Our graduate program is characterized by a diverse and interdisciplinary study of literature and cinema, as reflected in our wide range of course offerings and faculty research interests. Recent graduate seminars have featured topics ranging from insanity in medieval France to marginalization in recent francophone cinema.
French/Francophone Studies
Our doctoral programs in French have been ranked in the top 10 in the nation by the National Research Council. Our 11 faculty members have published books on topics ranging from imaginary saints in medieval France to the legacy of French literary history in the context of the post-colonial francophone world.
We offer financial aid in the form of fellowships and associate instructor positions, generally in five-year packages for students who successfully complete the M.A. degree and continue on to the Ph.D.
Students with a previous MA degree may be admitted to our four-year PhD Fast-Track program. In this program, a student will spend the first year in the program as an MA student. At the end of the first year, the student will present a dossier of their work which will be evaluated and considered as an application to the PhD program. After admission to the PhD is granted, all coursework completed in the first year of study will be counted towards the PhD degree, and the student will be permitted to transfer relevant/eligible coursework from their previous degree
Indiana University Bloomington is a great place to study, with a beautiful campus and vibrant scholarly environment. The Department of French and Italian has partnerships with the Lilly Library of rare books and manuscripts, the Medieval Studies Institute, the Renaissance Studies Program, the Media School, African Studies, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Gender Studies, the Book Lab, and other programs to offer students interdisciplinary experiences. Upon completion of the Ph.D., our graduate students typically obtain excellent job placements at universities and colleges worldwide.
Recent PhD Placements
Ball State
Brown University
Baylor University
Butler University
Davidson College
Dartmouth
Eckerd College
Franklin & Marshall College
Kennesaw State University
Kenyon College
Lycoming College
Queen’s University-Belfast
University of Michigan-Dearborn
University of New Orleans
Yale University
Areas of study
- Medieval literature and civilization
- All centuries, 16th through 19th, in French literature and culture
- 20th- and 21st-century French and francophone literature and its (multi-) cultural context
- French and francophone cinema and media
- Literary theory
Find more information in our Student Portal Meet our faculty
A note from the program director
Welcome to French/Francophone Studies at Indiana University Bloomington! The strength of our program lies in our diverse group of students from different backgrounds and our 11 distinguished faculty whose expertise covers a broad field of scholarship.
