French, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Degree

Admission

The Ph.D. Degree Program will normally be four years in length. Students will be admitted to the Ph.D. program with a completed M.A. in French literature or linguistics, or in a program deemed equivalent. Equivalence will be granted on a case by case basis in consultation with the School of Graduate Studies. Students must obtain a minimum B+ average or equivalent at the Master’s level to be considered for admission. All applicants will be required to submit official transcripts, two letters of recommendation, and a detailed statement of interest. As a rule, part-time studies will not be an option at the Ph.D. level. However, in exceptional circumstances, permission to pursue the doctorate part-time might be granted, provided the student adheres to a rigorously scheduled plan of action for completion of all degree requirements within a reasonably limited timeframe.

Note: Applicants to the French Graduate programme are exempted from the TOEFL requirement.

Fields in the program

The Ph.D. program, “Francophonie et diversité”, comprises the following three fields:

Francophone* Theories, Languages and Literatures of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Colonial and Post-Colonial Contexts in the Francophone World.
Discourse and Representation of the Ancien Régime and 19th Century.

Note: ‘Francophone’ includes France and other French-speaking countries and regions.

Program Requirements

The program will be four years in length. Within the first five months of residency, students will select a thesis supervisor who will in turn recommend, for the student’s approval, at least two other colleagues - to a maximum of four - as members of the supervisory committee. The Graduate Studies Committee, normally comprised of the Graduate Chair, the Chair of the department, two faculty members and two students (one from the MA, one from the Ph.D. program), will also vet supervisory committees. During their third year of the program, students may elect to study or do research abroad, audit classes in other disciplines, at McMaster or at other universities, or participate in a field work/internship program in a Francophone region or country. To spend a period of time in a Francophone region or country, students must obtain the written approval of their committee and of the School of Graduate Studies.

Course Work

All PhD students must complete five half-courses (three units each) within the first year of the program. Two of them are required: FRENCH 705 Introduction to Literary and Critical Theory and FRENCH 750: Readings in Fields of Specialization.

Doctoral students who took a course similar to FRENCH 705 in their M.A. program at another university, may submit a syllabus and a reading list of such a course with a request that it be counted as an equivalent. If the permission is granted, they will take instead, as the fifth mandatory seminar, one of the following:

another course offered by the department
FRENCH 730 - Lectures Dirigées /Reading Course
a course offered by another department if relevant to student’s research

Doctoral students who took FRENCH 705 when completing their M. A. degree in French at McMaster will also substitute it by one of the courses from the list above.

The listing of all courses can be found in the following section of the SGS Calendar: French Courses . Not all of the listed courses are offered every year.

All Ph.D. students must complete the Workshop on Bibliographic Research Tools and Methods, organized in collaboration with the Graduate Studies Librarian, Mills Library. To be completed in September after the admission to the program. Pass/Fail.

All graduate students, including part time students, must also complete courses SGS 101 Academic Research Integrity and Ethics and SGS 201 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Please refer to section 2.6.5 for more information. A graduate student may not obtain a graduate degree at McMaster without having passed these courses.

Éléments de formation professionnelle

In addition to the course work, the following three requirements must be successfully completed within the indicated deadlines:
1. Workshops on Methodology of Ph.D. Research and Writing (topics such as program requirements, dissertation components, presenting a paper, publishing). Four to five 2-hour meetings over Ph.D. 1. Hosted by the Department of French. To be completed within the first 12 months in the program. Pass/Fail.
2. Workshop on Bibliographic Research Tools and Methods (topics such as Omni search tool, formulating research questions, citation formats, citation management tools, Library services to graduate students). Organized in collaboration with the Graduate Studies Librarian, Mills Library. To be completed in September of the first year in the program. Pass/Fail.
3. Presentation of a paper at an annual conference of French graduate students, normally in May. At least once over the course of the four-year Ph.D. studies. To be completed within the 48 months in the program. Pass/Fail.

Comprehensive Field Examinations

PhD candidates must take a comprehensive examination on key readings in their field of specialization in the spring of the first year of their PhD studies. Students will be given two weeks to write a 15-20 page critical essay to be submitted to their supervisory committee and an oral examination will follow. Candidates must display in-depth knowledge of their field as well as proving their proficiency in the French language. Candidates must obtain a passing grade. In the event of a failing grade, they will have one opportunity to retake the comprehensive field examination. The second and final attempt should occur within three months of the date of their first examination.

Thesis Proposal

Students will prepare a 20-25 page (excluding the bibliography) thesis proposal in consultation with their thesis supervisor. This project will then be presented and examined by the candidate’s supervisory committee. An oral defence of the project, conducted by the supervisory committee, must be successfully completed within the first 17 months of the candidate’s program.

Doctoral Thesis

The candidate will complete a thesis in one of the two following forms:
• A traditional thesis which will be approximately 250 pages (not including bibliography); and will be defended at an Oral Examination. The oral examination will normally be conducted in French.
• A sandwich thesis, which in accordance with McMaster’s Thesis Preparation Guide, must consist of a minimum of three scholarly works on a united theme, previously published, submitted for peer review, or prepared for publication but not yet submitted; these works must be accompanied by substantial introductory and concluding chapters, addressing the theoretical approaches that unify and inform the research. The typical length of a sandwich thesis will be about 200 pages, plus bibliography.

Required courses

FRENCH 705 / Introduction to Literary and Critical Theory

Timeline

First Year
• Completion of 5 half courses within 10 months of start date
• Completion of a Workshop on Bibliographic research Tools and Methods
• Completion of the Workshop on Methodology of Ph.D. Research and Writing
• Selection of thesis supervisor and supervisory committee (as soon as possible and within the first 5 months of study, before the end of January at the latest)
• Comprehensive field examination to be taken in the third term of the first year of their PhD studies
• Submission of First Year Progress Report (before the 12th month)

Second Year
• A 20-25-page (excluding the bibliography) thesis proposal to be completed by early December, followed by an oral defense in mid-January
• Submission of draft chapters of the thesis
• Submission of Annual Progress Report (before the 24th month)

Third Year
• Submission of draft chapters of the thesis
• Potential study/research/internship in a Francophone country or in a country related to student’s research
• Submission of Annual Progress Report (before the 36th month)

Fourth Year
• Submission of draft chapters of the thesis
• Submission of the final draft of the thesis
• The thesis defence
• Uploading of the final, electronic version of the thesis to the MacSphere