University of St. Thomas

Welcome to the French facts page, where you’ll be taken beyond the course offerings and program description and deeper into the French major. You’ll learn what St. Thomas students are doing now to enhance their educations and how recent graduates are succeeding in the real world. More importantly, we hope you’ll be able to use this information to decide if this major interests you. When asked what one phrase best describes the French major at St. Thomas, a faculty member replied, “relevant.”

A real student asks:

 

Will I need to start fresh to major in French?

No. You will take a French placement test and start at the level in which you place.

What jobs are possible with a French major?

What are recent graduates doing now?

One of our recent graduates works at General Mills as a bilingual account operations specialist, a position that enables her to speak and write French on a daily basis with buyers from large supermarkets in Quebec. She was a double major in French and business and sought a position in which she could best utilize all of her skills.

What opportunities are there to bolster my resume while I'm in the program?

Internships. Students who participate in our study abroad programs in Paris are allowed to participate in business internships.

Students who complete their French major/minor are eligible to apply to the French government for French internships as “assistants d’anglais” at French high schools or universities.

Study abroad. Our study abroad programs enhance students’ educations in multiple ways. Firsthand experience in France or Francophone countries allows students to immerse themselves in the language and culture of that particular locale. Communicating in the language, living with a host family and taking courses at a non-American university will broaden their knowledge of the world around them and grant them a new perspective on a variety of issues. Adapting to programs abroad will enhance their personal and diplomatic skills, enriching their daily experience and complementing what they have learned in their other courses.

Faculty at work

One faculty member is collaborating with the Engineering and Communication and Journalism departments at UST and other universities to work with women in Mali, producing and promoting shea butter. This faculty member works with UST students who are interested in this area.

Another faculty member is currently collaborating with faculty at other universities on a research project to publish a work on a 15th-century French text.

With the support of the Franco American Cultural Exchange, the French faculty has been involved in hosting a French film series at UST which is open to the community at large.

In upcoming news, the full-time French faculty is collaborating on a major presentation slated for summer 2008 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Teachers of French in Liège, Belgium.