About PhD Program,
The University of Texas at Austin offers excellent resources to serve the needs of graduate students in French and Italian. Among the outstanding collections are the Carlton Lake collection of manuscripts and rare editions of modern French writers from Baudelaire to Beckett, the papers of the Princess Bibesco, the Artinian collection of Guy de Maupassant material, and the Surrealist archive of reviews and original documents. The Italian collections (Ranuzzi, Aldine, Medici, Bodoni, Parsons, and Weinreb) in the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center offer medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and incunabula, as well as thousands of manuscripts from modern and contemporary writers such as Luigi Pirandello, Paolo Volponi, and Carlo Levi. The Suida-Manning Collection, in the Blanton Museum of Art, is one of the finest collections of Renaissance and Baroque art in the United States and constitutes another world-class resource for graduate study.
Several multimedia language laboratories, equipped with the latest digital aids, furnish excellent opportunities for technical and professional preparation for teaching and research in Romance languages and linguistics. A large collection of recordings of dialect materials in the Romance languages is also available.
The department offers graduate course work in both French and Italian leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degrees in French and Italian Studies
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
Students entering the program with an MA are admitted directly into the PhD program. Students entering with a BA will complete their first two years of graduate coursework in French, demonstrating their competency to continue into the PhD program through satisfactory progress in coursework and research. In the fourth semester of their program, typically in early March during the Spring semester of their second year, students will submit an official written request to be considered for admission to the doctoral program to the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. In addition, the applicant will submit one revised 10–12-page scholarly paper from a completed French graduate course which can be written in either French or English. This paper will be submitted to a vetting committee appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee Chair in consultation with the Graduate Advisor, approximately one month before papers are due for consideration by the entire GSC. In evaluating the student’s request, the GSC Committee will consider the student’s progress, defined in part by overall academic performance (i.e., classroom performance, finals papers) and will also take into consideration input from faculty members in the student’s area as well as input provided by the student’s own performance report. If approved, the students will have the option to apply for the MA in French and will be eligible to continue in the PhD. For questions about this process, students should consult with the Graduate Adviser. If the paper does not receive a Pass, the student will receive a terminal MA degree.
PhD Funding Coverage,
The University of Texas at Austin offers excellent financial resources to serve the needs of graduate students in the Department of French and Italian. It is the department’s policy to offer all students funding packages, combinations of fellowships and academic employment, for up to six years. Fellowships come from two main sources: Graduate School Fellowships and Julia Emerson Walther Graduate Scholarships for students in French.
Funding details for our programs can be found:
Application Requirement,
- The Graduate School Application for Admission is available at https://students.gradschool.utexas.edu/portal/app
- (6)86766-French
- (6)53800-Italian Studies
- One uploaded copy of the official academic transcript from every senior college or university attended. For more information regarding transcripts, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/admissions/howtous.html.
- Fall 2025 applicants will not be required to submit GRE scores.
- Since the beginning of the pandemic, the GRE has not been required for those applying to the French and Italian Studies PhD programs and is consequently unnecessary for admission.
- The application fee. A non-refundable fee of $65 will be charged to U.S. citizens for application processing. A non-refundable fee of $90 will be charged to international applicants. Note that the Office of Graduate Admissions will not process applications without the application fee.
- International studentsmust also submit an official score report of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The UT Austin TOEFL code is 6882. There is no code for the IELTS. Language test requirements and waiver information can be found at https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/international-students.
- Personal statement of purpose explaining your reasons for wishing to pursue graduate study. Please state your area(s) of interest, possible specializations, and why our graduate program is well-suited to your academic goals.
- Letters of recommendation from three (3) persons, all of whom must be professors or instructors.
- Writing Samples – two (2) required samples (5-10 pages each) of your best written scholarly work. One sample must be in English. As for the second sample, it must be in French for applicants to the French graduate program and in Italian for applicants to the Italian Studies graduate program. Writing samples should demonstrate your analytical writing, reasoning skills, research abilities, and scholarship, and each should be clearly focused on a single topic.
- Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
- All of the required application materials must be submitted electronically through the “Apply Texas” common application or through the upload modules made available after submitting your application. The upload modules can be accessed through the online application status checkonly after your application has been successfully submitted.
Application Deadline,
Jan 03, 2025
Application Fee,
The application fee. A non-refundable fee of $65 will be charged to U.S. citizens for application processing. A non-refundable fee of $90 will be charged to international applicants. Note that the Office of Graduate Admissions will not process applications without the application fee.
