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The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
French
Programmes
Taught programmes
- Modern French Studies - MA
- Modern French Studies (Paris option) - MA
- French and Comparative Literature - MA
- French and Comparative Literature (Paris option) - MA
Research programmes
Did you know?
In the most recent Research Asessment Exercise: ranked 7th nationally for research quality, with 50% of our research rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.
Overview
Kent offers an excellent environment for postgraduate study in French literature, thought, culture, society and the visual arts from the 18th century to the present. French at Kent was in the top ten in the UK in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. Our main research interests include word and image studies, narratology, literary theory, psychoanalysis, sociolinguistics, postcolonial studies, gender studies and autobiography. Staff and postgraduates in French take a leading role in the Faculty of Humanities' Centre for Modern European Literature, whose activities include conferences, lectures, research seminars and reading groups. Students also participate in an annual international conference organised by research students from across the School of European Culture and Languages.
Our programmes benefit from Kent's proximity to Paris in more than one way. Most colleagues within French have research links in Paris. We have a long-standing exchange with the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure. A more recent development is the exciting range of MA programmes based in Canterbury and Paris. In April 2011, we hosted a major international conference in Paris on ‘Influence'. Roughly half of our research students opt to register for a co-tutelle – a process leading to the award of a PhD from Kent and a doctorate from a French institution. Students who undertake their research entirely in Canterbury benefit from the cosmopolitan atmosphere at the UK's European university.
Did you know?
In the most recent Research Asessment Exercise: ranked 7th nationally for research quality, with 50% of our research rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.
Postgraduate resources
The Templeman Library has excellent holdings in all areas relevant to our research, with particular strengths in 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st-century French literature. The School of European Culture and Languages provides high-quality IT facilities, including state-of-the-art media laboratories, dedicated technical staff and designated areas for postgraduate study. Other facilities include all-purpose teaching rooms, two networked multimedia laboratories and a streamed film library.
Did you know?
In the most recent Research Asessment Exercise: ranked 7th nationally for research quality, with 50% of our research rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.
Key information
Language speaking
Every year, a considerable number of French nationals and native speakers of other foreign languages follow our postgraduate courses, while European exchange students who come to Kent as undergraduates often stay on to do graduate work. We are involved in the Erasmus and Tempus networks and we also have a team of foreign-language lectors who combine undergraduate teaching with study for a Kent higher degree or with writing a dissertation for their home universities. Postgraduate dissertations in French Studies at the University of Kent may be written in English or in French. The University of Kent also offers language training, particularly in English, for overseas postgraduates.
Training
The Graduate School offers all postgraduates in the School of European Culture and Languages a wide-ranging programme of training in transferable skills. The School provides training workshops for postgraduate students with teaching responsibilities, bringing together postgraduates from all our subject areas. Research students may gain further academic experience by giving talks at the Centre for Modern European Literature research seminars. Postgraduates in the School of European Culture and Languages also organise their own annual international conference and edit and contribute to Skepsi, the School's postgraduate online journal of European thought.
World-leading research
In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, the performance of French at the University of Kent was ranked 7th in the United Kingdom, with a high proportion of our research publications judged to be first-rate (world-leading or internationally excellent). Backed by strong institutional support, our group continues to make an assertive and original contribution to French studies in the UK. Our research activities are given a markedly international dimension by publications, conference papers and public lectures in mainland Europe, USA, Australia and elsewhere, as well as a range of collaborative ventures.
Dynamic publishing culture
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: Diderot Studies; Forum for Modern Language Studies; French Studies; Revue Romane; Romance Quarterly. Details of recently published books can be found within the staff research interests.
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|Did you know?
In the most recent Research Asessment Exercise: ranked 7th nationally for research quality, with 50% of our research rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.
Contacts
Admissions enquiries
T: +44 (0)1227 827272
E: information@kent.ac.uk
Professor Peter Read
Department of French School of European Culture and Languages,
University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NF, UK
T: +44 (0)1227 827410
E: p.f.read@kent.ac.uk
Did you know?
In the most recent Research Asessment Exercise: ranked 7th nationally for research quality, with 50% of our research rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.