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Contacts • Faculty/Staff • Undergraduate • Graduate •
Courses • Study
Abroad • Language Media Center • Newsletter • Support Us
The Department of French and Italian offers courses leading to the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy in French.
The expertise of the faculty allows for courses in the traditionally recognized historical periods of French literature, various literary genres and critical theories, as well as the francophone literatures of Canada, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, The Department has particular strengths in interdisciplinary studies, notably in the areas of Comparative Arts, Film Studies, History, and Second Language Acquisition.
Emphasis on language proficiency, composition and stylistics remains integral to the M.A. program. Along with the literature-centered M.A., the Department offers an M.A. in French Education.
The Graduate College has been notified by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation about the availability of Mellon Fellowships for graduate students in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. Nearly all who apply to your doctoral program are eligible for these fellowships which provide a first-year stipend of $17,500 and tuition. The application request deadline is November 12 and the completed application deadline is December 1. For more information – http://www.woodrow.org/mellon
Teaching and research assistantships are available to many qualified applicants. During the academic year 2007-08 beginning half-time teaching and research assistants are paid a stipend of $16,277. All non-resident graduate students who are employed at least quarter time are entitled to pay resident tuition fees.
Teaching assistants have the opportunity to participate in a pedagogically sophisticated program that provides support for novice teaching while at the same time emphasizing individual initiative. Extensive use of technology (video, multi-media materials, web-based materials) allows teaching assistants to gain expertise in an area of growing importance. It is also possible for teaching assistants to take courses in second language acquisition and thus acquire adavanced academic credentials in this area. See our FAQ (frequently asked questions) section for more information about teaching.
The Iowa Fellowship Program offers tutition waiver as well as higher stipends and summer support. It provides a service-free fellowship in the first year as well as in the fourth year of study. In addition, various fellowships are available through the Graduate College for dissertation research and writing including the T. Anne Cleary International Research Fellowship and the Ada Louis Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Year Fellowship.
The Benhamou Graduate Scholarship in French is offered to an outstanding graduate student each year, thanks to a major gift from Paul (1963 M.A.. 1969 Ph.D., French) and Reed (1961 B.A., French) Benhamou. The Mary Susan Morse Iosue Memorial Scholarship in French recognizes outstanding undergraduate or graduate students. This scholarship was established with a generous gift from Frank A. Iosue (M.F.A. 1978, English, graduate of the Writers' Workshop) in memory of his wife Mary Susan Morse Iosue (B.A. 1976, French).
Many of our students have benefited from grants and fellowships available from the French Government. Several awards and fellowships for graduate students are also available through The University of Iowa International Programs.
Exchange appointments for graduate students in French are made each year with the Universities of Picardie (Amiens), Pau, and Poitiers.
Ph.D. Students may create their own individual program of interdisciplinary study by forming an Ad Hoc committee of professors from the Department of French and Italian and from other departments on campus. For example, The University of Iowa’s African Studies Program provides complementary courses in literature, history and art, as well as opportunities for study and research in Burkina Faso at the University of Ouagadougou.
The Department of French and Italian regularly colloborates with Cinema and Comparative Literature on an Ad Hoc Ph.D. program in Film/French. Participants in the program develop expertise in film and French studies through a comprehensive plan of study directed by an interdepartmental committee. Taking advantage of The University of Iowa’s outstanding resources in the field of cinema studies, Film/French students prepare for a career of interdisciplinary teaching and research through critical and theoretical work. Film/French students, like all students in the graduate program, have the opportunity to learn the latest techniques for employing film and video materials in the teaching of language.
A number of interdisciplinary groups exist across the University of Iowa campus, including the lively 18th and 19th - Century Interdisciplinary Colloquium.
Founded at Iowa in 1978, the Dada Archive and Research Center houses the largest collection in the world of documents and materials from Dada and related avantgarde movements. Its holdings provide a unique resource for studies in twentieth-century literature and fine arts.
To be considered for admission to an M.A. program in French, applicants must have completed the equivalent of The University of Iowa undergraduate major in French. The M.A. in French is prerequisite to admission to the Ph.D. program in French. Successful completion of the M.A. program, however, does not necessarily qualify a student for doctoral studies.
Applicants for fall semester whose application materials are received in the Department by January 15 have the best chance to be admitted and receive financial aid. They must submit
Requests for applications for admission are available online at the Graduate College Admissions page or call 1-800-553-IOWA and ask for the graduate packet for study in French.
For more information about the graduate program in French, see our Guide to Graduate Students and Assistants or contact:
The Department of French and Italian
The University of Iowa
111 Phillips Hall
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1409
Phone: 319/335-2253 Fax: 319/335-2270
e-mail the
Director of Graduate Studies: Wendelin Guentner (Fall only)
e-mail the Graduate Student Representative: Fara Rabenarivo
e-mail a recent Ph.D.: Carla Calargé
The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment and in its educational programs and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preference.
Copyright © 2003 The University of Iowa. All rights reserved. Contact: french-italian@uiowa.edu - Updated 6/24/08