French

The French Language Undergraduate Program - Bienvenue au programme français!

French 201 - Fall 2025

Intermediate French Class (FRE201), Fall 2025

French Historical Studies Conference Spring 2026

In Spring 2026, four French majors and minors attended the conference organized by the Society for French Historical Studies.

Contact Information

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The French program at West Chester offers both a major and a minor at the undergraduate level:

  • French Major
    • Our French major consists of ten (10) French courses beginning with FRE 102, also a course in linguistics, a French subject matter course from another department, and a second language up to the 202 level. The major may serve toward PA K-12 State Certification in French, in conjunction with the required pedagogy and methods courses and student teaching.
  • French Minor
    • Our minor is 6 courses beginning at FRE 101 or above, limit two 100-level, two 200-level.
    • We will accept transfer courses for the major and the minor up to 50% of the required credits.
  • Classes Offered
  • Basic language courses are offered each semester and summer sessions:

French 101 and 201--first Summer Session; French 102 and 202--second Summer Session.

  • Advanced courses
  • FRE 302- Phonetics
  • FRE 303- Francophone Civilization
  • FRE 304- Francophone Literature
  • FRE 305- Writing & Stylistics
  • FRE 315- Oral Proficiency in Conversation
  • FRE 350- French Cinema
  • FRE 401- French Business Culture
  • FRE 410- Theater
  • FRE 412- Narrative Structures
  • FRE 413- Poetry and Poetics
  • FRE 415- Modernism
  • FRE 420, FRE 421 and FRE 422 Topics Courses (the subjects change)

The French Language Graduate Program

The French program at West Chester offers a Master's Degree in Languages and Cultures (MALC) with a track in French and a track in French with Teaching Certification.

  • Graduate Courses
  • FRE 501- French Business Culture
  • FRE 505- Advanced Written Expression
  • FRE 515- Francophone Civilization
  • FRE 520- Topics

Yearly Academic Schedule

In the Spring semester, we offer culture cluster courses in English on Francophone Civilization (EFR 320) and on Francophone African culture (EFR 330), and advanced courses in French (FRE 303, FRE 305, FRE 401, a 400-level seminar, and FRE 440).

  • In the First Summer Session, we offer two nine-day immersion oral proficiency courses, FRE 422 and 522-20 (May) and then FRE 315-80/ FRE 520-80, an advanced oral expression course meeting four or five evenings a week (4:30-7:30 p.m.) May.
  • The last week of first summer session, we offer a five day all day summer immersion workshop on Teaching French AP Language (FRE 421-20 or FRE 521-20).
  • During the Second Summer Session we offer a topics seminar Tuesday and Thursday mornings on a variety of topics (media, translation, film, etc), FRE 420-30 and FRE 520-30.

In the Fall semester, we offer a culture cluster in English (EFR 350, French Civilization on Film), and advanced French courses (FRE 302-Phonetics, FRE 304-Francophone Literature, FRE 350-French Cinema, and a 400 level seminar.

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Study Abroad Options and Student Activities

Students can participate in a study abroad program as part of their curriculum. 

Check the French Study Abroad site for updated information on our faculty-led program in France (Lyon) and our exchange program in Le Mans, as well as the Global Engagement Office site for other programs abroad that you can select.

The French club is quite active on campus and off, holding weekly meetings, movie nights, fundraisers, field trips to NYC and elsewhere, to sites of interest and significant events regarding French and francophone cultures. Students play an important role in the club, deciding which activities are of interest and organizing events.

Certification

We have the B.A. in French with or without certification, and the new MALC master's program (see our graduate pages).

We also offer Pennsylvania K-12 Certification in French at the undergraduate and graduate levels (see the Certification page).

Job Opportunities

Teaching English in France

We are proud to announce that five of our French majors/minors were selected to participate in the 2024-2025 TAPIF Program. Four students were selected and are currently participating in the 2025-2026 TAPIF Program.

Every year, the French Ministère de l’Education offers teaching opportunities to teach English in middle schools and high schools in France. The year abroad starts in September and usually ends in June. While applicants do not need to have a major in French, they must have attained at least the B1 level (FRE300++) to be eligible. If you have not taken French in a long time, take refresher courses and don’t forget to ask your French professors for recommendation letters! Applications are submitted between late October and mid-January of each year. For more information, visit the TAPIF site.

Internships

Some of our French majors choose to do an internship in the US rather than studying abroad. In the recent years, our majors have done internships with the Alliance Française de Philadelphie, the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Philadelphia, and FrancoNetwork (Kennett Square, PA). For more information about internships, contact Dr. Roxane Petit-Rasselle (RPetit-Rasselle@wcupa.edu)

French Club

The French Club gathers for meals, museum visits, film and concerts.

Visit the French Club Page!