College of Arts & Sciences
Department of French and Francophone Studies
Department of French and Francophone Studies

Graduate Student Enrollment Information and FAQs

How do I enroll in a class in the Dept. of French & Francophone Studies as a graduate student?

First of all, welcome to our department! We are delighted to hear of your interest in our courses.

It is not possible for graduate students to enroll in classes in the Dept. of French & Francophone Studies directly through GU Experience (as you may have seen, attempting to do so results in a system error). Instead, graduate students can sign up for our classes using the following procedure:

  1. First, determine what course(s) you qualify to take.
    • If you have never taken a class with us, but have studied French in the past, the first step is to take the Online Placement Exam and consult the Placement Exam Scale. For example, a student with a score of 50 on the Online Placement Exam would qualify for non-intensive FREN 1501 or intensive FREN 1511.
    • If you have never studied French before, it is not necessary to take the Online Placement Exam; the course you should sign up for is normally either FREN 1001 (Introductory French I, three credits) or FREN 1011 (Intensive Basic French, six credits). Advanced Spanish speakers with no experience with French, or a placement score between 0 and 40, can also choose FREN 1009 (French for Spanish Speakers) if it is being offered. This three-credit course covers the material of FREN 1001 and FREN 1002 in a single semester.
    • If you have already taken a class with us in the past, the next course you should take is determined by the sequence:
      • FREN 1001 → FREN 1002
      • FREN 1002 or FREN 1011 or FREN 1009 →  FREN 1501 or FREN 1511
      • FREN 1501 → FREN 1502
      • FREN 1502 or FREN 1511 → FREN 2001 or FREN 2011
      • FREN 2001 → FREN 2002
      • FREN 2002 or FREN 2011 → FREN 2551
      • FREN 2551 → FREN 2761/2762 or FREN 3350
      • FREN 2761/2762 → FREN 3350
      • FREN 3350 → Any course with a higher number
  2. Once you have determined which class you should take, the next step is to select an available section. The general guidance is that it is best to choose a section that has as much open space in it as possible, as this will significantly increase the chance of being approved for enrollment.
  3. Fill out this Google Form.
  4. At the start of the semester, begin attending the class normally on the first day and explain to the professor that you are a graduate student hoping to enroll in the class. (As a courtesy, it is a good idea to reach out to the professor to introduce yourself and express your interest in the class as soon as you know what section you hope to sign up for.)
  5. Toward the end of the Add/Drop period, if the professor sends you an email giving their written approval to take the class, you can forward that email to your Dean, along with the completed Add/Drop form (which can be found on the Forms page on the University Registrar website), in order to be officially enrolled. (Your Dean must contact the Registrar to complete the registration; the Dept. of French & Francophone Studies has no ability to enroll graduate students in our classes directly, only provide approval.)

Note: If you are the beneficiary of the Language Scholarship, once the Add/Drop period is closed, you are responsible for completing the course with a passing grade. If you do not do so, you risk having to reimburse the scholarship.  Please check with your program if you have questions regarding the Language Scholarship.

Can I take a class above/below the level indicated by the Online Placement Exam?

It is common for students to have concerns about their initial placement in our curriculum. However, the Online Placement Exam is a very reliable predictor of student success. If the Online Placement Exam has determined that you qualify for a class, you can usually be confident in the correctness of the choice – even if your score is at the very bottom of a class’s threshold. Department policy is that students must begin the semester at the level indicated by the Online Placement Exam. 

Once the semester begins, if you find that you have significant doubts about your placement, believing it either too high or too low, mention your concerns to your professor to see if they agree that a different level would be more appropriate. With written permission from the professor of the class into which you placed, as well as written permission from the instructor of a class that is one level lower or higher in our curriculum (e.g. FREN 1501 → FREN 1502 or FREN 1501 → FREN 1002), it is possible to receive permission to transfer to a different level during the Add/Drop period.

One final note: class titles like “Advanced French I” might seem intimidating at first glance. However, these titles don’t mean that students need “Advanced French” to qualify and do well – they mean that students’ French will be advanced by the time they complete the course!

My placement score is 111 or higher. How can I decide between FREN 2761/2762 or FREN 3350, if I qualify for both levels?

The “Topics Oral Proficiency” classes (FREN 2761, which is focused on France, and FREN 2762, focused on Francophone Africa) help students develop the knowledge necessary to succeed on the content portion of the SFS/MSFS Proficiency Exam. As such, at the graduate level, these classes are likely to be relevant primarily for MSFS students. (Note that the term “Oral Proficiency” in the title of FREN 2761/2 is a reference to the SFS Proficiency Exam, not to general skills of oral expression, which are covered and developed in all language-focused classes.)

For non-(M)SFS students with a placement score of 111 or higher, the class to choose is typically “Gateway: Text, Image, Culture” (FREN 3350).

Can I audit a class?

It is not possible for graduate students to audit classes in the Dept. of French & Francophone Studies.

Can you advise about scholarship/tuition concerns, planning out a trajectory of classes to take, etc.?

In the Dept. of French & Francophone Studies, our role is to assist you in selecting and enrolling in the classes that we offer. Advising questions not directly related to our curricular offerings should typically be addressed to your Dean.

I have a different question!

Please feel free to reach out to Prof. Joseph Johnson: jj892@georgetown.edu. 

Examinations for Graduate Students:

The Department offers the SFS Proficiency exam to MSFS, MAGES, and MAGHD candidates in November/December and April.

Find Out More About This Exam

Doctoral students needing to take the French proficiency exam as part of a degree requirement may contact our Graduate Student examiner, Professor Aaron Emmitte (ace55@georgetown.edu), at any time throughout the academic year to discuss and obtain more information about the exact type of exam they will be required to take and to find out how to prepare for it independently.