Department of French and Francophone Studies
Graduate Student Handbook
The Graduate Curriculum in French
For a comprehensive list of course offerings, students should consult
the most recent issue of the Bulletin: Graduate Degree Programs and
inquire at the French Department.
Independent Studies and Special Topics Courses
Independent Studies
With the concurrence of a graduate faculty member, a student may
take an Independent Studies Course (French 596, for a variable number
of credits) on a topic that is not included in the established course
offerings during the student's stay at Penn State. Students interested
in Independent Study must complete the appropriate forms. See the
Graduate Staff Assistant.
Independent Studies courses are not to be seen as a substitute for
required courses in any French graduate degree program, unless expressly
approved as such by 1) the student's advisor, 2) the faculty member
normally assigned to teach the established course, and 3) the Department
Head. In case of disagreement, the Department Head makes the final
decision in consultation with all parties concerned.
Special Topics Courses
On occasion, Special Topics Courses are offered by faculty under
the experimental numbers French 497 or French 597. Such a course may
be either a one-time offering without subsequent change to an established
course, or it may be offered several times under the experimental
number before being entered permanently (with its own number) into
the French curriculum.
Special Topics courses are not listed in the Graduate School Bulletin.
Each semester, the Department publishes a full list of courses to
be offered during the subsequent semester. Students should consult
the list before seeing their advisor during the University's advance
registration period.
Course Offerings in Related Areas
Although the French Department requires that all students take a
prescribed number of French courses each semester, interdisciplinarity
is encouraged whenever appropriate. However, students must demonstrate
to their advisors that courses outside the Department will make a
substantial contribution to their area of specialization. In some
specializations, some of the related areas are specified in the program
description.
Number of Credits and Course Registration
Graduate Students with Teaching Assistantships
To maintain full student status, Teaching Assistants must register
for a minimum of 9 credits per semester and may take as many as 12
credits. Credits taken for audit are not counted into the minimum,
but are counted into the maximum number of credits allowed per semester.
Students who wish to take more than 12 credits must be granted an
exception on an individual basis by the advisor (with the concurrence
of the Director of Graduate Studies) and the Graduate School.
Graduate Students without Teaching Assistantships
To maintain full student status, graduate students must register
for a minimum of 9 credits per semester and may register for as many
as 15 credits. Students who wish to take more than 15 credits must
be granted an exception on an individual basis through the Office
of Graduate Student Programs in Kern Building.
Course Registration
Except for students new to the Department, it is advisable that students
advance register for courses during the "Advance Registration
Period" of the preceding semester. Failure to do so may result
in one of the following consequences: (1) the course may be closed
and the student may not be able to take it; (2) the course may be
cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.
In general, students should select French graduate courses numbered
500 and 600. However, the Department permits the use of 6 credits
of courses numbered 400 to 499. The decision to take a 400-level course
should be made in consultation with the adviser. A 400-level course
cannot substitute for a 500-level course on the same topic.
The French Department usually offers 1 graduate seminar during the
Summer Session. Students who have held a Teaching Assistantship during
the two previous, consecutive semesters are given a tuition waiver
for 5 credits during the Summer Session. Students are expected to
pay tuition for any credits beyond the 5 covered by the tuition waiver.
Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants must participate in an orientation before the
Fall semester begins and must enroll in a certain number of courses
as part of their teacher training.
During the first semester in residence, all Teaching Assistants are
required to register for French 581 (Theory and Techniques of Teaching
French) for 3 credits. Exceptions to this requirement are rare and
can be made only by the faculty member teaching French 581. Students
who hope to get a Teaching Assistantship during their second semester
in residence should also take the course during their first semester
(the course is offered only once a year, in the Fall semester).
During each semester in which students hold a Teaching Assistantship
(not including the Summer Session), they must be enrolled in French
602 for variable credit depending on the number of sections they are
teaching during the given semester. Registration in this course involves
weekly meetings with the course coordinator for further teacher development
and exam preparation. A grade is given to each student for this course.
French 602 credits are not counted in the number of credits required
for a graduate degree.
Course Waivers
A skills course (e.g., FR 581) may be waived for students who have
successfully passed an equivalent course at another university. A
waiver of this kind requires the consent of (1) the person teaching
the course, (2) the student's advisor, and (3) the Department Head.
In such a case only the course requirement is waived; the credits
must be made up by substituting another course.
In cases where a student can demonstrate successful completion elsewhere
of a course with essentially the same content as one required for
a graduate degree program in the French Department, the credits may
be waived provided the following conditions apply. For M.A. candidates,
the course must represent credits earned beyond the baccalaureate
degree. For Ph.D. candidates, the course must represent credits earned
beyond the M.A. degree. All such waivers require the consent of the
student's advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department
Head.
Grading System
The Graduate School Bulletin mandates the following policies:
A grade is given solely on the basis of the instructor's judgment
as to the student's scholarly attainment.
The following grading system is in effect: any one of nine quality
grades (A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, F) may be given a graduate student
for course work. Cumulative grade point averages are calculated on
a 4.0 scale.
At the 400, 500, and 600 levels, grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+,
and C denote graduate credit, whereas D and F are failing grades for
graduate students, D being the normal failing grade. A grade of F
indicates doubt, in the judgment of the instructor, of the student's
potential for further graduate study.
A minimum grade-point average of 3.4 for work done at the University
is required for all graduate degrees.
Deferred Grades
If work is incomplete at the end of a semester because of circumstances
beyond the student's control, or if very little work remains to be
done, the instructor may report DF (deferred) in place of a grade.
It is not appropriate to use the DF either casually or routinely to
extend a course beyond the end of the semester or to extend a course
for a student who is failing so that the individual can do extra work
to improve the grade. The DF must be removed (i.e., the course must
be completed) within nine weeks of the beginning of the subsequent
semester (not counting summer), with three possible exceptions: (a)
a completion deadline longer than nine weeks may have been previously
agreed upon by the instructor and student, with a memo on the agreement
having been sent to the Office of Graduate Programs (114 Kern Graduate
Building) for inclusion in the student's file; (b) as the 9-week deadline
nears, it may become evident that an extension is warranted; or (c)
if the student is enrolled in the Summer Session, the deadline for
removal of deferred grades from the spring semester is six weeks after
the beginning of the Summer Session. The instructor then sends a request
for extension (to a specified date) to the Dean in the Office of Graduate
Programs, with a justifying statement. If the course is not completed
or the instructor does not submit a quality grade for completed work,
the graduate recorder automatically records a failing grade.
No deferred or missing grade may remain on the record at those times
when a student reaches an academic benchmark. Benchmarks include completion
of a Master's program, the doctoral candidacy and comprehensive exams,
and the final oral defense. Graduate programs may add additional benchmarks.
There are only three circumstances under which a course grade, once
assigned, can be changed: (1) if there was a calculating or recording
error on the instructor's part in the original grade assignment (Senate
Policy 48-30); (2) if it is a course for which an R grade has been
approved and in which an initial R can be assigned and changed later
to a quality grade; (3) if, as discussed above, a DF was assigned
and the deadline for course completion has not yet passed.
"R" Designation
In the case of thesis work, either in progress or completed, and
in certain courses (e.g., 590, 594, 595, 596, 597, 600, 601, and a
few others) approved by the Graduate Council, the instructor may report
the symbol R in place of a grade. An R does not influence the grade-point
average. It indicates that the student has devoted adequate effort
to the work scheduled but gives no indication of its quality. The
symbol may be used, for instance, in courses that are officially designed
to extend over more than one semester or in courses for which a quality
grade is inappropriate. An R in an approved course need not be changed
later to a quality grade, but may be changed if the instructor deems
it appropriate when the course work has been completed. Normally,
a quality grade must be reported no later than the end of the following
semester.
