French

Key facts
Location: Canterbury
Award: BA (Hons)
Type: Full-time or part-time
Options: A year studying in Europe.
Further information
Download: Subject leaflet
Online: Department

Canterbury is the closest British university city to mainland Europe, and our proximity to the Channel ports and Ashford International station means you can be in France in just a couple of hours. There are many French-speaking students on campus, so you get a better chance to immerse yourself in the language than at any other university in the country. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) French at Kent came 7th in the UK, which means that during your studies at Kent you will be working with top-rated researchers.

At Kent, we have a uniquely wide range of links with French, Canadian and Swiss universities. During your year abroad as part of an Erasmus programme, you could begin to study for a French qualification (Licence), or alternatively you can gain work experience by becoming a language assistant in a French school. Our link with the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris also gives any student at Kent the opportunity to sit for the internationally recognised diplomas offered by the CCIP. As a French student at Kent you will work closely with the various members of staff and the seven language assistants in lectures, seminars and one to one tutorials.

Most of the modules are taught in French and we have instant access to French TV and radio thanks to up-to-date technology and satellite links.

Degree programmes

Single honours
Did you know?

French at Kent was rated 7th nationally in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

  • French (R101)
Joint honours

These are some of the more popular joint honours degrees. For other combinations, see the Honours Degree Quick Reference Guide (pdf).

  • Business Administration (NR21)
  • Comparative Literature (RQ12)
  • Drama (RW14)
  • English and American Literature (QR31)
  • English Language and Linguistics (RQ13)
  • Film Studies (RW16)
  • German (RR12)
  • Hispanic Studies (RR14)
  • History (RV11)
  • History & Philosophy of Art (VR31)
  • Italian (RR13)
  • Religious Studies (RV16)

Core modules

Stage 1
Core modules

You take three core modules, one from:

  • Learning French 1: Beginners
  • Learning French 2A and 2B: Post GCSE Level
  • Learning French 3: Post A Level

And at least another two from:

  • France in Crisis
  • French Drama: Love, Marriage and Politics
  • French Narratives: Love, Marriage and Politics
  • Questions of French Cinema
  • Writer and Genre in France 1
  • Writer and Genre in France 2.
Options

You choose the rest of your modules (depending on your degree programme) from a wide range of options drawn from a list available in the Faculty of Humanities.

Stage 2/3
Core modules
  • Learning French 4: Intermediate
  • Learning French 5: Advanced
Options
  • Business French 1
  • Business French 2
  • Classical French Theatre
  • Contemporary French Cinema
  • Dissertation
  • Eighteenth-Century Narratives
  • Extended Essay
  • History of French Language
  • Introduction to Professional Interpreting
  • Literary Trailblazers
  • Memory and Childhood in 20th-Century French Fiction
  • Modern French Theatre 1
  • Modern French Theatre 2
  • Mothers and Daughters
  • The Painting as Phantom: Diderot to Proust
  • Paris: Myth and Reality 1
  • Paris: Myth and Reality 2
  • The Reader and the Text
  • Short Narrative Fiction
  • Sociolinguistics of French
Year abroad

You normally spend all or part of your third year abroad in a French-speaking country. Typically, this involves a year’s study abroad, an assistantship in a French/Swiss/French- Canadian school, or a work placement. We currently have exchange agreements with French universities in Avignon, Grenoble, Lille, Littoral, Lyon, Nice, Paris, Poitiers, Reims, with Canadian universities in Ottawa and Montréal and with Swiss universities in Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel. We normally visit you during your year abroad.

Teaching and assessment

Compulsory language modules involve three to four hours of classes per week, including one hour of small group work with a native speaker. We also make extensive use of computer-assisted language learning packages and audio and video materials. Culture and literature modules involve a weekly two-hour seminar plus essay supervision. The French Department employs seven French language assistants to help students improve their fluency.

At Stage 1, assessment is by 100% coursework (essays, class participation) in the first half of the year, and a 50:50 combination of coursework and examination in the second half of the year. For Stages 2 and 3, depending on the modules you select, assessment varies from 100% coursework (extended essays or dissertation), to a combination of examination and coursework, in the ratio 60:40 or 50:50. Credits from your year abroad count towards your final degree.

Entry requirements

Passing the Kent Foundation Programme for International Students guarantees you entry onto the first year of these degree programmes.

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Offer levels

Single honours: A/AS level 320 points (3.5 A level equivalents) inc AB at A level, IB Diploma 33 points inc 4 at HL or 5 at SL in a modern European language other than English or IB Diploma with 16 points at Higher inc 4 at HL or 5 at SL in a modern European language other than English.

Joint honours: A/AS level 320 points (3.5 A level equivalents) inc AB at A level, IB Diploma 33 points inc 4 at HL or 5 at SL in a modern European language other than English or IB Diploma with 16 points at Higher inc 4 at HL or 5 at SL in a modern European language other than English.

Required subjects
  • Post A level: A level French grade B.
  • Post GCSE level: GCSE French grade B.
  • Beginner’s level: some aptitude for modern languages inc GCSE grade C in a modern European language other than English.

Careers

Our students go into areas such as international banking, diplomacy, publishing, journalism, international product management, interpreting and translating, European media, law or accountancy, and language teaching. Some go on to postgraduate study in fields as varied as international journalism, visual studies and translation.