Key information
Duration: 1 year full time or 2 years part time
Institution code: R72
Campus: Egham
UK fees*: £4,596
International/EU fees**: £21,500
The course
French Studies (MA by Research)
Over the centuries French writers, philosophers and artists have shaped our ideas of freedom, citizenship and the good life, challenged our views of society, identity and cultural memory, and blazed trails of artistic expression in painting, cinema and literature. This is reflected in the interdisciplinary scope of our French studies, making Royal Holloway an ideal place to study for a postgraduate degree in French.
This degree enables you to independently explore your area of interest in real depth, it can also provide you with the chance to test or try out an area of study in preparation for doctoral study. Whilst you will be working independently, you won’t be alone, you will receive specialist one-to-one tuition throughout your degree. You will work closely with your specialist supervisor, or supervisors, to develop a clearly defined research topic and complete a 30,000-40,000 word dissertation.
You will be part of our research-led environment in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects. The breadth of our teaching and research expertise means that we are able to provide the latest thinking, expert support and intellectual challenges. Our cutting-edge work ranges from the medieval to the 21st century and spans literature, cinema, thought and the visual arts. Current research in French is concerned with subjects such as the representation of the body, consumerism, disability, food, the Holocaust and globalisation. Other focal points for our work include cultural memory and marginality, gender and spectatorship, philosophy and ethics, the postcolonial and the transnational, and critical theory and post-theory. Our academics would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in postgraduate research in their areas of expertise.
In addition to your dissertation you will undertake a taught course designed to equip you with an array of theoretical and historical approaches to the study of literature, art and culture. This will enable you to articulate, refine and persistently test your own approach to your chosen topic within this broader theoretical and methodological framework. You will also have access to skills training and enjoy the additional support of a dedicated Research Advisor.
Teaching & assessment
The taught course will be assessed by a presentation. The dissertation will be examined by an internal and an external examiner. There is no viva voce.
Entry requirements
2:1
UK Honours degree in a relevant subject or overseas equivalent.
Normally we require a UK 2:1 (Honours) or equivalent in relevant subjects but we will consider a high 2:2 or relevant work experience. Candidates with professional qualifications in an associated area may be considered. Where a ‘high 2:2’ is considered, we would normally define this as reflecting a profile of 57% or above.
International & EU requirements
English language requirements
All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.
The scores we require
- IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
- Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
- Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
- Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
- TOEFL ib: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.
Country-specific requirements
For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see here.
Your future career
On graduation you will have a proven ability to undertake focused research, improved your written and oral presentation skills, and honed skills in critical analysis. In addition, you will have an understanding and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in literature, film, cultural studies or the visual arts. All of the these skills will be appealing to employers and enable you to pursue your chosen career. Alternatively, you will also be in a strong position to continue onto doctoral study, having demonstrated that you have the self direction, originality and initiative required.
In recent years a number of our Languages, Literature and Culture postgraduates have gone on to successful academic careers both in Britain and internationally in the fields of languages, critical theory and film.
Postgraduates have also embarked upon many interesting and successful careers outside academia – in the UK, continental Europe and the United States – including journalism at The Independent, work for NGOs, trade sales, publishing, professional translating, teaching, opera direction, museum curatorship, creative arts, and librarianship.
Fees, funding & scholarships
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,596
EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £21,500
Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course
How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.
* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.
All postgraduate fees are subject to inflationary increases. This means that the overall cost of studying the course via part-time mode is slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. Royal Holloway's policy is that any increases in fees will not exceed 5% for continuing students. For further information, please see our terms and conditions. Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry. For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the RCUK website.
** The UK Government has confirmed that EU nationals are no longer eligible to pay the same fees as UK students, nor be eligible for funding from the Student Loans Company. This means you will be classified as an international student. At Royal Holloway, we wish to support those students affected by this change in status through this transition. For eligible EU students starting their course with us in September 2022, we will award a fee reduction scholarship equivalent to 60% of the difference between the UK and international fee for your course. This will apply for the duration of your course. Find out more
*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2022/23 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.
