French at Western

• At Western, students may double major with almost every other major offered on campus. In most cases, students still complete all requirements in 4 years. A semester abroad can further reduce the time required to complete French degree requirements.
   
• The French Program offers multiple ways to be immersed in French. Exchange programs allow students to spend a semester or year at a French university for the same cost of studying at Western. Short-term summer immersion programs are tailored to the needs and budget of individual students. Scholarships and other financial aid ensures that every French major who wants to study abroad will be able to do so. Language tables, film series, and cultural events provide opportunities to use French outside of class.
   
• The Western French Faculty take great interest in their students and their progress and are available to them year around. French majors are assigned a personal advisor and mentor whom they meet privately on a regular basis (at least once per semester) throughout their studies. The French faculty not only help majors develop a four-year degree plan, they also advise them on study abroad, internships, jobs, and graduate school well before senior year rolls around. Seniors work closely with the French faculty concerning their post-graduation plans and the various options available to them at that crucial time in their life.
   
• The Western French Program is a diverse community of students (current and past), scholars, and friends who share the same passion for and unremitting commitment to the study of France and the rest of the Francophone world.
   
• Since the majority of Western French students also double major in another discipline and because of the many international exchanges, our students get to know people from many different places and with many different interests.
   
• The Western French club, l’Alliance Française, sponsors frequent cultural events and venues for keeping our students informed and immersed in Francophone cultures. Alumni, exchange students and French speakers in the community add to the rich opportunities for language practice outside of class.
   
• In the Western French Program, the Faculty and students understand the value of hard work. Consequently, Western French courses and instructors are very demanding, providing students with rigorous but always informative and practical training that will serve them well beyond their college years, regardless of what they end up doing.
   
• All Western French courses are interactive and practical. For example, students learn how to demonstrate their language expertise with performance-based assessment. Rather than traditional grammar and vocabulary tests, our students have fun showing what they can do with French. See for yourself: Sample 1, Sample 2.
   
• All Western French majors love French, of course, but most importantly they do not settle for less. They are expected to speak French and to read and to write it extensively at all levels. Consequently, whatever their field of interest, they will be able to engage in that field using French, which means living and working anywhere in the world.
   
• Typical Western French majors and alumni have traveled, studied, and worked overseas. Many have been hired by the French government as teaching assistants in France. Others have been awarded highly competitive scholarships (such as the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship), have been offered positions in the Americas, Europe, and Africa and have been accepted in prestigious graduate programs (see Western French Alumni). They have learned to be open and to be respectful of diversity, but most of all to be loyal to their passion.

A DEGREE IN FRENCH: YOUR KEY TO THE WORLD!