Graduate Studies in French at the University of Kansas
Call for applications for the academic year 2025-2026
Application deadline: January 31, 2025
The Department of French, Francophone, & Italian Studies at the University of Kansas invites applications to its graduate programs for the academic year 2025-2026. We offer separate M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Our programs cultivate dynamic inquiry into the intersections of French and Francophone literature, thought, media, and culture.
Our students work closely with faculty who conduct internationally recognized research in medieval, Renaissance and 17th-century studies, 20th-and 21st-century French and Francophone literatures and cultures, science fiction, gender and sexuality studies, film, and media. The graduate faculty are committed to mentoring the professional and intellectual development of M.A. and Ph.D. candidates, who present research at scholarly conferences and publish in journals of national and international renown. Chimères (https://journals.ku.edu/chimeres), one of the nation’s only graduate-run journals in French and Francophone studies, now in its 56th year, offers graduate students exceptional opportunities for peer research and editorial experience. The University of Kansas has been named a French Center of Excellence by the Embassy of France, and our graduate students benefit from a program of cultural activities and visits by international French and Francophone scholars, filmmakers, and writers.
Successful applicants to M.A and Ph.D. programs receive Graduate Teaching Assistantships with a competitive annual stipend and benefit from full tuition remission. G.T.A.’s receive strong support and guidance through a course on language teaching acquisition and methods. Our innovative Introduction to Graduate Studies provides training for academic and public humanities careers. The Department offers conference travel grants during the school year and competitive summer research scholarships in France. In addition, the Office of Graduate Studies and Hall Center for the Humanities offer many other graduate research awards. There also is the chance to spend time in France through the graduate assistantship to our Summer Language Institute in Paris. We offer a year-long graduate exchange lectureship at the Université de Franche-Comté in Besançon.
Our program is interdisciplinary and transnational. M.A. and Ph.D. candidates take two courses outside of French and Francophone studies as part of their program. The Department is linked to the Kansas African Studies Center https://kasc.ku.edu/ and the Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies https://clacs.ku.edu/, designated as National Resource Centers by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are available for students pursuing proficiency in less commonly taught languages including Arabic, Haitian Creole, Kiswahili, and Wolof. Our students are active participants in the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, http://www.sfcenter.ku.edu/, and KU’s Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities, http://idrh.ku.edu/. Graduate Certificates, which complement the M.A. and Ph.D. in French and Francophone Studies, are available in fields including African Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Film and Media Studies, and Second Language Studies (SLS).
The University of Kansas provides excellent research facilities: our libraries rank in the top 50th nationally for volumes held. Library collections on our Lawrence campus contain more than 5 million volumes. Watson Library, the main library, has strong holdings in all fields of French and Francophone studies; Kenneth Spencer Research Library is home to more than 750,000 books and manuscripts; departmental libraries hold collections in art, architecture, dance, engineering, law, history of medicine, maps, and music; Spencer Museum of Art houses more than 37,000 works.
Our campus ranks in national polls as among the most beautiful. Set on the Kansas River, the city of Lawrence (population 95,000) provides a vibrant yet calm environment with beautiful parks; a bustling downtown with a large variety of shops, restaurants, bars and coffee shops; and a great selection of recreational activities. Lawrence repeatedly ranks among the top 10 U.S. college towns.
To learn more about our M.A. and Ph.D. programs, see: https://frenchitalian.ku.edu/graduate-degrees-french
The Director of Graduate Studies, Prof. Van Kelly (vkelly@ku.edu), welcomes inquiries about our M.A. & Ph.D. programs.
To be considered for funding for 2025-2026, students should submit an application by January 31, 2025. To apply, click here: http://graduate.ku.edu/ku-graduate-application
Van Kelly, Director of Graduate Studies
Dept. of French, Francophone, & Italian Studies
University of Kansas
1445 Jayhawk Blvd.
Wescoe Hall, Room 2103
Lawrence, KS 66045-7590
USA
vkelly@ku.edu, +1 785-218-4699