MA French

One of the most attractive characteristics of this programme is its flexibility. This means that in Years 1 and 2, you’ll choose option courses drawn from a broad list of disciplines in addition to your core subject of French. This may enable you to change the focus of your programme, if you discover that your outside subject is one that you want to take on into the final two (honours) years.

Year 1

If you have a limited knowledge of French, you will take French 1A, an intensive language course that also introduces you to French culture. If you have studied French beyond National 5 (SQA) or GCSE level, you will take French 1B, which, as well as developing your written and spoken linguistic skills, engages intensively with modern French literature, culture and civilisation, introducing you to the extraordinary richness and variety of one of the world’s great civilisations.

You will study texts (novels, essays, and political and historical documents) and films which focus on social and political events from the Second World War to the 21st century: resistance and collaboration, the Fifth Republic, May 1968, feminism, colonisation and decolonisation.

You’ll gain the rest of your credits from option courses chosen from a wide range offered across the University.

Year 2

Your French 2 courses will build on your knowledge of French and Francophone cultures. The focus now shifts to exploring the 16th to the 19th centuries, including world-renowned authors such as Racine, Molière, Montaigne and Baudelaire, alongside fascinating writers whose work has been considered marginal to French culture for reasons of gender or colonial politics.

You will also have the chance to take complementary courses on European literature, culture and film, and/or French politics. Your language classes will develop your written and spoken language skills to ensure that you are ready for your year abroad, and able to study successfully at universities in France, Belgium, or Switzerland.

As in Year 1, you’ll complete your studies with option courses chosen from a wide range offered across the University.

Year 3

You will spend Year 3 (or part of it if you are also taking another language) studying or working in a French-speaking country.

Year 4

You’ll refine your skills with specialist language tuition in translation, writing skills and oral communication. You’ll also take option courses taught by research-active experts. There’s a wide range to choose from, from French political thought to medieval or 17th-century theatre, French verse, the French New Wave, and France’s relations with its former colonies.

You’ll be expected to engage with research by writing a dissertation (approximately 6,000 words) in French. This is your chance to focus on a subject that’s of particular interest to you and must involve independent research, but you’ll be supported by one or more members of our academic staff.

Programme structure

Find out more about the compulsory and optional courses in this degree programme.

To give you an idea of what you will study on this programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Programme structure (2019/20)

Our facilities

Teaching takes place in and around the School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures, in the University's Central Area. We are based in a state-of-the-art building, at 50 George Square, which houses computer microlabs, a language resource centre, and social facilities as well as tutors' offices and lecture theatres.

Study abroad

During Year 3, you will spend a minimum of 30 weeks on approved work or study placement in the country/countries relevant to the language/s studied.

What are my options for going abroad?

How will I learn?

Courses are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials and computer-assisted language learning. In Year 4, most courses will be taught exclusively in French.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed by a combination of exams and coursework.

Programme details

Find out more about this programme's aims, what you will learn, how you will be assessed and what skills and knowledge you will develop.

To give you an idea of what to expect from this programme, we publish the latest available information. However, please note this may not be for your year of entry, but for a different academic year.

Programme details (2019/20)

Studying a language to degree level, especially when you spend a year abroad as part of your studies, gives you a set of skills and life experiences highly prized by employers. The employment statistics for French graduates from the University of Edinburgh are impressive, and you will have a remarkable range of career options available to you.

You’ll be fluent in a major language of international communication, the sixth most widely spoken in the world. You’ll be well-placed to seek opportunities in the 29 countries where French is an official language, and the many multinational companies and institutions for which it is a working language, including the European Commission.

Our graduates can be found in every kind of career, especially those that place a premium on thinking that is both disciplined and imaginative, from physical theatre to the top of the Civil Service. Naturally, many of our former students are working in professions where linguistic skills are of special value, including education, translating and interpreting, and international business.

There are also opportunities to continue studying, with Year 4 in particular developing the research skills you’ll need if you choose this path. There are many graduate-level programmes available, particularly in the UK, US and of course France and the Francophone world.

Standard entry requirement

The standard entry requirement is:

• SQA Highers: AAAA - ABBB by end of S5. If you haven't achieved this by the end of S5 we may consider your application based on a strong performance in S6. A minimum of BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6. (Revised 18/10/2019 from 'AAAA - AABB'.)
• A Levels: ABB. (Revised 21/06/2019 from 'ABB'. Revised 11/12/2019 from 'AAB - ABB'.)
• IB: 40 points (grades 766 at HL) - 34 points (grades 655 at HL).

Minimum entry requirement

The minimum entry requirement for widening access applicants is:

• SQA Highers: ABBB by end of S6, with a minimum of BBB achieved in one year of S4-S6.
• A Levels: ABB.
• IB: 34 points (grades 655 at HL).

More information for widening access applicants

Required subjects

The grades used to meet our entry requirements must include:

• SQA: Higher: a language other than English at grade B. National 5: French at grade B and English at grade C.
• A Levels: a language other than English at grade B. GCSEs: French at grade B or 6 and English at grade C or 4.
• IB: HL: a language other than English at grade 5. SL: French at grade 5 and English at grade 5.

Additional requirements

Language requirement

Please note that for degrees that have a subject requirement of a language other than English, students may not use their own native language to meet this requirement. In these instances, English or an alternative language other than native will be acceptable.

Find out more about entry requirements

International applicants

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.

Entry requirements by country

Mature applicants

We welcome applications from mature students and accept a range of qualifications.

Mature applicant qualifications

You must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies, regardless of your nationality or country of residence.

SQA, GCSE and IB

For SQA, GCSE and IB students, unless a higher level is specified in the stated entry requirements, a pass is required in English at the following grades or higher:

• SQA National 5 Grade C

• SQA Standard Grade 3

• SQA Intermediate 1 Grade A

• SQA Intermediate 2 Grade C

• GCSE Grade C or 4

• Level 2 Certificate Grade C

• IB Standard Level Grade 5 (English ab initio is not accepted for entry)

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic module overall 6.5 with 5.5 in each component

• TOEFL-iBT 92 or above with 20 in each section

• Cambridge English: Advanced or Proficiency overall 176 with 162 in each component

• PTE Academic: Total 61 with at least 51 in each "Communicative Skills" section

• Trinity ISE: ISE II with a distinction in all four components

We also accept a wider range of international qualifications and tests.

English language qualifications must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, PTE or Trinity ISE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

English language requirements

(Revised 05/06/2019 to provide more accurate/comprehensive information.)

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It is one of many sources of information which will enable you to make an informed decision on what and where to study.

Please note that some programmes do not have Discover Uni data available.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees for MA French

Additional costs

For your compulsory residence abroad in Year 3, we give you a wide range of options. Your costs will depend on where you decide to go, and how you spend your time. A placement with an Erasmus work grant, for example, could make this the cheapest year of your programme.

Universities outside the EU may charge you a fee for courses but we will reimburse you for this provided the course has been approved. You will be informed about the cost implications as you plan your year abroad, during Year 2.

Funding

For more information on how much it will cost to study with us and the financial support available see our fees and funding information.

Fees and funding

• College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Undergraduate Admissions Office
• Web: Contact CAHSS Undergraduate Admissions Office
• International enquiries