MA by Research French Studies

Over the centuries French writers, philosophers and artists have shaped our ideas of freedom, citizenship and the good life, challenged our views of society, identity and cultural memory, and blazed trails of artistic expression in painting, cinema and literature. This is reflected in the interdisciplinary scope of our French studies, making Royal Holloway an ideal place to study for a postgraduate degree in French.

This degree enables you to independently explore your area of interest in real depth, it can also provide you with the chance to test or try out an area of study in preparation for doctoral study. Whilst you will be working independently, you won’t be alone, you will receive specialist one-to-one tuition throughout your degree. You will work closely with your specialist supervisor, or supervisors, to develop a clearly defined research topic and complete a 30,000-40,000 word dissertation.

You will be part of our research-led environment in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects. The breadth of our teaching and research expertise means that we are able to provide the latest thinking, expert support and intellectual challenges. Our cutting-edge work ranges from the medieval to the 21st century and spans literature, cinema, thought and the visual arts. Current research in French is concerned with subjects such as the representation of the body, consumerism, disability, food, the Holocaust and globalisation. Other focal points for our work include cultural memory and marginality, gender and spectatorship, philosophy and ethics, the postcolonial and the transnational, and critical theory and post-theory. Our academics would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in postgraduate research in their areas of expertise.

In addition to your dissertation you will undertake a taught course designed to equip you with an array of theoretical and historical approaches to the study of literature, art and culture. This will enable you to articulate, refine and persistently test your own approach to your chosen topic within this broader theoretical and methodological framework. You will also have access to skills training and enjoy the additional support of a dedicated Research Advisor.