French, BA

Introduction

Students who major in French at Pacific University develop a high level of proficiency in the language and the skills needed to pursue advanced study or enter the workforce in the United States or abroad. Learning French prepares you to work in a global community, where French is the official language of more than 30 countries and of many agencies, including NATO, INTERPOL and the United Nations. The language and culture of France also are beneficial to students interested in international business, politics, the health professions and humanitarian organizations. Art, literature and culinary arts also benefit from understanding the rich traditions of French-speaking countries. Most students who major in French also major in another discipline. There are many double-major emphasis options available. Please contact Professor Jeanne-Sarah de Larquier, French Program advisor, for more information.

Admissions  

Program Length

Four years for a complete BA degree.  Two years for students transferring in with an AAOT degree.  Program length may vary depending upon the student’s course load and academic progress.  Note: If Study Abroad is for a year, only 12 credits are required, otherwise 16 are required. Students enter the sequence at a level appropriate to their previous preparation and may be exempt from up to 16 credits of lower division coursework in the major unless otherwise noted.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students completing the French major will:

• achieve linguistic proficiency in French in listening, speaking, reading and writing equivalent to ACTFL Advanced Low (for a description of ACTFL proficiency levels, see https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/guidelines/ACTFLProficiencyGuidelines2012.pdf),
• demonstrate a comparative understanding of cultural diversity,
• be able to analyze at least one aspect of major historical, social, intellectual, artistic and/or linguistic trends of the area of specialization; and
• leverage disciplinary knowledge to create a capstone project that demonstrates an understanding of the cultures and languages of the area of specialization.