Graduate Studies

Specialize your degree in French at Dalhousie

Graduate students may specialize in various sub-fields in literature, linguistics or francophone culture. It is also possible to carry out graduate studies in applied linguistics as related to the teaching of second languages.

The Department of French at Dalhousie believes strongly that acquiring teaching experience is a normal part of a graduate student's training, and consequently MA students are generally offered teaching assistantships, while PhD students may be assigned a number of lectureships in the course of their studies.

Graduate students may also work as research assistants to faculty members. Departmental seminar series and colloquia prepare students for scholarly activities. The Department organizes regular international conferences on literary or linguistic themes, which provides graduate students with an excellent opportunity to meet renowned scholars and to deliver papers before a knowledgeable audience.

The Department publishes Initiales/Initials, an annual journal specifically conceived to serve graduate students and young researchers as first-time authors. With regard to financial support, in addition to stipends for lectureships and teaching/research assistantships, graduate students may qualify for departmental bursaries of various amounts, as well as for the Killam Memorial Scholarships.

Our graduate students have regularly received significant external support from the SSHRC and the Killam Foundation. The departmental PhD program has produced outstanding candidates who have invariably succeeded well in their professional careers. The Department also receives postdoctoral candidates through the Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme.