A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. A knowledge of French at least equivalent to CEFRL C1 (Advanced) is required. Applications from students who do not have formal qualifications in French but who are competent in the language, will be considered.
This course provides a thorough understanding of aspects of French and Francophone culture within a broadly interdisciplinary focus. You will have the opportunity, among other things, to learn key methods and issues in textual criticism, engage in theoretical analysis, improve your language skills, or deepen your historical understanding. The modules are designed to offer exciting critical engagement with topical issues currently being addressed in French and Francophone Studies and modern language studies more widely, such as text and theory, text and image, history, trauma, creativity and post-colonial theory.
The Language, Culture and History: French and Francophone Studies MA, includes one compulsory module that introduces a combination of methodology and research topics, historiography, and approaches to literary and cultural studies. This core module provides a strong foundation at graduate level and helps you develop the skills and knowledge needed to carry out research, write academic essays and your final dissertation.
You will also take optional modules and a dissertation. The optional modules you choose will be specific to your subject language, as well as cultural modules, which cover a range of topics that draw on literature, film, history, and linguistics, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Further details can be found on our Postgraduate Modules page.
Modern Languages graduates are highly valued by employers for their linguistic and cultural knowledge, and for their set of transferable skills. These include the ability to speak, understand and write in a foreign language, intercultural understanding, translation and communication skills, and analytical rigour.
The course provides an excellent foundation for further doctoral study in the field. SELCS & CMII graduates can be found in careers that cross international boundaries. With their specialist knowledge and language skills, French and Francophone Studies Master’s graduates can be found in the fields of business, finance, the media, international agencies, publishing, translation, teaching and academia.
The course will be of interest to those who wish to enhance their knowledge of French culture for professional purposes in the fields of education, media, commerce and tourism, for example as well as to students wishing to subsequently pursue their studies at doctoral level.
Recent graduates from our Language Culture and History MA courses, have gone on to work in a range of challenging careers from IT and technology to museums and university teaching. Our graduates are found in sectors such as publishing, journalism and translation (11.1%); PR, advertising and marketing (3.7%); media (7.4%); teaching and other educational activities (18.5%). They have gone on to work for employers such as the BBC, Toyota and the Financial Conduct Authority, while others have gone onto further study.*