PhD Program

Emphasizing interdisciplinary, global, and transhistorical approaches, our doctoral program fosters complex and challenging ways of thinking about French and Francophone literatures and cultures, strongly grounded in poetical, textual, visual, and historical analysis. Doctoral students in French at UVA gain both deep knowledge of a specialized field of study and broad familiarity with literatures and cultures in French from their origins to the present.  They also develop strong pedagogical skills through training and experience.

Requirements for the doctoral program include coursework, a series of increasingly focused research statements, qualifying exams, and a substantial independent research project.  Further details are available in the Graduate Handbook .

Dissertation Proposal Form

Doctoral Committee Declaration Form

PhD Qualifying Exam, Part I (Comprehensive Exam) Reading list

PhD Preliminary Exam Completion Form