What Will You Study
French Studies is taught by the Department of Languages and Cultures. Our approach enables you to acquire high-level language skills and a thorough understanding of French cultures and societies within a global context and includes an international placement year where you will study abroad.
Your first year comprises an exploration of the French language and its cultural context. Alongside this, you will study two minor subjects of your choice, one of which may be another language.
Building on your language skills in Year 2, you will also study France’s culture, politics and history in more depth, as well as selecting courses which are international in scope and promote a comparative understanding of Europe and beyond.
Spending your third year abroad in a French-speaking country makes a major contribution to your command of the language, while deepening your intercultural sensitivity. You will have the opportunity to study at a partner institution or conduct a work placement.
In your final year, you will consolidate your French language skills, and study specialist culture and comparative courses, such as ‘Francophone Voices: Literature and Film from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Canada’, and ‘Translation as a Cultural Practice’. You will have the opportunity to develop a particular topic from your second year studies into your specialist dissertation.
Related Courses
- Chinese Studies and French Studies : BA Hons
- Chinese Studies and German Studies : BA Hons
- Chinese Studies and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- Criminology and French Studies : BA Hons
- English Language and French Studies : BA Hons
- English Language and German Studies : BA Hons
- English Language and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- English Language with Chinese : BA Hons
- English Language with Chinese (Placement Year) : BA Hons
- French Studies and Computing : BSc Hons
- French Studies and English Literature : BA Hons
- French Studies and Film : BA Hons
- French Studies and Geography : BA Hons
- French Studies and German Studies : BA Hons
- French Studies and History : BA Hons
- French Studies and Linguistics : BA Hons
- French Studies and Mathematics : BA Hons
- French Studies and Philosophy : BA Hons
- French Studies and Politics : BA Hons
- French Studies and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- French Studies and Theatre : BA Hons
- French Studies with Italian : BA Hons
- German Studies : BA Hons
- German Studies and Computing : BSc Hons
- German Studies and English Literature : BA Hons
- German Studies and Film : BA Hons
- German Studies and Geography : BA Hons
- German Studies and History : BA Hons
- German Studies and Linguistics : BA Hons
- German Studies and Mathematics : BA Hons
- German Studies and Philosophy : BA Hons
- German Studies and Politics : BA Hons
- German Studies and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- German Studies and Theatre : BA Hons
- German Studies with Italian : BA Hons
- Linguistics with Chinese : BA Hons
- Linguistics with Chinese (Placement Year) : BA Hons
- Management and French Studies : BA Hons
- Management and German Studies : BA Hons
- Management and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- Modern Languages : BA Hons
- Modern Languages and Cultures : MLang Hons
- Philosophy with Chinese : BA Hons
- Philosophy with Chinese (Placement Year) : BA Hons
- Politics with Chinese : BA Hons
- Politics with Chinese (Placement Year) : BA Hons
- Psychology and French Studies : BA Hons
- Psychology and German Studies : BA Hons
- Psychology and Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- Religious Studies with Chinese : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Computing : BSc Hons
- Spanish Studies and English Literature : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Film : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Geography : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and History : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Linguistics : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Mathematics : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Philosophy : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Politics : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies and Theatre : BA Hons
- Spanish Studies with Italian : BA Hons
Modules
Year 1
- French Language: Oral Skills (CEFR: B2)
- French Language: Oral skills (post-Beginners/CEFR: B1))
- French Language: Written Skills (CEFR: B2)
- French Language: Written Skills (post-Beginners/CEFR: B1)
- Second Year Programme for Academic Skills, Employability and International placement preparation
- Shaping Contemporary France: Moments and Movements
- Cross-cultural encounters in World Literatures
- Economic and Social Change in France, Germany and Spain since 1945
- Language and Identity in France, Germany and Spain
- Professional Contexts for Modern Languages
- Society on Screen: The Language of Film
- Understanding culture
- French Language: Oral Skills (CEFR: C1/C2)
- French Language: Written Skills (CEFR: C1/C2)
- Full Unit Dissertation
- Autocrats, Caudillos and Big Men: Understanding Dictatorship and its Cultural Representation in the 20th Century
- Contemporary Cities in Literature and Film
- Francophone Voices: Literature and Film from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Canada
- French Culture in the Digital Age
- Imagining Modern Europe: Post-Revolutionary Utopias and Ideologies in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century
- Mirrors across Media: Reflexivity in Literature, Film, Comics and Video Games
- Modernity of Forms and Forms of Modernity in French Literature 1850-2000
- Translation as a Cultural Practice
- Writing in the margins: narrating cross-cultural experience
Core
Year 2
Core
Optional
Year 3
Core
Year 4
Core
Optional
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and others which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism. We divide academic study into two sections - Part 1 (Year 1) and Part 2 (Year 2, 3 and sometimes 4). For most programmes Part 1 requires you to study 120 credits spread over at least three modules which, depending upon your programme, will be drawn from one, two or three different academic subjects. A higher degree of specialisation then develops in subsequent years. For more information about our teaching methods at Lancaster please visit our Teaching and Learning section.
The following courses do not offer modules outside of the subject area due to the structured nature of the programmes: Architecture, Law, Physics, Engineering, Medicine, Sports and Exercise Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedicine and Biomedical Science.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research.
Entry Criteria
Grade Requirements
A Level ABB
Required Subjects A level French, or if this is to be studied from beginners’ level, AS grade B or A level grade B in another foreign language, or GCSE grade A or 7 in a foreign language. Native French speakers will not be accepted onto this scheme.
IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.
Other Qualifications
International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects including appropriate evidence of language ability
BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit accepted alongside appropriate evidence of language ability
We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualification. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.
Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk
Careers
As well as language and subject related skills, a degree in languages gives you the opportunity to develop rich interpersonal, intercultural, cognitive and transferable skills that can be utilised across a variety of careers. Our graduates have found work in a wide variety of areas such as accountancy, IT, business development, civil service, events management, finance, journalism, publishing, research and sales, as well as teaching and translating both in the UK and beyond.
For the last ten years, language graduates from Lancaster have been in the top ten universities in the country in terms of their employability, with French ranked 1st for graduate prospects in the Complete University Guide 2020. Many graduates continue their studies at Lancaster, making the most of our postgraduate research facilities. We offer Masters degrees in Translation and Languages and Cultures, which can lead on to a variety of careers including translation, and teaching.
Studying
Teaching and Learning Methods
At Lancaster we offer a broad range of learning environments designed to best support the requirements of your chosen degree programme. These may include lecture and tutorials, interactive workshops, laboratory sessions, other practical activities, student-led seminars and web-based delivery.
The modules which make up a programme of study are assessed using a variety of different methods, enabling students to demonstrate their capabilities in a range of ways. Typical coursework assignments include laboratory reports, essays, literature reviews, short tests, short and sharply focused critical reports, poster sessions and oral presentations. Formal examinations include short answer questions, essays and data analysis. Multiple choice formats are also employed where appropriate. Students are supported in the production of final year project reports and dissertations. Details of the assessment methods for individual modules can be accessed via the university's online module catalogue. In addition to these learning and teaching methods we encourage independent study, meaning you take responsibility for your own learning. For more information visit our Teaching Approach page.
Assessment Methods
We offer you a variety of stimulating and effective approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. This enables you and your tutors to explore the very latest thinking within your subject and develops your skills in problem solving, analysis and critical reflection, communication, application of knowledge and modern technologies.
As a University, we commit to providing all our undergraduates with a minimum number of contact hours per week, providing you with timely feedback on your work and a maximum number of 15 students per seminar group.
Fees
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2020/21 are:
| UK/EU | Overseas |
|---|---|
| £9,250 | £18,700 |
Tuition fees for programmes are set annually for all new and continuing students. If you are studying on a course of more than one year's duration, the fees for subsequent years of your programme are likely to increase each year. Such increases are normally calculated based on increases in the costs incurred by the institution, or in relation to UK government regulations which set the maximum fee for certain categories of student.
For the majority of undergraduate students, the most recent annual increase was 2.8%. Any change in fee rates will be communicated to students and applicants prior to the start of the academic year in question, and normally at least eight months prior to enrolment. Further details can be found in our Terms and Conditions.
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
Some science and medicine courses have higher fees for students from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. You can find more details here: Island Students.
Funding
For full details of the University's financial support packages including eligibility criteria, please visit our fees and funding page
Students also need to consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation it may be necessary to take out subscriptions to professional bodies and to buy business attire for job interviews.