Global French
LSU Department of French Studies PhD program in Global French
The Global French PhD program teaches and studies French and Francophone language, literature, culture, and society in a broad sense: spoken and written communication; the history, meaning, and significance of French and Francophone literature, language, culture, and linguistic communities; the history, meaning, and significance of French and Francophone intellectual, philosophical, and theoretical traditions, especially insofar as these form foundations for several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences; the history, legacy, and transformations of French colonialism and neocolonialism throughout the world, including the Caribbean and Louisiana.
Our full-time faculty members research and teach in global and historical approaches to French culture, broadly conceived to include literature, film, anthropology, and philosophy. Our methodological approaches include traditional literary study (both close reading and historical contextualization), digital humanities, feminism, and cultural studies.
Our values include academic excellence, integrity, and freedom of teaching and research; methodological, theoretical, and disciplinary pluralism; professionalism; cooperation, service, and commitment to our multiple communities.
Our research, scholarship, and instruction reflect the historical significance of Francophone languages and cultures for Louisiana, as well as the leadership provided by French studies in the European intellectual tradition. LSU is an integral part of the Baton Rouge community, situated at the crossroads of the Francophone world; our Cajun and Creole history links us to France, to Canada, to Africa, and to the Caribbean. The department is also a member of the network of Chaires Senghor de la Francophonie, designated by the French Académie des Sciences d'Outre-Mer. As befits our global reach, current and past faculty members and graduate students come from Martinique, Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Congo, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Vietnam, Iran, India, as well as Canada, France, and the United States.
The Department of French Studies works together with the Center for French and Francophone Studies, an independent but closely allied unit, to put our PhD program at the forefront of study of French and Francophone literatures, language, and cultures. In recognition of this, the French Embassy to the United States designated the CFFS as one of the initial centres d'excellence, an honor currently given to only 22 university French programs in the United States.
In support of our global and pluridisciplinary mission, we have affiliate faculty members in the School of Law, and the Departments of Philosophy, Anthropology, and History. Our faculty and students also have close connections with the programs in African and African American Studies; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Screen Arts; and Comparative Literature. Our graduate students gain valuable experience teaching classes in our successful undergraduate program, which is among the largest in the United States.
Our Outstanding Student Experiences
The Department of French Studies funds outstanding graduate student experiences, from participation in institutes and travel to conferences to language immersion and research trips. Put simply: our students gain professional experience and engage in unique, hands-on research projects connected to their areas of interest. Here are some select recent DFS-funded graduate student experiences.
Conference Travel
Our students present their research at top national and international professional conferences, thanks to generous travel funding from the Department of French Studies, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Graduate School. In recent years, students have attended the 20th- and 21st-Century French and Francophone Studies International Colloquium, the African Studies Association annual conference, the University of Alabama Languages Conference, the Modern Language Association (MLA), the Global Black French Studies, and a colloquium organized by the Centre d'Étude Franco-Canadiennes de l'Ouest, among others. See our graduate student bios for more.
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Institute of French Cultural Studies at Dartmouth College
Our students have participated in the biennial Institute of French Cultural Studies at Dartmouth college. A highly selective program, the summer institute brings together top graduate students nationally in French Studies, connecting them with leading faculty worldwide. Here's what Zull-Kifuly Moumouni had to say about his experience:
This institute enhanced my knowledge of French literature and mainly the literary concept of universalism; it was also an opportunity to network with professors and grad students from Ivy league universities like Yale, Harvard and of course Dartmouth.
Language Immersion and Hands-On Research Projects
Our students regularly participate in language immersion programs, whether in France or domestically. Here's what Rachel Kirk had to say about her experiences:
Through DFS support, I took summer graduate courses through Middlebury’s graduate language immersion program in Vermont in the summer of 2025 and in Paris in the summer of 2026, allowing me to further strengthen my language proficiency and broaden my knowledge on topics such as linguistics, art history, and musical culture in Francophone contexts. During my time in Paris, I also conducted archival research for my dissertation at the Bibliothèque nationale and the Bibliothèque Mazarine.