In Courses:

• Introduction
• BA in French Studies
• Year-abroad programme
• MA in Paris Studies -History and Culture
• Research degrees

• A unique opportunity
• What we ask of you
• Course outline
• Admissions procedure
• Financial information
• Further information

This single-honours programme, leading to a University of London BA, is taught mostly in French. Students benefit from small, intimate classes to ensure that their spoken and written French is of the highest standard. It lasts three university sessions (rather than the usual four, which include a 'year abroad'), so that the financial investment is considerably smaller. Successful students graduate with considerable fluency in French, as well as an in-depth knowledge of French ways of thinking, negotiating, planning. This has made them into an elite, readily employable by both British and French organisations engaged in cross-Channel activities.

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Good A-levels (ABB with at least a B in French, or a good European Baccalaureate), or, failing this, proof of intellectual and linguistic promise - we interview all short-listed candidates and pay particular attention to those from less advantaged backgrounds.

• Intellectual ambition to understand and become part of French society without cutting your home ties.
• Ability to deal with a demanding course, while benefiting from the culture of one of the most exciting capital cities in the world.

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What you can expect from us

• A course designed specifically for the study of the social, linguistic and cultural context one is living in.
• Tutorial advice and support conforming to the quality standards of the University of London.
• A core team of experienced university lecturers with bicultural or French backgrounds, and contact with visiting lecturers from the universities of Paris.

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Year one

Study methods and critical approaches to literature and visual arts, and social, political and cultural issues. French language: grammar, reading and writing skills, and pronunciation.

• L10 The grammatical and syntactical structures of written and spoken French; phonetics of French; development of communicative skills through exercises in written and aural comprehension, precis and transposition.
• C10 Critical approaches to literature and visual arts: Introduction to practical criticism of prose fiction, poetry and dramatic texts; study of cinematic art and narrative; introduction to the aesthetics of the fine arts and to contemporary critical method applied to painting, sculpture and architecture.
• C11 Contemporary social, political and cultural issues: from the Revolution to the Present Day.

Year two

Major ideological, social, historical and aesthetic roots of contemporary France. French and English translation. The first half of a comparative French/English course with either a literary or a business studies option, and an introduction to corpus and applied linguistics. French language at an advanced level.

• L20 Advanced grammar of written and spoken French; study of styles and registers, together with development of techniques of written and oral expression in various situations.
• L21 Contrastive study of French and English lexis and syntax, through exercises in translation.
• C20 EITHER
  • C20.1 Introduction to French linguistics and its relevance for literary criticism through the study of critical texts and fictional works.
    OR
  • C20.2 Language, Media and Society. An introduction to theoretical principle - Ways of Seeing, Ways of Thinking, using texts from a variety of contemporary media, including business, advertising, politics and journalism.
• C21 TWO OF THE FOLLOWING THREE OPTIONS
  • C21.1 Roots of French Identity. The origins of French nationhood in political and intellectual history: a study of the geophysical, ethnic and linguistic constitution of France, and of the political, cultural and ideological forces which have shaped the French nation since the Gallic wars.
  • C21.2 Sociological roots of contemporary France. The development of family life and related ethical values, through literary and social documents. A study of childhood, motherhood, paternal authority, sexual conventions, marriage and adultery, and social functions of the family unit from the 17th century to the present.
  • C21.3 Intellectual and cultural roots of contemporary France. Language and Image: a study of the semiological approaches to the visual arts and of earlier theories of the relationship between literature, language and art, from the medieval allegory to the present day.

  • C21.4 History and Memory. Exploration of some of the key themes of French history between the Revolution of 1789 and the events of May 68: Nationalism, Republicanism, Modernity, Traditionalism, Jacobinism.

• C22 EITHER
  • C22.1 The French and English literary traditions. Part I. A tale of two cities: works inspired by Paris and London, including Dickens, Julian Barnes, Céline. 
    OR
  • C22.2 The language of business administration and society. Part I. A study of discourses of international business theory and practice.

Year three

A choice of special options (eg theatre or film studies, textual genetics, modern art and thought), set within contemporary French intellectual debates. The second half of the comparative course and further training in written French and translation.

• L30 Advanced techniques in academic discourse: essays, dissertations, textual commentaries and oral presentations.
• L31 Advanced English-French and French-English translation.
• C30 EITHER ONE OR TWO OF THE EIGHT FOLLOWING OPTIONS
•  C30.2 French cinema: the 1930s and the 1980s. A comparative study of two decades of French film, 1930-1940 and 1980-1990, with reference to the techniques, sociology, narratology, thematics, financing and parameters of success and failure of French cinema in the thirties and eighties.
• C30.3 Franco- German wars - The course covers the Franco- Prussian War, France in WWI and Vichy France and the occupation.
• C30.4 Fin de siècle - French literary culture of the late nineteenth century. A study of late nineteenth-century literary culture in France, contextualized in terms of the major literary, intellectual and socio-political developments of the era.
• C30.6 Arts of Negation: The history of teh French Avant-gardes, from surrealism to situationism, Bataille to Debord and beyond 
• C30.7 Paris: development and representation of the town. A study of the city of Paris viewed from a series of different perspectives (historical, architectural, artistic, literary, political etc.), revealing the interaction between representation and construction, between images of the town and its material reality.
• C30.8 Women in/and post-war fiction (Cinema and Literature). A study of aspects of the influence of sexual politics on the production of culture through an analysis of women's writing and cinema in France from the post-war period to the late 1970s.
• C31 EITHER
  • C31.1 Urban Visions: comparative study of novels and cities: including London, Paris, Tangier and New-York 
    OR
  • C31.2 The language of business administration. Part II. A study of discourses of international business theory and practice.

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All candidates should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions System).

Applicants will need the following information when filling in their UCAS form:

• Institution Code Name: ULIP
• Institution Code: P26
• Course Code: R110
• Course Title: BA/French

All short-listed candidates are invited for an interview in London or Paris. Interviewers strive to offer places with a regard for an academically well-balanced first-year class, within the limitations on size: the yearly intake is approximately 50 students. Please note that travel expenses are not refunded. Selected applicants are asked to complete a test in French: this is intended to determine their first-year needs in language in the event of their taking up an offer of a place.

The Institute is pleased to consider applications from students wishing to take a Gap Year between finishing their A-level examinations and starting their degree course.

A 'Journée de Rencontre' is organised each year in February to allow prospective students to visit the Institute and meet lecturers and current students.

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Tuition Fees
a) Home Students (including residents of member states of the European Union)

Home students on the BA in French Studies will be charged £3,225 for tuition fees in the academic year 2009-10.

If you take out a Student Loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, the money will be paid directly to the Institute. If this is the case, you will not have to pay anything back until after you graduate and are earning at least £15,000 per year.

If you choose not to take out a Student Loan or are not eligible for one, the first instalment of the tuition fee will be payable on the first day of term.

b) Overseas students

Tuition fees for non-UK and non-EU residents in 2009-10 will be £9,500.

Student loans
Students who are UK residents should apply as early as possible to their Local Education Authority (LEA), who will determine eligibility for:

• Student Loan for tuition fees
• Student loan for maintenance costs
• Maintenance grant

If you are a non-UK resident of the European Union you can apply to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for a loan to cover your tuition fees. UK Government support is not available to undergraduate students from outside the EU.

Loans are paid in three instalments directly into a UK bank account and the Student Loans Company sends out repeat application forms for subsequent years.

Grants
Full-time students may be eligible for a non-repayable maintenance grant of up to £2,835, depending on financial circumstances. If your income, or that of your family, is £25,000 per year or less, you may be eligible for a full grant. Partial grants are likely to be available to those with a household income of between approximately £25,000 and £60,005. 

Bursaries
The University of London Institute in Paris has introduced a package of bursaries to assist students with the cost of study. The bursaries are deliberately aimed at assisting students who are in most need of financial support. Note that bursaries do not need to be repaid. Two levels of bursaries are available:

• Students who come from households with an income of less than £25,000, and who therefore qualify for full state support, are likely to be eligible for a bursary of £1,078 per year of study for the duration of their degree programme at the University of London Institute in Paris .
• Students who qualify for a partial Maintenance Grant and who come from households with incomes of between £25,001 and £34,613, are likely to be eligible for a bursary of £861 per year of study for the duration of their degree programme at the University of London Institute in Paris.

In order to qualify for the payment of the above bursaries, students will need to have met the academic requirements of the BA programme; be in receipt of a conditional confirmed offer of a place; and to have enrolled at the University of London Institute in Paris .

You do not need to make a special application to the University of London Institute in Paris for the bursaries the Institute offers. We will automatically receive sufficient information from the Student Loans Company to be able to assess your eligibility for a bursary. However, it is very important that you make the relevant applications to the Student Loans Company for any student loans for which you are eligible.

<//strong>For further information about government funding for students in higher education please visit the Department for Education and Skills website, http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/index.htm.

 

We would also be pleased to provide you with further information and guidance. Please contact staff in the Institute's departmental office on 00 33 (0)1 44 11 73 83 ot 76 or e-mail us at french@ulip.lon.ac.uk

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