PhD in French Studies and French in New York United States | New York University

The dual Ph.D. Program in French Studies and French enables students to combine in-depth literary training with a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of French and Francophone cultures from the revolutionary era to today. Based at both the Institute of French Studies and the department of French Literature, Thought, and Culture, participants navigate between these two academic hubs, engaging with diverse concepts and methodologies while developing specialized research projects alongside faculty and peers. These distinctive features—along with bilingual course offerings and events—set our program apart in academia. Graduates gain qualifications to teach literature alongside history or social sciences in French departments, while acquiring scholarly skills to bridge these disciplines.



Starting in their first year, students participate in advanced literary theory seminars, undertake independent research, and select courses across complementary fields such as film studies, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, media studies, and gender studies. With guidance from advisors at both the IFS and French department, they develop innovative approaches while preparing for their dissertation proposal (a primary focus by year three). The French department offers instruction from specialists in areas like queer and feminist theory, embodiment and emotion studies, environmental humanities, political philosophy, narrative theory, historical fiction, and film. At the IFS, students immerse themselves in Francophone historical and social inquiry, collaborating with researchers focused on Caribbean/postcolonial studies, migration patterns, memory politics, ethnographic methods, racial identity in France, North/West African studies, family histories, and experimental historiography.