About the Center of Excellence

Our French programs in French/Francophone Studies and French Linguistics are nationally and internationally recognized thanks to the cutting-edge research led by our faculty and the excellent career paths that our graduates enjoy. In addition to our undergraduate major and minor in French, we offer a Certificate in Global French. Graduate students can pursue an M.A. or Ph.D. in French/Francophone Studies or French Linguistics. We also offer M.A. and MAT programs in French Instruction. Our course topics range from medieval manuscripts to ​Postcolonial Francophone media studies, from food and fashion to the business world, and from French dialectology to the structure of Breton. 

In French Linguistics, our faculty study language acquisition, syntax, semantics, phonology, sociolinguistics, lexicography, and varieties of French—such as Haitian Creole, Picard, Breton, and Quebec French. Among our French/Francophone Studies faculty, research specializations include clandestine literature in 19th-century France, intermediality in 20th-century and contemporary Postcolonial Francophone cultures, and the use of mechanical props in early modern French theater, among many others. 

Beyond the Department of French and Italian, the Center of Excellence brings together scholars and teachers who focus on France and the Francophone world from among Indiana University’s many schools, departments, and programs. Our faculty members hold expertise in fields as varied as French symbolist art, the ubiquitous Minitel technology of France in the 1980s, and Caribbean film culture.

The Center’s mission is to enable and promote activities on French-US relations, French language, and French and Francophone cultures. Cross-disciplinarity, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement are key components of our work.

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.