The minor in French trains students to acquire proficiency in the French language and familiarizes them with various aspects of French culture. In addition to language skills, the minor offers students the opportunity to choose from a number of stimulating courses in the literature, art, cinema, and history of France or the Francophone world, particularly Francophone Africa and the Francophone Caribbean Islands.
A French minor complements the coursework and professional development of students majoring in international relations, theatre, cinema-television, music, communications, comparative literature, and business, among other fields. Regardless of your field of study, a French minor will add an international dimension to your education, enriching you with a unique skill set to distinguish yourself on the job market.
Courses are kept small to allow for maximum interaction between students and professors. Students may choose to fulfill some of their course requirements abroad.
To earn a minor in French, students must take
One lower division course (4 units)
• FREN 250 French IV
Five total upper division courses (20 units)
Upper-division requirements include two core courses plus an additional three courses to be selected in consultation with the department adviser.
Two required core courses:
• FREN 300 French Grammar and Composition
• FREN 330 Critical Writing in French
Three upper-division courses:
Electives must be chosen from the following list. No more than one class that is conducted in English may be counted for the minor in French.
• FREN 310 Media French
• FREN 315 Inside the Courts: the French Legal Language and Culture
• FREN 320 French Cinema
• FREN 347 Race, Gender and Power in Francophone Literature
• FREN 351 Introduction to Research in French and Francophone Cultures
• FREN 360 Business and Technical French
• FREN 370gm Equality and Difference around the Enlightenment
• FREN 373 Remembering Loss, Writing Memory
• FREN 375mgw Global Narratives of Illness and Disability
• FREN 382 Paris Avant-Gardes
• FREN 383 French Women Writers
• FREN 390 Special Problems
• FREN 392 Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
• FREN 393 Seminar in French Thought and Theory
• FREN 401 Studies in Early Modernity
• FREN 402 Studies in Modernity
• FREN 403 Studies in Colonialism and Postcolonialism
• FREN 404 Studies in an Author
• FREN 410 Actualités Françaises
• FREN 432 French Theatre
• FREN 445 Studies in Gender, Feminism and Sexuality
• FREN 446 Contemporary French Thought
• FREN 448m France and Islam
• FREN 449 Studies in French Civilization
• FREN 464 Colloquium: French Civilization
• FREN 490x Directed Research
• FREN 499 Special Topics
** FREN 310 and FREN 360 may not both be taken for credit towards the minor in French.
These requirements are excerpted from the USC Catalogue. The USC Catalogue is the document of authority for all students. The program requirements listed in the USC Catalogue supersede any information which may be contained in any bulletin of any school or department. The university reserves the right to change its policies, rules, regulations, requirements for graduation, course offerings and any other contents of this catalogue at any time. To view the Catalogue descriptions of these courses, click the link labelled “USC Catalogue.”
To ask for an appointment to declare a French major or a minor, please contact our department’s academic advisor for French, Isaura Peña, who may be reached by email by clicking the link labelled “Requesting an appointment to declare a Major or Minor.”
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