Candidates for all MA degrees must take written comprehensive examinations in their program. Students in the French program must also take an oral explication de texte.
Normally, MA candidates will be expected to complete all requirements for the degree by the end of the term in which they take their comprehensives.
The University has established a statute of limitations of four years for MA candidates.
MA Reading Lists
The MA Reading Lists establish the minimal requirements in each area for preparation of the MA comprehensives, and they are intended to guide MA candidates in their study. There are four MA reading lists, one for each of the department's four research networks. Students will select two of these lists to prepare for the MA comprehensives.
MA Comprehensive Exams
The goal of the comprehensive examinations is to ensure that students have acquired a thorough overall knowledge of the French language and French and Francophone literatures, media, and cultures, an understanding of their place in the world, and a strong competency in formal, cultural, and historical analysis. The exams should show proof of close detailed analyses of literary and media texts as well as of a capacity to synthesize ideas and engage critical and theoretical texts on the field.
Candidates for the MA in French will take a written comprehensive exam and an oral exam. There will be two parts to the written exam: one for each of the two lists that the student has selected. The format includes targeted questions including identifications and an essay question. Each exam will be four hours in length and will be given on different days. This exam will be given once per year, usually the week after spring break. The written exam will be in French.
The oral component of the exam consists of three sections. First, students will present an explication de texte. For this exam, students will be given the choice of three short literary texts (or three film sequences for students in the French/Film and Media PhD) and will have 48 hours to prepare their presentation. The explication de texte will be done in French and should last approximately 30 minutes. The second part of the oral exam will be the occasion for a discussion between faculty and MA candidates about the written comprehensive exams. Finally, faculty and students will discuss the student’s seminar paper. This paper must be distributed to the members of the exam committee at least three weeks in advance of the oral exam. The oral exam will usually take place 1-2 weeks after the written exam.