Master of Arts in French (MA)

Overview

The Graduate Program in French Studies offers a dynamic curriculum that focuses on a contextualized understanding of the languages, literatures, and cultures of France, Québec, and the Francophone world. Students may specialize in literature or linguistics, or propose a research program combining both fields.

What makes the program unique?

Cutting-Edge Research:
The MA program in French Studies provides a wide variety of graduate courses taught by a growing team of faculty members specializing in innovative research, from Medieval French literature to 21st-century Francophone cultures. The program offers solid academic training through our research clusters, reading groups, and research seminar. Students may participate in or even lead these initiatives, both within the department and in interdisciplinary centres, such as Green College, the Public Humanities Hub, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues.

Paid Positions & Financial Aid:
Graduate students may earn an income through Teaching Assistantships and potential Research Assistantships. We also offer a variety of additional grants and awards, such as the Graduate Student Travel Grant, in addition to university and external fellowships.

Professional Development:
We provide a comprehensive Teaching Assistant training program as well as academic and professional development workshops - on grant writing, publishing, and conference attendance, among other topics - to help graduate students diversify their skillset and make an impact on society. Many graduates from our MA program have successfully obtained teaching positions in junior colleges, secured jobs in nonprofits or the public service, or pursued further doctoral studies at established universities.

Community Involvement:
Our annual Graduate Student Symposium allows graduate students to present their research to the entire Department. The biennial FHIS Graduate Student Conference, organized by the graduate students themselves with the assistance of faculty members, offers a platform to share research results with the wider academic community, network with local and international peers, and plan large-scale academic events. Through the FHIS Learning Centre, graduate students may also volunteer as tutors to help undergraduate students become proficient in the languages that are taught in our Department. In addition, the FHIS Cultural Club encourages students to discuss noteworthy social and cultural phenomena with our tight-knit community, engaging with current debates in our disciplines.

 

Program Enquiries

Still have questions after reviewing this page thoroughly?
Contact the program

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 90

Reading

22

Writing

21

Speaking

21

Listening

22

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 6.5

Reading

6.0

Writing

6.0

Speaking

6.0

Listening

6.0

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

2) Meet Deadlines

Application open dates and deadlines for an upcoming intake have not yet been configured in the admissions system. Please check back later.

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Thesis Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Arts in French (MA)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. However, it is not necessary for applicants to contact faculty members prior to their application.

Citizenship Verification

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Research Information

Research Highlights

We invite you to learn more about our research by visiting our departmental research spotlight webpage.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$112.00$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$1,802.52$3,166.73
Tuition per year
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)
$5,407.56$9,500.19
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) $3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$1,081.64 (approx.)
Costs of living (yearly)starting at $18,517.90 (check cost calculator)
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their direction. The duties usually constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is a form of financial support for a period of graduate study and is, therefore, not covered by a collective agreement. Unlike other forms of fellowship support for graduate students, the amount of a GRA is neither fixed nor subject to a university-wide formula. The stipend amounts vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded. Some research projects also require targeted research assistance and thus hire graduate students on an hourly basis.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Calculator

Applicants have access to the cost calculator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

The M.A. prepares students for teaching positions in junior colleges. Students who recently graduated have pursued their studies in Library Science, Education, and French studies at the doctoral level at universities such as The University of Toronto, Stanford University and Yale University. In addition, former students have obtained positions in the public and private sectors.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Arts in French (MA). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

Enrolment Data

 20212020201920182017
Applications10105811
Offers53224
New registrations42222
Total enrolment87569

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 71% based on 17 students admitted between 2011 - 2014. Based on 11 graduations between 2017 - 2020 the minimum time to completion is 1.66 years and the maximum time is 5.00 years with an average of 2.36 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.
Disclaimer
Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each year, May to April [data updated: 7 April 2022]. Enrolment data are based on March 1 snapshots. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs [data updated: 19 October 2021].

Research Supervisors

Thesis Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Arts in French (MA)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. However, it is not necessary for applicants to contact faculty members prior to their application.
 
 

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Ayan, Irem (French language; Sociology of translation and interpreting; Gender and work exploitation; Emotional labour and work alienation; Fictional representations of translators and interpreters)
  • Boccassini, Daniela (Italian Verbal and visual arts, mediterranean cultural exchanges)
  • Bouchard, Marie-Eve (Humanities and the arts; Sociolinguistics; Linguistic Anthropology; ethnography; language ideologies; Language and identity; migration; Language variation and change; Language contact; Creole languages)
  • Castonguay-Belanger, Joel (French language; History of the book and print culture; Québec literature and culture; Science and literature; The Enlightenment and the French Revolution)
  • Frelick, Nancy (16th century literature, theory &criticism, genre studies, women's writing &gender studies, early modern medicine)
  • Gelinas-Lemaire, Vincent (French language; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; Comparative Literature; Creative Writing; French Literature (1945 to the present); Québec and French-Canadian Literature and Culture; Spatial Poetics; Visual Culture)
  • Laroussi, Farid (Contemporary French studies, Maghreb literature(s) in French and postcolonial studies)
  • Moran, Patrick (French language; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; History of Major Eras, Great Civilisations or Geographical Corpuses; Popular Cultures Produced and Broadcasted by Media; Arthurian Romance; Cognitive Poetics; Comparative Medieval Literature; Genre Theory; Interactive Fiction; Material Philology; Medieval French Literature; Medieval Narrative Literature; Medievalism; Narrative Theory; Old French; Reader-Response Theory; Science Fiction and Fantasy)
  • Piechocki, Katharina (Seventeenth-century French literature, Early modern French and Romance literature, Theater, opera, cartography, gender, affect, and translation studies)
  • Rocheleau, Alain-Michel (French cinema; French and Quebecois theatre; Anglican Church and Roman Catholic Tradition )
  • Salamon, Anne (Literatures in French outside Quebec; French language; Historical linguistics, diachronics, and dialectology; Romance Philology; Medieval French Litterature; Manuscript studies; History of the French language; Critical editing of medieval texts)
  • Testa, Carlo (Italian literature, history of cinema, theory/film studies )
  • Zhang, Gaoheng (Intercultural and Ethnic Relationships; Cultural Exchanges; Migrations, Populations, Cultural Exchanges; Media and Society; Media Ethics; Media and Democratization; Migration Studies; Mobility Studies; Postcolonial Studies; Gender and Masculinity Studies; Race Theory; Film and Media Studies; Rhetoric and Communication Studies; Cultural Theory; Italian-Chinese relations; Italy's global networks; Modern and contemporary Italian literature and culture)
  • Ziethen, Antje (African Literatures; Francophone Literatures and Cultures; Speculative fiction; (Urban) Space; Postcolonial Studies; Diaspora Studies; Transnationalism; Gender Studies; Modernity)

Further Information

Specialization

Graduate French programs offer opportunities for advanced study in the language and literatures of France and Québec, as well as in African and Caribbean literatures in French.

Faculty Overview

Program Identifier

VGMMAA-KA
 
 
 
Supervisor Search
 

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update the application inquiries contact details please use this form.

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