Depending on whom you ask, French is the international trade language, the language of the greatest romantics, or the third most spoken language in the United States. The French language and the cultures of France and the Francophone world offer a unique set of lenses through which to examine both our current society and global history.

Seeing the World with New Eyes

French majors and minors at Southwestern are expected to acquire a strong grasp of language and a working general knowledge of literature, culture and film, along with greater analytical facility in the language. The French Program’s curriculum is composed of a mixture of courses focused on the spoken and written language, as well as French literature and culture. French students are strongly encouraged to study abroad as part of their education.

As with other language and literature programs at Southwestern, the French program aims to build diverse perspectives. Through the Capstone experience, students bring together the knowledge, insights and perspectives from their French courses and develop a further grounding for sophisticated original work in many fields. The French program also enhances student learning through the use of multimedia teaching aids, both in the Language Learning Center and in special course materials tailored to Southwestern students' specific needs.

The French program provides students with the tools and opportunities to become competent, confident, culturally literate citizens of our increasingly global society. We seek to form strong thinkers and writers who excel in their careers nationally and internationally thanks to the flexibility and quickness of mind gained from the close study of language, literature, culture and film.