UG.BA.FRENCH - Bachelor of Arts - French

Languages and Cultures- French

California Lutheran University’s mission commits it to preparing its students to be leaders in a global society. To do this, it insists that its students be conversant in at least one language beyond their native tongue, and offers courses, majors, and minors in a number of languages and cultural areas. The Languages and Cultures Department reflects CLU’s intention to provide strong language instruction, engage students closely with other cultures, work across disciplines, language families, and cultures, and promote study abroad and in other cultural contexts. CLU students can expect growth and change from this dynamic and important department.

Proficiency Requirement

All CLU students are required, for Core-21, to meet the Foreign Language Proficiency in one of the following ways: by achieving a satisfactory score on a Language Proficiency Exam; by passing two courses in the same language; or by passing one course at the second semester level.

For further information and scheduled testing dates, contact the Languages and Cultures Department.

California Lutheran University’s French curriculum offers students many educational opportunities through course work, study abroad and extracurricular activities on and off campus. A solid foundation in French enables the Cal Lutheran graduate to choose from many career alternatives or admission to a graduate school for advanced study of the language.

The technology-enhanced program is designed to provide students with a strong competency in the French language and an understanding of the French cultures throughout the world. Emphasizing an interactive learning environment and maintaining small class sessions, the curriculum includes conversation and composition as well as film, literature, phonetics and linguistics. Audio and videotapes, videodisks and CDs simulate realistic situations, while students and faculty explore French, the second language of the Internet and the second global language.

Both French major and non-major students are encouraged to study abroad in a francophone location. They may choose from partner institutions in Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, Grenoble, and Cannes for an academic year, a semester or summer.

Students enjoy participating in activities sponsored by the Cal Lutheran Francophone Club and the French national honor society, Pi Delta Phi, which afford opportunities to practice verbal skill and experience French culture outside the academic environment. French majors may be selected as tutors or chosen as departmental assistants. Several scholarships have been awarded to Cal Lutheran French majors through Pi Delta Phi and Rotary International, allowing them to study and visit in such locations as France, Belgium, Canada and Africa.

French majors from Cal Lutheran have entered careers as educators, travel agents, and translators and interpreters for governmental organizations, international businesses, Peace Corps and church missions. Also, the growing field of international management has attracted graduates who have combined their French degree with Business Administration or Global Studies at Cal Lutheran. Graduates in French are able to secure professional employment not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Africa and European Community institutions, all of which employ the French language second only to English.