French

As a French major, you'll learn to think critically about literature and other cultural elements while developing proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding French. As you analyze works from France and related regions, you will discover the varied ideologies and philosophies implicit in French culture.

Top students are invited to join Pi Delta Phi, a national French honorary, and to compete for several scholarships and prizes offered through the Department of French and Italian.

Activities outside the classroom include frequent screenings of French films, a lecture series, and an occasional drama presentation by a group from France. French and French Canadian television programs are available for viewing on the SCOLA channel in the language lab. Once a week at dinner in Clawson, the international residence hall, there's a French table for students, professors, and business students from France studying at Miami.

Program Strengths at Miami

Live in the culture: You can experience French culture by living in the French language corridor of a Miami residence hall. A French graduate student lives full-time in the hall to create a vital link with the French world, organize cultural activities, and offer informal academic advising.

National reputation: Miami's French program is one of the nation's best-known among non-doctoral degree granting departments. We've been a magnet for good professors from top Ph.D.-granting institutions. While our professors have a national reputation for their publications, their focus is teaching undergraduates.

Modern facilities: French classes and the language lab are located in newly renovated and air-conditioned Irvin Hall.

Study abroad: The best way to experience French culture is to live among the French. We offer an advanced program every summer in Dijon, France. At our European Center in Luxembourg, you can study for a year or semester, living with French-speaking families. The department has a large file of other foreign study programs in which Miami students can participate.

After You Graduate

Recent graduates work in international advertising, the international travel industry, the Peace Corps, and Teach America. Some have gone on to graduate schools such as Cornell, Brown, Princeton, Chicago, Iowa, and U.S.C. Miami's graduate program in French offers two degrees, the Master of Arts, and the Master of Arts in Teaching. Graduates of the M.A. programs include a college professor at Oberlin, lawyers, and a government customs official.

Like other liberal arts backgrounds, a major in foreign language and literature serves as a good base for careers in fields where broad educational experience is more important than a strictly vocational major. Combining language knowledge with other skills can lead to positions in such diverse areas as journalism, business, tourism, government service, and the armed forces. A second major or minor are options many language students choose to help achieve their career goals.

Some job titles directly related to foreign language study are interpreter, travel agent, foreign correspondent, translator, librarian, immigration inspector, radio announcer, Peace Corps member, international public relations specialist, and international market researcher.

Many language majors take advantage of our teacher certification program and work in public and private schools. An undergraduate degree in a foreign language is a solid foundation for graduate work in international business, law, diplomacy, library science, or more specialized study in language.

Foreign Languages at Miami

We live in a global society. As formerly isolated countries open up and organizations expand internationally, you need an education which gives you a global perspective. One way you can prepare is by studying foreign languages. At Miami, you not only learn to read, write, and speak the language, but you study the literature, history, and worldwide influence of the culture.

Studying a foreign language is also an important part of your overall humanities education at Miami. It can develop your communication skills, it can help you see how language shapes our society, and it can help you understand and appreciate other cultures. And it may also make you more marketable in your job search because as nations and world markets develop, government, businesses, and social service agencies need employees who are proficient in other languages.

You may be eligible for credit through advanced placement examinations. Check with the departments for details.

Miami's Advantages

Communicate internationally: You can view important events from around the world on SCOLA (Satellite Communications for Learning), the international news programming network which is part of Miami's academic cable television system. You also have access to international e-mail networks and bulletin boards through Netscape.

Expand your career options: The foreign language majors at Miami are designed to allow you to complete a second major within four years. This broadens your education as well as your career possibilities.

Use our high-tech lab: Miami's language lab has an impressive variety of technical aids for your independent study. In the individual station area, each of the 40 booths has a monitor, VCR, and cassette player so you can work on your oral comprehension and pronunciation, watch a foreign language film, or view a news broadcast from a foreign television station via SCOLA. Lab managers can assist you by taping broadcasts, translating tapes from other formats into ones usable in the lab, and guiding your use of the language word processing programs.

In the lab, computer equipment includes Macintoshes and pc's, a full-page scanner, and a printer. Laser disk players are attached to some computers so you can work on learning materials, develop multimedia presentations, or watch foreign films. Some computers have fonts for Russian or Japanese alphabets. We also have video editing equipment for faculty and student projects.

Other Language Programs

We offer majors in French, German, classical Greek, Latin, Russian, and Spanish. You can also choose from minors in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, and courses in Chinese, classical Hebrew, and Portuguese.

For More Information

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the French major, please contact:

Department of French and Italian
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-7508
www.muohio.edu/frenchitalian