Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) offers an exceptionally high quality Bachelor of Arts degree program in French. Even though we are one of the larger undergraduate French programs in the United States (for example, we have more majors and minors than the University of Michigan or Louisana State University, which is one of the rare universities to have a Department of French Studies), we pride ourselves on knowing each and every one of our students individually. Students frequently comment on the personal attention they receive as part of their studies at VPI&SU. . Our faculty stays at the forefront of their field regularly publishing books and articles and delivering scholarly papers at national and international conferences. We combine the best of both large and small institutions.

The size of VPI&SU is an advantage to most students. It allows you to combine your study in French with a greater variety of other disciplines than is available at smaller schools.

Class size and quality instruction

Class size in French generally ranges between 10 and 25 students. We have a high degree of student satisfaction. In student evaluations at the end of every semester, most students give their professors of French the best possible rating of "excellent." Our French professors have won four awards for their teaching and an award for advising. The classes you will take for your major in French are taught entirely by experienced professors with PhDs. Our professors have earned their doctorates from some of the best universities in the country. The French faculty includes Anthony Abiragi (New York University, 2008), Médoune Guèye (University of Cincinnati, 1994), Sharon P. Johnson (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996), Corinne Noirot (Rutgers University and Université Stendhal-Grenoble 3, 2005), Richard Shryock (University of Michigan, 1987), Fabrice Teulon (Louisiana State University, 1992), Janell Watson (Duke, 1995).

A dynamic curriculum

Along with quality in-class instruction, we offer a variety of other opportunities. For our Culture and Civilization courses we have an ever-expanding, online data base of cultural images for students to consult.

We offer three courses in business French and a certificate in French for Business for our French majors. A Business for French minor for non-majors is in the approval process. We are an official testing center for the internationally-recognized Business French exam of the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris.

French majors take a minimum of two senior seminars (4314). These courses are highly interdisciplinary and have included topics such as French Cinema, Constructions and Subversions of Gender, Surrealism, Les Voix de la Réforme, French Popular Songs, and much more. These courses change every semester allowing professors to incorporate the most recent developments in the field.

For student wishing to become certified to teach French on the primary or secondary level, our Foreign Language Education Program is one of the best in the state.

We are constantly improving our curriculum. Please explore the online French section newsletter Quoi de Neuf? to see what's new.

The success of our graduates attests to the quality of our program. Our students have been accepted into graduate programs at universities such as Columbia University, University of Wisconsin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Middlebury College, University of Indiana, SUNY Buffalo, Monterey Foreign Language Institute, Georgetown Law School, and many more. We have had two students in recent years receive prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to go to France. Other graduates have gotten jobs at the World Bank, United Airlines, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Peace Corps and elsewhere. See the Quoi de Neuf? alumni section.

More than 86% of our French majors study abroad. TThey have the choice of a large variety of programs:
For the study of language, culture and literature:
• We have a five-week summer study program in Paris in which you can earn six credits toward the French major or minor.
• A new exchange with the Université de Caen.
• Most students studying for a semester or a year, choose the reasonably-priced International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) which costs approximately the same as studying at Blacksburg. See our map for locations in France and Switzerland where you can study.
For the study of business in France:
• For summer study, we have a program combining French language and a course in Business Information Technology.
• Our French majors can earn a Certificate in Business French.
• We offer semester-long and year-long programs to study business in French at one of France's top ten business schools, the Institut National des Télécommunications (INT). These programs may be combined with internships in France.
• Business students in the Business and Information Technology (BIT) or Marketing majors, can take advantage of a unique program that permits students to earn a bachelors degree in Business from VPI&SU and an Masters in business from the INT in five years. Students spend two years at the INT and have internships.
• We have a semester-long study at the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Dijon.
• Summer internships in Dijon are also possible for VPI&SU students.
For the study of engineering in France or Switzerland:
• The university also has agreements with numerous French and Swiss universities for study abroad in engineering. It is often possible to tailor programs for individual students' interests.

French majors at VPI&SU are eligible to apply for the Galen Kline Study Abroad Scholarship which offers money (estimated at $500-12000 for next year) to students for a semester or a year of study in France.

Extracurricular activities

We offer a rich program of extracurricular activities with our French clubs, Le Cercle francophone has weekly activities with many opportunities to meet fellow students and native French speakers.

We invite you to come to Blacksburg and see the campus. The professors of French would be happy to meet with you and to arrange a visit of a French class if you would like.

For more information contact


The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
VPI&SU
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0225

or call 540-231-5361 or StudyFrench@vt.edu.