MA in French Master's Examination

The Master's Exam will be given over a period of three days in April. It will consist of three parts:

• Global French (formerly French and Franophone Studies)
• Franco-Arabic Studies
• Pedagogy

• For the Global French and Franco-Arabic Studies Tracks: a 30-page MA project and oral exam
• For the Pedagogy Track: a 15-page MA project, oral exam, and written pedagogy exam

The “project” should combine the student’s interests and career goals with the objectives of the chosen track and help demonstrate preparation for their intended career path or goals. It will consist of:

• For students on the Global French and Franco-Arabic track: a 30-page MA project consisting of the revision and expansion of a paper initially produced in a French or RALL graduate course (or a course cross-listed with French or RALL). Exceptions to this must be approved by the committee chair.
• For students on the Pedagogy track: a 15-page MA project or teaching portfolio. Students may choose to follow the MA project format stated above or develop a teaching portfolio (including a 5-page research review, lesson plans, syllabi, and other appropriate supporting materials) instead of writing a research paper.
• 4+1 students are encouraged to use an undergraduate paper as the basis for their project and to revise it to reflect graduate level work.
• Dual French-WGSS MA students and students from UBM should consult with their committee chair to develop a project that is consistent with their dual program or program at their home institution.
  

No later than by the end of the Spring semester of their first year of MA studies, students will form a committee of three graduate faculty--at least two of which should be core faculty members in French-- and ask a French faculty member to serve as the chair of the committee. All MA project topics need to be approved by the chair of the committee in consultation with the other committee members. During Fall semester of their second year (no later than October 1), Pedagogy track students should agree on the details of the format (written paper or teaching portfolio) with their advisor.

Students on the Global French and Franco-Arabic Studies tracks will:

• choose a theme for their project and an individualized reading or viewing list of works in consultation with their advisor and the graduate faculty committee by the end of their first academic year;
• be responsible for studying any works on the list that are not covered in courses (on their own time; for instance, in the summer);
• submit their final project no later than 4 weeks (advisor) and 2 weeks (committee) before the scheduled oral exams. Students will also have to agree on a schedule of meetings and
• submissions of drafts with their committee chair to make sure that the project gets completed on time.

Students on the Pedagogy track will:

• choose a theme for their project and an individualized reading or viewing list of works in consultation with their advisor and the graduate faculty committee by the end of their first academic year. This list may include works from the Pedagogy reading list, to be used as secondary sources in support of their argument. Alternately, students on the Pedagogy track are able to do projects that combine research with pedagogical training and include as output lesson plans, modules, etc. Details of the pedagogy project format (whether research paper or teaching portfolio, including a research review) must be confirmed with the committee chair by October 1 of the student’s second year.
• be responsible for studying any works on the list that are not covered in courses (on their own time; for instance, in the summer);
• submit their final project no later than 4 weeks (advisor) and 2 weeks (committee) before the scheduled oral exams.
• take the written pedagogy exam.

• The scope of the project must be manageable within the annual academic time frame.
• The paper must demonstrate a systematic approach and a command of relevant literature or scholarship. The paper must also demonstrate a clear attempt at deepening and expanding the original argument and theoretical claims made in the initial paper or proposal.
• The paper must be carefully written and clearly argued.
• Unless students and their committees have agreed otherwise, format should follow the Chicago Manual of Style or the MLA Handbook. The final paper should be 20-25 pages (for students on the Pedagogy track) or 30 pages (for all other students in French) in length, including tables and footnotes but excluding appendices and references; it should be typed and double-spaced and made available in Word.

A 60-minute oral exam will be scheduled during the last week of March or the first week of April of the Spring semester during the second year of MA studies. The oral exam will have three components:

• Questions on core reading list submitted (at least two weeks before the exam) by the students
• Questions on the bibliography of works on which the MA project is based (including 15-20 secondary sources, which can be a combination of books and articles)
• Discussion of the MA project and relevant scholarship.

This core reading list will include at least 35 works from the current (revised) list. It needs to include at least three works/texts from each period and be approved by the chair of the MA exam committee by the end of the Spring semester of the student’s first year.

For more information please refer to the RALL Graduate Handbook or contact our Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Carlos Gutierrez.