Traditionally, graduate education in French, on both the master’s and the doctoral levels, has prepared students to take positions in academia. Since about 1945, however, graduate education in the United States has undergone expansion, professionalization, and diversification, and those changes have impacted virtually every traditional academic field. According to The Silent Success: Master's Education in the United States (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1993), of the people earning master's degrees since the early 1980s, about 90 percent earned their degrees in professional areas outside of the traditional liberal arts and sciences.  Today about half of all master's students are over the age of 30, and two-thirds of master's students are enrolled part-time. These facts and others suggest strongly that graduate education has grown beyond the once-standard body of traditional programs in order to adapt to a changing clientele and different expectations in education.  In addition to master's programs which support doctoral education in the academic disciplines, there are master's programs of the "career-advancement" type, of the "apprenticeship program" type, and the "community-centered program" type.

An undergraduate concentration in French prepares a student to consider a number of graduate educational directions, including law, international studies, economic development studies, non-profit management, missiology, seminary, linguistics, teaching English as a second language (TESOL), social work, etc.

For a thorough directory of graduate programs, addresses, contact persons, and other information, consult Peterson's Guide to Graduate and Professional Programs: An Overview, available in the library in the third floor reference section (L901 .P442). Also consult Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs (L 901 .P443).

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Entrance to graduate school is competitive.  The following components influence a graduate school's decision in evaluating applicants:

1) GRADES. The cumulative GPA is an important criterion in indicating an applicant's potential success as a graduate student. Although some graduate programs accept applicants with a GPA of 2.5, most require a minimum of 3.0. As a general rule, a GPA below 3.0 will hurt your chance for admission while one above 3.5 will improve your chances for admission to the better schools.

2) SCORES ON STANDARDIZED TESTS. The most frequently required test is the GRE (Graduate Record Exam). Graduate schools rely on tests such as this because they provide a common measuring stick for comparing applicants. The GRE General Test is administered periodically throughout the academic year, usually on Saturday mornings. This three and one-half hour test yields three scores--verbal, quantitative, and analytical reasoning. A good way to prepare for this test is to consult a GRE preparation manual, available from the Broene Center.

Students intending to enroll in graduate school in the fall of 2008 should take the GRE sometime in the fall of 2007. Registration forms for taking the test, and dates for the test are available from the Registrar's Office.
                                                                             
3) LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION.  Most graduate schools ask for three letters from persons who can speak to the quality of work you have done. Of the three references, no less than two should be from professors in your major field of study. Ask professors who know you well and who would be able to write a positive letter on your behalf. Students should provide the letter writers with the necessary forms, a stamped envelope, and adequate time to send off a letter.

4) APPLICATION FORM.  The actual form required will vary from graduate school to graduate school. Most applications will request some sort of essay; others, especially for programs in language or literature, will require an audio tape on which the student reads in the foreign language. Needless to say, the student should exercise care and be reflective in preparing the application. All communication from the student to the graduate school should be word processed.  Throughout the entire application process, the student is acting in a professional role; consequently, everything the student does to fulfill the application requirements should be done professionally.

Note: Deadlines are crucial in the application process and graduate schools adhere to them rigorously. Most application deadlines, especially those for which financial aid is a factor, are quite early. Thus, for September enrollment, expect deadlines in mid-January or the beginning of February.

 TIMETABLE FOR GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

As is the case with most other decisions of importance, choosing a graduate school and making application take a great deal of time.  The following sketches a recommended time frame for the entire search / application process:

1) Junior Year, Fall and Spring

• Research areas of interest, institutions, and programs
• Register and prepare for appropriate graduate admissions tests (GRE, LSAT, etc.)
• Investigate national scholarship opportunities

2) Junior Year, Summer

• Take required graduate admission tests
• Write for application materials
• Write your application essay
• Check on application deadlines

3) Senior Year, Fall

• Ask for letters of recommendation from appropriate instructors
• Take graduate admissions tests, if you haven't already done so
• Send in completed application

4) Senior Year, Spring

• Register for Graduate and Professional School Financial Aid Service (GAPSFAS) if required
• Check with all institutions before the deadline to make sure your file is complete
• Send a deposit to hold your institution of choice
• Notify other institutions that accepted you of your decision so that they may admit students on their waiting list.

FINANCING GRADUATE SCHOOL EDUCATION

Potential graduate students face a wide array of opportunities for funding full-time graduate education, including loans, scholarships, work study, institutional financial aid, fellowships, and teaching assistantships.  The latter two sources are the most prestigious, not to mention lucrative, and should be investigated by everyone hoping to pursue French studies (language and/or literature).  Generally speaking, fellowships require no responsibilities of the recipient, and most often, remit full tuition and fees as well as provide a modest living stipend.  Teaching assistantships also remit tuition and fees and provide a stipend; however, as their label suggests, they require that the recipient teach several introductory courses per year (usually two or three). Teaching assistants (or TAs) are not expected to be certified teachers on the secondary level, nor are they expected to have had any teaching experience.  Most graduate departments which house teaching assistants provide seminars in instruction and have personnel available to supervise the assistants in their work.  At most institutions, teaching assistantships are renewable for up to three or four years.

Teaching assistantships are more competitive in programs which offer study through the doctorate than in programs which offer study through the masters degree level. For students intending to pursue graduate work in French or in foreign-language education, there are many programs available which provide fellowships or assistantships.

APPLICATION STRATEGIES

To maximize the opportunities for financial aid or other financial support, students are encouraged to apply to at least six graduate schools: two programs of excellent reputation but to which admission seems unlikely; two programs to which the students feels some confidence in being admitted; and two programs to which the student considers admission to be certain. Within the past fifteen years, Calvin French majors have been accepted and have enrolled into graduate programs in French at the following schools:

American University
Bowling Green State University
Columbia University
Georgetown University
Indiana University
Michigan State University
Middlebury College
New York University
Northwestern University
Notre Dame University
Pennsylvania State University
Portland State University
Queen's University
Syracuse University
University of Arizona
University of Cincinnati
University of Kentucky
University of Michigan
University of Oregon
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Bordeaux