Have you always dreamed of spending a semester studying in Paris and learning first-hand about its culture and language? You might enjoy majoring in French at Central College. Central offers a broad range of French courses that help students communicate (listen, speak, read and write) in French. All on-campus courses include laboratory sessions with native-speakers. A French major opens the door to dozens of career opportunities. Past graduates have gone on to work in education, as FBI agents and customs officials for the government and in business with hotel management and customer service in Quebec, for example. Many students have spent their first year after graduation working in France as assistants in the French school system.
Learn more about internships at Central.
Curious about courses you’ll be taking your first year at Central as a French major? A typical first-year schedule includes:
Freshman year
Begin at highest level of competence
Sophomore year
Continue the next highest language sequence
Junior year
If advanced conversation and composition II or French civilization is completed in the sophomore year, study abroad is strongly recommended.
Senior year
If French civilization is completed in the junior year, study abroad is strongly recommended. Capstone Seminar.
Get more details from the course catalog! (Note: this is a PDF file)
The Weller Center for Business and International Studies houses faculty offices and classrooms for the economics, accounting, business management and modern language departments. The $3.9-million building was completed in 1999 and includes state-of-the-art technologies and a very energy efficient design, including solar panels on the roof. There are eight high-tech classrooms, two of which contain student computers, as well as a 24-hour computer lab on the main floor.
Central College has an interactive computer language lab, which can be used by classes and individual students to supplement traditional methods of language learning. Located in the Weller Center, this lab has 26 student computer stations and a teacher console, with which teachers can organize a variety of conversational activities such as telephone exchanges, conference groups and text chat groups. The system allows for use of both digital and analog sound recordings for student listening activities and recording the voices of multiple students at one time.
No matter what your interests are, Central has a student group or organization that you’ll want to join. French majors might be interested in joining Central's French Club or living in the French Language House.
Students are encouraged to study abroad with one of Central’s eight international programs to enhance their development as global citizens, or with Central’s Chicago program and the Washington, D.C., program. Learn more about Central’s study abroad programs.
Central offers French scholarships of up to $2,000 for all students (majors and non-majors) planning to continue involvement in language at the college level. Click here for more information!
