French Studies - 2012 entry
BA (Hons)
/
BSc (Hons)
- combined (see 'Combine with...' tab for available combinations)
Typical A-level offer: BBC or equivalent
Overview
Third-year student Hannah King talks about the French Studies course
Modern Languages students describe their year abroad experiences
This course is run by the Department of English and Modern Languages
At Oxford Brookes, French Studies must be combined with another subject. Once you have successfully completed your first year, you can opt to take French Studies as a Major (75%), Joint (50%) or Minor (25%) part of your degree.
Our course takes four years and combines intensive language study with an exploration of French culture and society. The combined honours degree is available to students with A-level or GCSE/AS-level French.
If you have achieved French A-level, you will spend the second year in France, or in a French-speaking country, studying at a university, teaching English in a school, or doing a work placement. If you start from GCSE/AS-level French, you will spend the third year in France.
French is widely spoken in the European Union, and fluency in the language will open up employment opportunities to you in an extensive range of government and private sector organisations.
Why Brookes?
- Excellent teaching: the department prides itself on the quality of its teaching and research. Staff creatively combine their research interests with their teaching, giving students exciting insights into developments in French and Francophone studies.
- Exciting opportunities: if you are a post-A2-level (advanced) student in French, you will go abroad during your second year, gaining experience of the culture and improving your fluency in the language at an early stage. You will benefit from pre-departure preparation in intercultural learning. If you start from GCSE/AS-level (intermediate) French, you will go on a year abroad in your third year.
- Invaluable support: the department encourages and supports its students’ cultural activities and all the languages offered have thriving societies.
- Great career prospects: our previous graduates in French have gained employment in a wide variety of areas such as the media, public and international relations, cultural institutions and business corporations.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Our lectures introduce you to the subject area and our seminars explore specific issues in greater depth to enable you to improve your linguistic and interpersonal skills. Our emphasis on student-centred learning means that you will take an active part, often working in a team with other students and giving presentations. You will study language in small groups for three hours a week, encouraging student participation and the development of both your speaking and writing skills.
Assessment methods vary. For some modules continuous assessment may take the form of essays, in-class tests and oral presentations. For others, you will take an end-of-module examination.
Learning outcomes
When you have successfully completed the course, you will have:
- a high level of competence in spoken and written French
- an understanding of recent social and political developments in France
- an appreciation of major cultural movements in contemporary France
- highly-developed analytical, teamworking, communication and presentation skills.
In detail
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Course content
From French A-level entry, the language modules give you the opportunity to bring your linguistic competence to the highest level and develop your spoken and written French effectively for practical, professional and academic purposes.
Year 1's introductory module examines aspects of life in contemporary France. It will also help you to make important links between the cultural and linguistic learning components of your degree. In Years 3 and 4 you will be able to choose from a range of modules including World War II: the French Experience; European Film in Focus; French Theatre in Performance. In Year 4 you may choose to work on a dissertation spanning both your fields of study or you could do a research project focusing on Paris, City of Light.
From French GCSE/AS-level entry, you will have the opportunity to improve your French and gain knowledge of French culture and society.
Year 1 offers the same introductory module as for the A-level French entry as well as focusing on language. In Year 2 you will be able to choose from a range of modules including Business Environment in Europe and French Film in Focus. In Year 4 you may choose to work on a dissertation spanning both fields of study or you could do a research project focusing on Paris, City of Light.
Once you have successfully completed your first year, you can opt to take French Studies as a Major (75%), Joint (50%) or Minor (25%) part of your degree. French Studies can be combined with one of many other courses in the Oxford Brookes undergraduate modular programme, including other language courses: Japanese Studies or Spanish (Minor). See the 'Combine with...' tab for the full list.
As courses are reviewed regularly the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here. You can view a detailed description of some of the modules here.
Year 1
French A-level entry:
- French Core Language 4A and 4B
- The Making of Modern France
- Understanding French Culture and Society
French GCSE/AS-level entry:
- Intermediate 3A and 3B in French
- The Making of Modern France
Years 3 & 4 (A-level entry) and Years 2 & 4 (GCSE/AS-level entry)
French A-level entry:
- French Core Language 5 and 6
- European Film in Focus
- World War II: the French Experience
- Metropolitan Narratives in France
- The Business Environment in Europe
- Research Methods in French Studies
- Screening 19th-Century Bestsellers
- French Theatre in Performance
- Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching
- French Translation Skills
- Francophone Voices
- Paris, City of Light
- Interdisciplinary Dissertation
French GCSE/AS-level entry:
- French Core Language modules
- The Business Environment in Europe
- European Film in Focus
- Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching
- Research Methods in French Studies
- Francophone Voices
- Paris, City of Light
- Interdisciplinary Dissertation
Study abroad
From A-level French entry, you will spend Year 2 (unless you combine the course with Japanese Studies) in France, or in a French-speaking country.
From GCSE/AS-level French entry, you will spend Year 3 (unless you combine the course with Japanese Studies) in France, or a French-speaking country.
(If you choose to combine with Japanese Studies, the year abroad in Japan will take precedence.)
You can:
- follow a course at one of the universities with which we have Erasmus links (Angers, Aix-en-Provence, Brussels, Grenoble, Lyon and Paris)
- work as an English language assistant in a school
- do a work placement.
In all three cases, by carrying out a research project and immersing yourself in the host country's life and social activities, you will acquire a high level of linguistic and cultural competence. A programme of seminars is organised during the first year to help you prepare for the year abroad.
Oxford Brookes University is part of the European Union Lifelong Learning Programme. You are normally exempt from tuition fees while taking any of the above three options and will receive a grant towards expenses if you study at a university or do a work placement in Europe.
You will gain a lot from the year abroad, not just linguistically but also culturally.
More detailed information about the year abroad is available here.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
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Department
Department of English and Modern Languages
Course length
Full-time: 4 years sandwich
Part-time: up to 8 years
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane
Start date
September 2012
Combine with...
RELATED COURSES:
This course can be combined with one of the following subjects:
Business Management
NR21 Mod/FCDP
Communication, Media and Culture
PRX1 Mod/FCHQ
Drama
WR41 Mod/FCDW
Education Studies
XR31 Mod/FCWD
English
QR31 Mod/FCEA
English Language and Communications
QR91 Mod/FCLD
Film Studies
PR31 Mod/FCFM
Fine Art
W1P3 Mod/FCFX
History
VR11 Mod/FCHI
History of Art
VR31 Mod/FCHA
International Relations
LRFC Mod/FCRL
Japanese Studies
TR21 Mod/FCJB
Music
RW13 Mod/FCMS
Politics
RL12 Mod/FCPS
Publishing Media
PR41 Mod/FCPJ
Spanish (Minor Field)
R1R4 Mod/FCSX
Fees / funding
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International students
Full-time: £11,000
Placement year: £3,290. This is the fee for students taking their placement in 2012, and will increase annually with inflation.
Tuition fees
UK/EU students
Full-time: £9,000
Part-time: £6,000
Sandwich: £2,000. This is the fee for students taking their placement in 2012, and will increase annually with inflation. Students eligible for Erasmus funding will also benefit from a fee waiver for the placement year tuition fees.
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Funding and scholarships
For general sources of financial support, see:
Apply / Entry reqs
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Typical offers
A-level: BBC or equivalent
IB Diploma: 31 points
Advanced Diploma: grade A, including A-level French at grade B, or one other A-level grade B if GCSE/AS French entry
Other: 2 A-levels at BB plus 2 AS-levels at CC
As a combined honours, the offer will normally lie between those quoted for each subject.
Specific entry requirements
A-level: French A-level entry - minimum grade B preferred, or equivalent. AS-level grade A may be considered with interview.
GCSE: French GCSE/AS-level entry - GCSE-level French minimum grade B preferred, AS-level, or equivalent.
If you wish to pair French Studies with Japanese Studies or Spanish (Minor), you must have an A-level in one of your chosen languages.
Please also see the university's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Full-time students should apply for this course through UCAS.
Part-time students should apply directly to the university.
International applications
You need to have an intermediate or advanced level of French to be considered for these courses. If you do not have UK qualifications, you are welcome to request a French language test to establish your level by contacting the Senior Tutor.
Also, we normally ask for IELTS 6 (or equivalent), including 6 in academic reading and 6 in academic writing, for students whose first language is not English.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All undergraduate single modules are equivalent to 7.5 ECTS credits and double modules to 15 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Student experience
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Hannah King
The year abroad is just such an excellent opportunity, and the rest of the time you get to live in Oxford which is a great city.
See full profile »Why Oxford is a great place to study French Studies
Oxford is the perfect city in which to study: truly multi-cultural and rich in heritage and entertainment, yet small enough to feel welcoming and accessible, and just over one hour from London. The city’s two universities attract 40,000 students from around the world, making Oxford a meeting place of minds, a place where ideas begin.
General support services
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Accommodation
At Brookes we understand that when you live away from home it's important to be somewhere that you feel comfortable and safe.
After graduation
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Career prospects
French graduates are well placed for employment in such areas as the media, public relations, business and international organisations. Many employers favour linguists because of their broad academic education, their flexible and creative approach to problem solving and their excellent ability to communicate.
Popular employment sectors also include hotel and restaurant management, tourism, international law, and French is also an excellent basis for postgraduate study and the teaching profession.
