PhD in French

Our students are inspired by their enthusiasm for Francophone literature and culture and the history of the French-speaking world, but they are also training for a future career. While the majority of our students apply for academic jobs, some of our alumni pursue careers in other fields, e.g. translation, diplomacy, arts administration, secondary education, the non-profit sector, and business. Others pursue additional training for careers in law, finance and other professions.

The faculty of the Columbia Department of French are a diverse body of scholars, hailing from all over the world, who do exciting, interdisciplinary research in fields including literature, cultural studies, history, sociology, and philosophy. The department has strong ties to related programs and institutes in comparative literature, gender and sexuality studies, and African studies (among other programs). Columbia is also fortunate to have its own Maison Française, which hosts regular events related to Francophone studies, including academic lectures and conferences, readings by and interviews with authors, intellectuals, and artists, as well as annual film festivals. Recent PhDs from Columbia’s French department have been hired by top-tier research and liberal arts institutions.

The program is designed to take five to six years. The first two years are devoted to taking courses and writing the MA thesis. The third year is devoted to qualifying examinations and to the preparation of the dissertation prospectus, which outlines the topic, original contribution, and methodology of the dissertation. During the fourth, fifth and sixth years, students research and write their dissertations and apply for postdoctoral and faculty positions or positions outside of academia. 

The PhD Program in French is sequential: the MA and MPhil degrees are obtained along the way to the doctorate. Students who do not wish to commit to a PhD or who feel that they need more training before they apply to PhD programs should consider applying to one of our freestanding MA programs (MA in French, MA in History and Literature).

All PhD students receive a six-year fellowship package that covers their tuition and health insurance and provides a stipend to cover living expenses.

In certain circumstances, but the Department of French has no discretion. Please see the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences site for more information. Questions about fee waivers should be addressed to [email protected].

Students teach for three years (typically Y2, Y3 and either Y4 or Y5). Students usually begin by teaching elementary and intermediate French-language courses then progress to offering more advanced language, literature, and history courses. Students may also apply to teach through competitive programs such as the Core Curriculum and the Graduate School’s Teaching Scholars program.

Some students opt to complete the graduate certificate in comparative literature offered by the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society (ICLS) while they are working on their PhD in French. Admission to ICLS and completion of the certificate requires foreign language skills and coursework additional to those required by the French Department. Applicants who are interested in this option apply to the French Department and check the box indicating that they wish to be considered for the ICLS certificate program. They may also apply in their first year of the program.

You can download the PhD graduate student handbook here.

In addition to the application form required by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, applicants are required to submit:

1)    A curriculum vitae (CV)

2)    Statement of Academic Purpose

The statement should explain your motivations for applying to the PhD program, connecting them to previous studies or other relevant life experience. You do not have to outline a future dissertation project, but you should identify a few questions/areas of study that are of interest to you. It is important to explain why you are applying to Columbia specifically and to show that you are familiar with our program and the areas of expertise of the faculty.

3)    Three letters of evaluation

We prefer that your letters come from current or former professors who know your academic abilities well. It is also a firm requirement of Columbia’s Graduate school that at least two of your letters come from faculty members.

4)    Personal Statement

The personal statement should describe your qualifications, motivations for pursuing a degree in French, and your professional goals.
 

5)    Two writing samples

One of the samples should be in English, the other in French. Each submission should contain different material (i.e., one should not be a translated version of the other) and each should be 15-20 pages long (double spaced). Please choose work that reflects your analytical and interpretative strengths. Work that is relevant to the PhD in French is preferred, but we will also consider writing in other fields that demonstrates your ability to conduct research and present an argument. It is fine to send an excerpt from a longer piece of work, e.g. a section of a senior thesis.

6)    Toefl/IELTS scores

All international students whose undergraduate degree is from an institution in a country where the official language is not English must submit scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS.

7)    Academic transcripts 

Any questions about transcripts should be addressed to [email protected].
 

Please note that we do not require GRE scores as part of our application process. You may submit GRE scores if you wish, but there is no requirement to do so.

To apply, see this page.