About PhD Program,
The Department of French is committed to providing full funding to all doctoral students for the duration of the PhD degree. The award package comprises a combination of graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs) and fellowships, is guaranteed for up to 6 years, and covers tuition, fees, and comprehensive health insurance. It also includes an annual stipend of $30,000 for basic living expenses in Charlottesville.
This funding package guarantees graduate students two years of full funding with no teaching duties during the first and fourth years of the program. Beginning in their second year, and during the third, fifth, and sixth years (if a sixth year is necessary), graduate students teach one course per semester in the undergraduate French language program. We also offer advanced graduate students the opportunity to teach a literature, culture, or film course in the major/minor sequence. A limited number of teaching positions are also available during the summer session, both in Charlottesville and on our summer study abroad program in Lyon.
Once they have completed all coursework and exams, doctoral students in good standing are eligible for a variety of internal research fellowships and grants, including the GSAS Arts and Humanities Research Council Grants that support work over the summer. The Department, Graduate School, and the Office of the VP for Research also regularly fund student participation in a variety of professional conferences, institutes and seminars, including the bi-annual Dartmouth Institute for French Cultural Studies and the Geneva Summer School in French Literary and Historical Studies. Students regularly earn scholarships to enroll in summer classes at the Rare Book School, hosted by UVa, and have also recently participated in summer institutes run by the EHESS in Paris and the program in gender and psychoanalysis co-sponsored by Northwestern U. and the Sorbonne Nouvelle. The Department of French also encourages students to participate in longer term study abroad programs, whether through its established teaching exchange programs with partner universities in Paris and Lyon, through the university’s graduate exchange programs with the ENS and EHESS in Paris, or through externally funded fellowships like the Chateaubriand, the Fulbright, the Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowhip, the Phi Beta Kappa Walter J. Jensen award, and the Bourse Jeanne Marandon. Graduate students may also consult with the Office of Citizen Scholar Development, which often has information on relevant funding opportunities.
The University of Virginia’s Office of Graduate and Post-Graduate Affairs publishes an extensive list of funding opportunities and resources for graduate students, which may be consulted here.
Please note that all forms of departmental financial aid, including teaching appointments, are granted and reviewed annually. In addition, the renewal of teaching appointments is based on demonstrated teaching competence and continued satisfactory progress in the graduate program.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
- To be considered for admission, an applicant must have at least a 3.0 both for their general GPA and for their major GPA; grades earned in advanced literature courses and during the final two years of undergraduate study will receive special attention.
- Since our graduate courses presuppose some acquaintance with major texts in French literature and with critical vocabulary in French, applicants to the MA program must have completed at least five undergraduate courses in French literature or French civilization/cultural studies, while applicants to the PhD program must have completed at least five undergraduate courses in French literature or French civilization/cultural studies (for those entering without an MA from another institution) and at least eight graduate courses in French (for those entering with an MA from another institution).
PhD Funding Coverage,
The Department of French is committed to providing full funding to all doctoral students for the duration of the PhD degree. The award package comprises a combination of graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs) and fellowships, is guaranteed for up to 6 years, and covers tuition, fees, and comprehensive health insurance. It also includes an annual stipend of $30,000 for basic living expenses in Charlottesville.
This funding package guarantees graduate students two years of full funding with no teaching duties during the first and fourth years of the program. Beginning in their second year, and during the third, fifth, and sixth years (if a sixth year is necessary), graduate students teach one course per semester in the undergraduate French language program. We also offer advanced graduate students the opportunity to teach a literature, culture, or film course in the major/minor sequence. A limited number of teaching positions are also available during the summer session, both in Charlottesville and on our summer study abroad program in Lyon.
Once they have completed all coursework and exams, doctoral students in good standing are eligible for a variety of internal research fellowships and grants, including the GSAS Arts and Humanities Research Council Grants that support work over the summer. The Department, Graduate School, and the Office of the VP for Research also regularly fund student participation in a variety of professional conferences, institutes and seminars, including the bi-annual Dartmouth Institute for French Cultural Studies and the Geneva Summer School in French Literary and Historical Studies. Students regularly earn scholarships to enroll in summer classes at the Rare Book School, hosted by UVa, and have also recently participated in summer institutes run by the EHESS in Paris and the program in gender and psychoanalysis co-sponsored by Northwestern U. and the Sorbonne Nouvelle. The Department of French also encourages students to participate in longer term study abroad programs, whether through its established teaching exchange programs with partner universities in Paris and Lyon, through the university’s graduate exchange programs with the ENS and EHESS in Paris, or through externally funded fellowships like the Chateaubriand, the Fulbright, the Mary Isabel Sibley Fellowhip, the Phi Beta Kappa Walter J. Jensen award, and the Bourse Jeanne Marandon. Graduate students may also consult with the Office of Citizen Scholar Development, which often has information on relevant funding opportunities.
The University of Virginia’s Office of Graduate and Post-Graduate Affairs publishes an extensive list of funding opportunities and resources for graduate students, which may be consulted here.
Please note that all forms of departmental financial aid, including teaching appointments, are granted and reviewed annually. In addition, the renewal of teaching appointments is based on demonstrated teaching competence and continued satisfactory progress in the graduate program.
Application Requirement,
- The online admissions application. Our online application system asks you to identify whether you are applying to the MA or PhD program. Please check the MA box ONLY if you are interested in the MA as a “stand-alone degree”. If you currently hold the BA degree and are interested in the combined MA+ PhD, OR if you currently hold an MA in French from another institution and would like to pursue doctoral studies at UVA, please check the PhD box on the application.
- Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant’s academic work, preferably in advanced literature or civilization courses.
- A writing sample in French, preferably an academic research paper or an excerpt of an undergraduate thesis that suggests the applicant’s research interests. The sample should give readers an indication of the applicant’s capacity for critical thinking and scholarly writing. It should reflect the skill level of the author and should not have been systematically corrected by a native speaker or professor. Applicants may choose to send one or two writing samples, but the total should not exceed 25 pages.
- A personal statement of the applicant’s intellectual interests, academic preparation, and motivation for undertaking graduate studies in French and Francophone Studies. Applicants to the MA program who wish to pursue the pedagogy option must indicate this intention and explain their relevant experience.This is your opportunity to convey to the admissions committee what experiences in the past and hopes for the future motivate your desire to take courses and, for applicants to the doctoral program, pursue research in the Department of French at UVA. How would the strengths of our department and university support your intellectual and professional goals? An effective statement highlights connections among the application packet pieces and between the application and resources at UVA to argue persuasively that the candidate is prepared and committed to engage fully in our graduate program and will benefit from what we have to offer.
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores are required for applicants who are not native English speakers. Students who have completed an undergraduate degree at an institution where the primary language of instruction is English are exempt from the TOEFL requirement, but must write to the Director of Graduate Studies to inform her/him of this.
Applicants from abroad should contact the Admissions Office of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences to request current information regarding any special rules for the admission of foreign students. The present rules require admission of foreign students by April 15 preceding registration. Foreign students should also consider that applying for student visas and presenting financial guarantees may require extra time.
All applicants should notify the Director of Graduate Studies by email (see contact information below) after submitting their application to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Also, since their transcripts may not be complete when they submit their application in December, they should notify the Director of Graduate Studies of any French courses they are taking (or intend to take) during the year in which they apply.
Application Deadline,
Jan 15, 2025
Application Fee,
A non-refundable fee of $85 is due at the time the application is submitted.
