Have you always dreamed of spending a semester studying in Paris and learning first-hand about French and francophone 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 regular conversation sessions with native-speaking language assistants. A French major opens the door to dozens of career opportunities. Past graduates have gone on to work in education, marketing, for the government and in business in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. Many students have spent their first year after graduation working in France as assistants in the French school system.
The first thing Heidi Chobar True wants understood is that “it’s not about me.” The international business and French graduate insists that her personal and professional successes to date—like joining Microsoft last year—are owed to her Central education and the ethics she learned from mentors like retired business management professor Jann Freed ’75.
Darius Joseph ’89 took a chance on Central—and then on his own company. Now he owns a successful IT consulting firm in Fort Myers, Fla.
While participating in the Paris program, students may choose from internships in many disciplines and professional fields and have access to service learning opportunities.
Learn more about internships at Central.
Curious about courses you'll be taking at Central as a French major? A typical four-year schedule includes:
Freshman year
Begin at highest level of competence
Sophomore year
Continue the next highest language sequence
Junior year
Once the advanced conversation and composition II or French civilization courses are completed, many students choose to study abroad in Paris for a semester or for their junior year. The Paris program offers courses in the French language as well as a range of humanities, social science and business courses.
Senior year
Students returning from Paris may take elective French courses and complete their Senior Capstone seminar.
Major Requirements - 29 semester hours at the 300-level or above.
Minor Requirements - 6 semester hours at the 300-level or above.
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.
Central’s modern languages department maintains its own website with even more information about majoring in French.
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 Central College to enhance their development as global citizens. Academic opportunities and internship programs also are available in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. 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!
