French
The French language program at UW offers a communicative, immersive approach designed to build language proficiency while connecting students to the rich literary, artistic, and cultural heritage of the Francophone world.
Program Overview
The French program offers a major in French (50 credits) and a minor in French (30 credits). Both the major and minor are open to declare and have no admission requirements. There is also a honors.
There is also a one-year Secondary (Middle/High School) Teacher Education Program which allows students to earn a Master in Teaching degree with a French teaching certification.
Degree availability: Minor/ B.A / M.A
Years offered: 4 years
Contact: Irina Markina-Baum (imarkina@uw.edu)
A brief video introduction to the UW French Program
Study Abroad
Departmental Programs
Other Study Abroad Programs
- Business London & Paris: Globalizing Your Career
- CIEE Business + Culture in Paris, France
- CIEE Business and Culture in Toulouse, France [link]
- CIEE Open Campus
- CIEE Semester in Paris, France
- CIEE Summer in Paris
- CIEE Summer in Toulouse
- College of Engineering ISAE Aviation/Aerospace Summer Program
- Economics Departmental Exchange with Aix-Marseille University (Exchange)
- Foster School Undergraduate Exchange with the Paris School of Business (Exchange)
- Law School Departmental Exchange with University Jean Moulin in Lyon (Exchange)
- Laval French Language program in Quebec City
- MBA Exchange with Ecole Superieure de Commerce (Exchange)
- Nantes University Exchange (Exchange)
- Real Estate Paris: Permanently Affordable Housing Solutions
- Sciences Po Exchange (Exchange)
- SIT Study Abroad Cameroon: Development and Social Change
- SIT Study Abroad Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy
- University Jean Moulin Exchange (Exchange)
- Urban Design & Planning Paris: Paris 2030 – The Future is Green
Internship
UW Career & Internship Center
Past Internship Opportunities
Course Information
Course Catalog
Modern Language Courses
- FRENCH 101/102/103: Elementary French
- FRENCH 201/202/203: Intermediate French
Advanced Reading Courses
Classical Language Courses
- FRENCH 404: Old French
Literature, Culture, and Linguistics Courses
- FRENCH 216: Literature in Translation
- FRENCH 301: Language in the Francophone World
- FRENCH 302: Cultures of the Francophone World
- FRENCH 303: Projects, Pathways, and Possibilities in French Studies
- FRENCH 320: French Language and Cultural Identity
- FRENCH 378: The Making of Contemporary France
- FRENCH 447: Queer Histories and Fictions
- FRENCH 470: Cinema
- FRENCH 472: Translation Theory and Practice
Summer Intensive Language Courses
- FRENCH 134 First-year Intensive French
Foreign Study
- FRENCH 199 Foreign Study – Elementary
Understanding immersing yourself into another culture really helps broaden your horizon and view of the world.
Faculty's Recent Research
Awards & Honors
- Professor Richard Watts and Team Awarded 2024-2025 UW EarthLab Innovation Grant
- Professor Hannah Frydman Awarded the Bailey Prize by The New York State Association of European Historians
- Professor Irina Markina’s Third Republic Parisian Mural Research Project Funded by RRF
Presentation
Projects
Podcast
- Professor Richard Watts Recently Featured on “Ways of Knowing” Podcast
- Professor Geoffrey Turnovsky Featured in The History of Literature Podcast
- New Podcast “Ways of Knowing” Features Professor Maya Angela Smith
Publications
- Professor of French Maya Smith and Alvenia Bridges are releasing their new book, Reclaiming Venus: The Many Lives of Alvenia Bridges
- Professor Maya Angela Smith’s New Book: Ne me quitte pas, exploring a text, a piece of cultural production written in a specific context, and a work of mass/popular art.
- Professor Maya Angela Smith’s publication about Multilingualism in the Oxford Handbook of the French Language
- Professor Maya Angela Smith’s publication about “Centering Race and Multilingualism in French Linguistics”
Student Success Stories
- Bridging Cultures Through Language
- French Student Awarded the Boren Undergraduate Scholarship to Study in Senegal
- Two Graduating French Majors Accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France
- French Major Anna Sulc Featured in the College of Arts & Sciences Perspectives Newsletter
- French Major Anna Sulc awarded the Míċeál Vaughan Award
- French Alumna Lianna Gaudry accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France
- French Major Ashley Beeman Named Dean’s Medalist of the Humanities Division
- French Major Giulia Szanyi Following her Passion for French and Journalism
- French Major Christelle Silué Travels to Ivory Coast to do Research and Advocacy Work
- Graduating French Major Chenyibo Zhu Named Dean’s Medalist & Gonfaloniere
- Graduating French Majors Accepted to the TAPIF!
- French major, Italian minor Kendall Mathew awarded 2016-2017 FLAS Fellowship
- Wilson Charles
🌍Global
- Spoken by 300+ million people on 5 continents.
- Official language in 29 countries.
📚Learning
- 2nd most studied language in the world.
- Over 120 million learners.
🏛️Culture & Diplomacy
- One of the UN’s official languages.
- Used by the EU, Olympics, and many global orgs.
✈️Travel & Career
- Useful in Europe, Africa, Canada, and beyond.
- Opens doors to scholarships and international jobs.
Discover More with the French Department
Open doors to new cultures, careers, and global opportunities.
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Lavender
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The Lourvre
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The Cathetral
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The Louvre Museum