Applying for Graduate Study in French at the University of California, Davis
Additional Information
All application materials are available online. (See Applying for Admission below.) For more information about the application process or the French Ph.D. program, please contact the graduate adviser, Associate Professor , Noah Guynn via e-mail at ndguynn@ucdavis.edu or telephone at (530) 754-7839.
We know that choosing a graduate program is a difficult and consequential task. We thank you for considering the program in French Studies at UC Davis. We believe that our program offers a number of very attractive features.
We are looking for students who would benefit from our flexible curriculum in pursuing a doctoral degree in French Studies. Because we are a relatively small department, we are able to offer individualized attention and a program of study tailored to suit the interests of each student.Our ideal environment for close mentoring of students is complemented by a breadth of possible areas of specialization open to students in French and Francophone studies, thanks to our close affiliations with faculty who work in the broad area of French Studies in related programs. We invite you to explore the faculty profiles on our web site to discover the breadth of interdisciplinary interests represented among our faculty.
In addition, our affiliation with four designated emphases (graduate minors) - Critical Theory, Feminist Theory, Second Language Acquisition, and Classics - allows students the freedom to pursue interdisciplinary work, and to acquire a solid foundation in a range of methodological and critical perspectives necessary for research today. Again, we invite you to follow the links on our web site to explore the diverse areas of study reflected in the designated emphases.
Students in the doctoral program in French at UC Davis have opportunities to teach in a number of areas as part of their professional training. The department offers teaching assistantships for students to teach in the beginning and intermediate language programs in the department. More advanced students may have the opportunity to assist in the teaching of advanced literature courses. In addition, many of our students teach in the Humanities and Film Studies programs. We believe that our unique flexibility in offering graduate students the invaluable experience of teaching in a wide-range of areas prepares them well for today's competitive job market.
To complement student support through teaching assistantships, UC Davis also offers a number of attractive internal fellowships, available to both new and continuing students. For further information concerning fellowships, please contact Professor Noah Guynn.
In considering your application for admission, we will weigh a number of factors. We are interested in your academic interests and the subjects that you would like to pursue as part of your doctoral program. We would like to get a sense of your previous academic work. We are also interested in whatever teaching experiences you might have had. These questions, as well as numerous others, enter into the admissions process.
As you put your dossier together, please try to think about selecting a sample of your written work that reflects your academic interests and that demonstrates your research and analytical skills. Your personal statement should summarize your academic experiences in French studies and related disciplines, but more importantly, aim to give us a strong sense of the areas of study that you would like to pursue as part of the Ph.D.
Applying for Admission
Click here to apply with the New Online Application.
If you have any technical questions during the online application process, please contact customer support any of these three ways:
Phone: (415) 615-1805
email: Support@embark.com
Website:http://support.embark.com/
Application Dossier Checklist
The following eight parts of the application will be submitted electronically as part of the online application:
- Fellowship Application (submitted, along with ALL other materials, by January 15th)
- Application Fee: $70 domestic, $90 international.
- Statement of Purpose (500 word limit)
Please describe your motivation for graduate study at UC Davis. You should describe your academic plans and research interest, your specialization within your academic field, your research experiences and your career goals. - Personal History Statement (500 word limit)
In an essay, discuss how your personal background forms your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within your chosen filed; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree. - Sample of written work - The writing sample should be in French on a literary, cultural or linguistic topic. An M.A. paper or Thesis or other well-developed research project could also be appended. It will be submitted online during the application process.
- One (1) set of three (3) letters of recommendation (from Professors)
The letters will be used for admission, TA and fellowship applications. During the online application process, you will be required to provide your recommenders' contact information, including email addresses. Your professors will be contacted to submit their recommendations electronically after you have submitted your online application. - Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores - Recommended, but only required for fellowship applicants
When submitting GRE scores, please elect for ETS to submit scores to us electronically.
UC Davis Institution code: 4834
Department of French code: 2603 - TOEFL Scores - International Applicants must also submit TOEFL Scores.
UC Davis Institution Code: 4834
French Department Code: 16
The following three parts will be mailed directly to the French Department and must be postmarked by January 15th if applying for fellowships (or April 1st if applying for admission only).
-
Official Transcripts
from all institutions listed on application are required.
Please be as specific as possible when listing the name of your College or University. Please send one copy of each of your transcripts listed on your application to the address below. International Applicants: certified copies of transcripts are acceptable for review purposes and you must also include certified translation of your transcripts. An official transcript must be shown to graduate studies as a condition of admission, but may be retained by the student. - Teaching Assistantship Application
The TA application can be downloaded here and mailed to the address below. -
Spoken French Sample
As an indication of your language proficiency, we ask that you submit a three to five minute CD or cassette tape recording of yourself. The audio sample should include: 1) a reading of this passage from Flaubert's "L'Education sentimentale," and 2) some extemporaneous remarks about the ways in which you see a Ph.D. in French Studies contributing into your career goals and general life plan. Please mail this audio sample to the address below.
Mail to:
UC Davis, French Department
Attn: Kay Green
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
Deadlines
- Priority deadline for admission and fellowship applications is January 15. Applications and all supporting documents must be submitted by that date in order to be eligible for fellowships.
-
Final deadline for admission applications is April 1st. Application for admission and all supporting materials must be submitted by these dates.
- Materials submitted after the respective dates will not be considered for admission.
Again, I would like to thank you for applying to the doctoral program in French at the University of California, Davis.
