At all levels of study you will have the opportunity to advance in your understanding and use of the language, both written and oral, and will study current French culture and civilisation and that of previous centuries.

Year 1

The course you study in first year depends on how much French you have studied before.

If you have an SQA Higher or A-level in French (grade A or B), you can opt for the Level-1 Language and culture course. The course will build on your knowledge of French and reinforce your awareness of linguistic structures, both spoken and written. On the cultural side, you will follow lectures on a number of key genres (eg narrative, film, poetry, drama) and study texts and films in French.

If you are a beginner or near-beginner in the language, provided that you have some previous successful language learning experience, you can take the Level-1 Beginners course, which will provide an intensive foundation in reading, writing and speaking French. If you perform well enough on this course, you can progress to second year and beyond.

Year 2

The first-year Language and culture course leads to French 2. This course extends and develops your linguistic skills across a range of activities and builds your knowledge of French culture through the study of further texts and other cultural forms. Students progressing from the first-year Beginners course normally study additional first-year cultural courses alongside French 2 courses.

Year 3

It is essential that you spend your third year abroad to gain admittance to Honours.

If you are taking French as a Joint Honours subject with another language, you may opt to spend your third year either in a French-speaking country or in a country where the other language is spoken. If you choose to do the latter, you will then spend the spring term of your Junior Honours year (year four) in France.

Years 4 and 5

If you successfully complete the French courses in first and second years, you may progress to Honours French, which may be taken as Single Honours or as Joint Honours, meaning that you will also study another subject from a wide range.

When you return from your year abroad, along with core language study, the curriculum in the Junior and Senior Honours years allows you to choose from a wide range of options involving

• literature
• cinema
• other aspects of French and francophone culture and civilisation
• language.

Excellent audio-visual and IT facilities are available to support both the language and the wider cultural elements of the programme.

At all levels, elements of tuition are given by native-language speakers of French.

You will spend a year abroad before beginning Honours French. Our students usually choose either to work as a language assistant in a foreign school or to enrol at a foreign university. The University can provide support with arranging a placement with an exchange programme or other foreign placement of your choice.

Graduates with qualifications in modern languages and cultures have gone on to pursue rewarding careers in business and commerce, marketing, media, teaching (both at home and abroad), translating and interpreting, and the civil service.

Statistics and career advisers both confirm that our graduates’ prospects are in some instances very much better than those for other arts graduates. With the enlargement of the European Union and NATO, even more excellent opportunities are being created both in the UK and abroad.