Why French?
Why study French? Heading link
French is the 3rd most widely spoken non-English language in US homes and is spoken officially in 33 countries on 5 continents. Heading link
Learning French is not only a pleasure in its own right; it leads to careers in teaching, business, media, and humanitarian work. Graduates of the UIC French department have volunteered with the Peace Corps in West Africa, landed a managerial position at the French hotel chain Sofitel, offered translation services French-speaking refugees at the Marjorie Kovler Center and obtained teaching positions in high schools and colleges throughout Chicagoland and the rest of the country.
The Department of French and Francophone Studies offers students the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects with our talented, enthusiastic faculty members. Heading link
Students in our classes explore the literature and culture of Africa and the Caribbean, analyze French poetry, appreciate French cinema, stay up-to-date with newspapers in the French-speaking world, and read works over 1000 years old. They write blogs on French music videos, create wikis about sports in Senegal, map the settings of novels in Paris, perform grammatically accurate skits, and record interpretations of paintings by Renoir on voice boards. Through the LCLC, the Department offers a weekly French coffee hour and a weekly French film. We also host a reception for our students every spring, where we award prizes to our outstanding graduating seniors in French and Teaching of French. And every year, we invite at least one speaker to campus to tell students about career opportunities or opportunities for future study in French.