groups of students listen to a professor give a lesson while sitting outdoors under an arch.
The Memorial Arch on the Oberlin campus serves as an outdoor classroom for this group of students taking a course in the French department. Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97
Program Overview

French

Program Type: Major, Minor
  • Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department: French and Italian

We offer beginning and intermediate language courses in French and Italian for the major and minor, supported by an extensive and distinctive curriculum of courses based on literary texts, film, cultural and historical documents, and other media.

Program Director

Libby Murphy Associate Professor of French

Contact

Blanche Villar Administrative Assistant 440-775-5257

Why Study French at Oberlin?

6
Associated Faculty
3
Language Learning Centers
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Study Away Programs
students gathered around table eating breakfast
Having breakfast in La Maison Francophone is one of the many ways students who study French have opportunities to speak the language. Photo credit: Courtesy of Bailey House

La Maison Francophone

La Maison Francophone, also known as Bailey House, is a coed residence for about 30 students, a French-speaking faculty member, and two graduate assistants from France. Founded in 1927, it is one of the oldest language-based program houses in the United States. Here students learn and speak the language, have meals together, and engage in social activities.

Winter Term

Oberlin’s four-week winter term in January encourages students to discover the value of self-directed education. You may pursue individual or group projects that are directly linked to your field of study or explore opportunities unrelated to your major. Complete your project on or off campus.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Student Senate, Chess Club, Solarity, the Oberlin Review—these are among the more than 175 student groups and clubs available to you. From politics to faith and identity, and from special interest to sports, Oberlin has an array of clubs eager for new members, new ideas, and new leadership.

Sample Courses

  • FREN 101 - Francais elementaire I 4 credits
  • FREN 301 - Expression orale et ecrite 4 credits
  • FREN 320 - French Cinema: from the National to the Global 4 credits
  • FREN 410 - A la recherche des femmes perdues 4 credits
Curriculum and requirements

French Faculty

Our faculty has specialties in French language, cinema, literature, cultural history of the 19th and 20th centuries, linguistics, French theater, and the Enlightenment period.

Explore Faculty within French

“At all levels, my goal is the same: To help, challenge, coach, provoke, inspire, and collaborate with Oberlin students in their acquisition of the French language and their exploration of the multifaceted, storied culture that French has always carried with it, in metropolitan France and in many corners of the world.”

Matthew Senior, Ruberta T. McCandless Professor of French
See Profile

French Faculty

French News

Sophie Kemp standing against a brick wall.

Culture Writing with Sophie Kemp ’18

February 18, 2019
After graduating as a French and comparative literature double major, Sophie Kemp ’18 has been working at Pitchfork to kick-start her interests in culture writing.
Film crew at a vineyard

Filming Wine in France

February 8, 2016
Thomas Chevrier, French lecturer and faculty in residence at French House, led a group of students to wine country during winter term to document the iconic French art of winemaking.
View all French news