Overview of postgraduate French coursework programs

• Introduction
• Supervision
• Research interests of staff
• Coursework degrees
• List of areas of research supervision

The Department of French Studies offers a range of postgraduate courses. Candidates should carefully consider which course most closely corresponds to their qualifications, aims and interests before enrolling, although transfer from one course to another is sometimes possible.

This page provides basic information about the courses we offer. Candidates should also consult the relevant parts of the University Calendar for regulations and by-laws governing the Masters and PhD degrees.

Please contact the postgraduate coordinator for further details and advice.

Please note that the entry qualifications given in the following information are the normal requirements for graduates of Australian universities. In general, graduates of other universities with equivalent qualifications are also admitted to candidature without further study. Candidates not holding such a degree but who can satisfy the Department and the Faculty of Arts that they have equivalent qualifications and/or experience, are also considered.

Irrespective of the basis on which they are admitted to candidature, students can be required to complete supplementary work in areas considered by the Department to be essential for their postgraduate studies.

Entry to all courses is subject to approval by both the Chair of Department and the Faculty of Arts (or Academic Board).

All postgraduate students are allocated a supervisor when their admission to candidature is approved. (In the case of students proceeding mainly by coursework, the postgraduate coordinator will usually be the supervisor).

While it is recognised that different people have different methods of working and will therefore need different kinds of consultation, the Department considers it essential that all students should maintain regular contact with their supervisors throughout the period of their candidature. Even if a student’s work is at a stage where they do not need specific help, it can be both useful and stimulating, especially for part-time students having little other contact with the Department, to discuss progress and general problems with someone else interested in their field. Students usually report progress to their supervisor at least once a month, while they are working on their dissertation or thesis.

It is the student's responsibility, not the supervisor's, to ensure that these reports are made regularly. In many cases an informal telephone call is sufficient, as long as the supervisor is satisfied that normal progress is being maintained and is aware of any difficulties before they become serious. Annual Progress Report forms have to be sent to the Registrar by the candidate, supervisor and Head of Department at the end of each academic year. These are particularly important if a student holds a Commonwealth award, as renewal of the award is dependent upon satisfactory progress.

• For details on the various research interests of staff, please refer to their profiles.

• Master of European Studies
• Graduate Diploma in European Studies
• Graduate Certificate in European Studies

Information about these courses are available from the Faculty of Arts.

• Language and Linguistics
  Medieval French
  French syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
  Applied Linguistics in French
  Bilingualism
  Second-language pedagogy in French
  Sociolinguistics and the ethnography of communication
  Translation and translation studies
  Discourse semantics
  Functional grammar
  Second language development

• Literature
  Autobiography
  Medieval French
  French literature and literary movements from the 16th century to the present
  French literary theory
  Women’s writing
  Literature in French from Africa, the Caribbean, Switzerland and Canada

• Social Sciences and the French-speaking World
  Seventeenth-eighteenth-century history of ideas
  Cultural theory
  Culture and politics in France today
  Contemporary French society
  Sociology of literature
  Sociology of theatre
  French popular culture
  French cinema
  French speaking cultures other than France
  Feminist theory and practice
  Ideologies of racism/antiracism and cultural/national identity
  Culture, gender and class
  Cross-cultural studies