19th Century France
• Contemporary French Culture
• Seventeenth-Century French literature

For information on Philosophy modules, please contact the Department of Philosophy.

Typical year-three modules

Year spent abroad.

Please see the Department of French and Francophone Studies Year Abroad page.

Typical year-four modules

• The French Language
• Media and Political Communication in France
• The Eighteenth-Century French novel
• Interpreting
• Président et Parlement

For information on Philosophy modules, please contact the Department of Philosophy.

Typical optional modules

• Contemporary France
• Philosophy of Religion
• France: Histoire et Mythologies
• Aspects of the Second World War in French cinema
• History of Philosophy
• The Concentrationary Universe in French Literature
• African Francophone Fiction
• Free Will and Action
• Environmental Ethics
• Reality, Representation and Truth 

Skills and careers

You will have a broad knowledge of philosophical theories and concepts and an in-depth understanding of the area covered in your dissertation (if you have opted to write one). You will have a strong command of the French language and be able to use it comfortably in a range of social and professional contexts, while your year abroad will have raised your cultural and inter-cultural awareness.

Average starting salary

The average starting salary for 2009/10 full-time graduates of the Department of French and Francophone Studies was £19,660.00 and for graduates of the Department of Philosophy it was £18,359.38.*

*Average starting salary from known destinations of first-degree leavers who studied full-time, 2009/10.