master thesis french

Home > Academics > Master Programs > Master's Thesis

Master's Thesis

PSIA students have the option of undertaking a Master thesis, in lieu of an internship or a semester exchange at a partner university. Sciences Po Academic rules in Article 37 specify that Master curricula include “a semester of extramural activities” and “as applicable…a Master thesis.”

This is a selective track offered to PSIA students, who must apply for the opportunity. Only the strongest proposals are approved by PSIA's scientific community. Every year, this track produces highly relevant and successful research work. Since 2021, the best Master thesis defended at PSIA have been published online by Sciences Po digital library .

PSIA Master thesis’ Regulations

• Course consistency: undertaking a Master thesis is optional and the approval of the Academic Advisor is necessary.
• Individuality: The Master thesis is an individual research project, it cannot be done in a group ;
• Thesis Director: The research project is conducted under the direction of a faculty specialist in the same subject area. Please note that Sciences Po faculty will be preferred. The academic advisor approves the choice;
• Prerequisites: Students interested in pursuing a Master thesis must enrol in and validate two courses within the “Methods” concentration during the first year of their Master program;
• The Master thesis track is open only to students who must register for a third semester "hors les murs", as per the Sciences Po regulation. Students who are enrolled in a one-year Master program, as well as dual degree students who spend only their first year at PSIA, are waived from this obligation, and they are not eligible for the Master thesis track.
• The thesis defence will constitute both the validation of the Master thesis as well as the required Grand Oral.

The Master thesis Track is mainly directed at students with previous work experience presumably waiving the internship requirement, or students aiming for a PhD / academic career.

Master thesis Q&A

Proposal Documents (to be sent to the Academic Advisor)

• Curriculum Vitae
• Cover letter (students must indicate the two methods coruses they have taken at PSIA, or describe methods courses and any research internships undertaken prior to PSIA, attaching transcripts of any previous methodology coursework from another institution).
• Research proposal (5 pages, single-spaced, Times New Roman 12, not including bibliography). Students may want to include the following sections: literature review; research question; proposed research design; information about empirical data and/or modalities of fieldwork if relevant. See a template for your reference.
• Reference letter from the potential Thesis Director
• Transcript of the first semester at PSIA, and a list of courses they are enrolled in for the second semester.

When required, field research may be undertaken within the third semester.

Students producing a Master thesis may receive exemptions from The mandatory 14-week internship.

The Master thesis length is between 20,000 and 30,000 words, excluding appendices. Electronic versions of the thesis must be sent to the thesis' supervisor, the academic advisor, the third member of the jury and  [email protected] .

Format of Thesis : Overview

The defence jury is composed of three members approved by PSIA and must include:

• The Thesis Director
• An Expert in the field of research (professional or scholar)
• A faculty or administrative officer representative of the student’s Master (in charge of reporting)
• At least one member of the defence jury should be a university professor or researcher

Thesis Defence

It consists of two parts: a 10 minute presentation then a 20 minute discussion with the examiners

The validation of the Master thesis will bear 30 credits.

Master Thesis Calendar

• To be eligible to undertake a Master thesis during their third semester, students must take and validate two courses within the “Methods” concentration by the end of their first year – ideally one in semester 1 and one in semester 2. Students who wrote a thesis or long research essay (minimum 10,000 words) during their undergraduate studies may apply for a waiver of one of the two mandatory methods courses. 
• March 15, 2023: Submission of full written proposal to their Academic Advisor by 2 pm.
• Late April 2023: Confirmation if they have been accepted onto the Master thesis Track for the third semester by their Academic Advisor. In all cases, progression to the third semester is subject to successful completion of the first year.
• September-December 2022: Third semester (Off campus; 'hors les murs');
• January 31, 2023: Master thesis submission deadline: electronic version to be sent to [email protected] , academic advisor, thesis supervisor and third member of the jury.
• Mid-April – May 2023: Master thesis Defence

International Admissions

Admissions report

Application Guide

Tuition Fees & Scholarships Guide

Careers Services Guide

Applicants guide

Address / phone

27, rue Saint Guillaume - 75337 Paris Cedex 07

Phone: +33 (0)1 45 49 50 50 | +33 (0)1 42 22 31 26

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS

A to Z Index

Legal terms

Quick links

Student account

Faculty account

Manage my password

Sciences Po App

© 2024 SCIENCES PO

• French News
• Articles & Journals
• Primary Sources

Dissertations & Theses

• Citations & Bibliography
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Represents the work of authors from over 1,000 North American and European universities on a full range of academic subjects. Includes abstracts for doctoral dissertations beginning July 1980 and for Master's theses beginning Spring 1988. All dissertations published since 1997, and some from prior years, are available for free download; others may be requested via Interlibrary Loan.
• Dissertations & Theses (Georgetown-authored) This link opens in a new window Recent online theses and dissertations from selected Georgetown programs and departments. For access to Georgetown theses and dissertations authored prior to 2006, see the Georgetown catalog or refer to ProQuest's Dissertations & Theses database. Print copies of disserations may be requested using the Library's Library Use Only Materials Request. .
• EThoS: Electronic Theses Online This link opens in a new window The British Library's database of digitized theses from UK higher education institutions. Free registration and login is required.
• Open Access Theses & Dissertations The number of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) openly available via institutional repositories has grown dramatically in recent years, increasing the need for a centralized service to search for this unique material. Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD), launched in early 2013, is on the path to fulfill that need. Not as large as the commercial subscription service ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database, OATD distinguishes itself by providing access to more than 1.6 million open-access theses and dissertations freely available from over 800 institutions worldwide. The simplified interface allows searching across all fields or, in advanced search, by specific field (Title, Author Name, Abstract, University/Publisher, or Subject/Keywords). In addition, users may limit searches to a specific language or date range. Search results may be sorted by relevance, author, university, or date. more... less... Depending on the search, results may be further limited by date, university, department, degree, level (e.g., doctoral vs. master's), or language. The number of hits for entries under each limit is conveniently displayed in the left column. Links to the full text residing on the home institution's site are provided for each record. In many instances, several pages of the thesis or dissertation are available for viewing. Though other sites cover similar material, e.g., PQDT Open http://pqdtopen.proquest.com and Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, OATD focuses exclusively on open-access ETDs, and serves as an excellent resource for students and researchers. Its usefulness will continue to increase as more ETDs are made freely available.
• Theses.fr This link opens in a new window Provides access to more than 5000 theses on all subjects submitted in French to universities around the world, since 2006. Most are digitized and available in full text.
• Theses Canada Portal This link opens in a new window Index of Canadian masters theses and doctoral dissertations from 1965-present. Full text available from 1998 through August 31, 2002.
• << Previous: Websites
• Next: Citations & Bibliography >>
• Last Updated: Nov 29, 2023 3:53 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.georgetown.edu/french

French Master of Arts

The MA in French allows students to deepen their study of the literatures and cultures of the French-speaking world. Graduate students work closely with department faculty who specialize in interdisciplinary approaches to French and Francophone literature, queer and gender studies, philosophy, literary theory, film and visual culture, and medical humanities.

You Will Go Places

Combined BA + MA Degree

Designed for maximum flexibility, the combined BA/MA program in French allows high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in French to challenge themselves with advanced work and deepen their study of the literatures and cultures of the French-speaking world. Most of our students complete both the BA and the MA within four years.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis during the academic year from undergraduate French majors who have earned Junior or Senior standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater.

Assistantships

Our MA program is highly selective. Successful applicants are awarded graduate assistantships in exchange for teaching language courses in our department. The assistantship includes a modest stipend ($15,330 in 2023-24) and tuition waiver (in 2023-24, tuition is $13,931 for Ohio residents and $34,005 for nonresidents).

Learning Outcomes of Our Program

• Demonstrate excellent familiarity with the major works of French and Francophone literature, film, and theory from the Middles Ages to the present;
• Formulate original hypotheses about cultural artifacts and construct an argument that is informed by a clearly stated methodological approach. Students should be capable of making these analyses in French in both written and oral forms;
• Write a Master’s thesis of at least 50 pages that develops an original topic of research, demonstrates a well-defined critical framework, advances an original reading of work(s), and is written in clear, well-articulated prose.

To be guaranteed consideration, your complete application must be received by January 15. In addition to an online application , applicants must submit a CV, statement of purpose, writing sample in French (5-10 pages), and two letters of recommendation. International applicants must also include official results of the Duolingo English Test, TOEFL or IELTS.

Meet Our Alumni

Graduates of our Master's program often pursue advanced studies at some of the finest institutions in the world (Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Stanford, and UC Berkeley). Others teach at the private or public secondary schools and usually receive a higher salary with a Master's degree. Some pursue careers in the law and in non-profit organizations.  

"The MA was formative to the development of my research interests in French literary studies. Now, several years into my PhD at UC Berkeley, I can recognize that my current research project – which focuses on the concept of the "contemporary" in the early modern period – was formed by the conversations I had with my professors and colleagues at Miami. Special thanks go to Audrey Wasser, Elisabeth Hodges, and Jonathan Strauss for advising me on the MA thesis, providing feedback on my PhD applications, and working with me to prepare for the reading list exam. I'm very grateful to everyone who made Irvin Hall such a welcoming place!"

Caroline Goddard

PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley

Recent M.A. Theses

Lina Scally,   Raconter sa biculture pour denoncer: le pouvoir transformateur de l’Art dans "Le Piano Oriental" et "Coquelicots d'Irak" (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at University of California, Berkeley.

Murielle Sandra Tiako Djomatchoua ,   Sports et Routes Migratoires : entre Imaginaires (Post) Coloniaux et Experiences Individuelles dans Fais peter les basses, Bruno! et Le Chemin de L' Amerique de Baru (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Princeton University.

Madelyn Neal,   Feminist Reclamations of the Patriarchal Representation of Linear Time in Film and Literature (Audrey Wasser, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at New York University.

Justine Ruyer,   Voyeurisme et obsession : de la femme-objet et de sa reduction au silence dans La Jalousie'Alain Robbe-Grillet et Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein de Marguerite Duras (Audrey Wasser, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Cornell University.

Pierre Borlée,  Desenchantement et deuxieme chance: La France contemporaine dans Soumission de Michel Houellebecq (Audrey Wasser, advisor). French teacher in Belgium.

Katherine Coverdale,  An Exploration of Identity in Claire Denis' and Mati Diop's (Post)Colonial Africa (Elisabeth Hodges, Advisor). French teacher at a private middle school in Fort Meyers. 

Clément Dubuisson,  Reading Reiser in the 21st Century (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Tulane University

Caroline Miller,  The Dual Power of Language: Theories of Maurice Blanchot in Practice (Audrey Wasser, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in Chemistry at Colorado School of Mines.

Franklin Dargo,  The Dynamics of Loss: Representations of Sororal, Maternal, and Feminine Loss in the Works of Nerval, Chateaubriand, and Baudelaire (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). Manager and Board Member at Frankie D’s, Muncie, Indiana.

Sarah Agou,  Women (as) Subjects: Luce Irigaray and the Question of Limits  (Andrea Righi, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at University of Oregon

Lyna Ami Ali,  Le Cinéma de banlieu : Un Regard novateur et aventureux sur un terriotoire difficilement identifiable  (Mark McKinney, advisor).  MA, English Literature, Civilization and Linguistics, La Sorbonne (Paris IV). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Emory University.

Abigail Culpepper,  Towards an Ethic of the Lyric: Taking on the Other in “La Mort de Cleopatre” by Marie Krysinska  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Brown University

Abigail Goldman,  Representations of Migration in Ousmane Sembene's La Noire De..., Alain Mabanckou's Bleu, Blanc, Rouge and Mweze Ngangura's Pieces d'Identites  (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (MsC) at the London School of Economics and Political Science

Caroline Godard,  ' Une sorte de vaste sensation collective': Story and Experience in the work of Marcel Proust, Walter Benjamin, and Annie Ernaux  (Audrey Wasser, advisor).  MA in Modern Languages at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford (UK). Graduate student (PhD) in French at University of California, Berkeley.

Anne Sophie Brian,  LA LITTÉRATURE FRANCO-MAGHREBINE EN RECHERCHE D'UNE IDENTITE FRANCAISE  (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student in Anglo-American Studies at the Université de Bourgogne. 

Majeed Masnoon,  Environmental Consciousness in Joachim du Bellay's Divers jeux rustiques and 'Au fleuve de Loire'  (Elisabeth Hodges, advisor). 

Logan Smith,  MONUMENTS IN THE MAKING: CAPTURING TRAUMA(S) OF COMMUNAL ABSENCE IN THE POST-PLANTATION FICTION OF MARYSE CONDÉ AND WILLIAM FAULKNER  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). 

Jessie Motts,  Listening Beyond the Image : Toward a Trans-Sensory Cinema  (Elisabeth Hodges, advisor). Documentary filmmaker based in NYC

Emile Levesque-Jalbert,  L’Autre de l’un : L’Experience de la négativité dans les récits de Maurice Blanchot  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University

Mehdi Dastergi Izadi,  7 de Tristan Garcia: pour une poétique spéculative   (Anna Klosowska, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University

Clémentine Bernaudat-Hanin,  « Elle partit, s’enfonçant dans la pluie dine comme un voile » : Esthetique de la prostitution féminine dans la littérature du XIXe siècle  (Audrey Wasser, advisor)

Gwen Miranda-Caniceiro,  Ecrire pour témoigner: La vérité historique dans les témoignages de la second guerre mondiale  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). French teacher at a private high school

Jacob Raterman ,  (Mi)lieux critiques: Hybridité et hétérotopie dans La Curée et Au Bonheur des dames  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at the University of California, Berkeley

Elham Dehghanipour,  La relation entre le mouvement et l'écriture chez Assia Djebar via Ces voix qui m'assiègent...., En marge de ma francophonie, Loin de Médine, L'amour, la fantasia, Vaste est la prison     (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at the SUNY, Buffalo

Jonathan Devine,  Childhood Fantasy and the Look in Alain Berliner's Ma vie en rose and François Ozon's Ricky  (Elisabeth Hodges, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French/Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh

Emeline Diolot,  Répétition et reconstruction de soi dans l'œuvre autofictive de Camille Laurens  (Mark McKinney, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French and Italian at University of California, Davis

Tamara Tasevska,  Intimate Spaces in François Ozon's Swimming Pool  (Elisabeth Hodges, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Northwestern University

Anne-Sophie Dubosson,  Sublimation et négation du corps féminin surréaliste dans l'œuvre de Man Ray, Joyce Mansour et Gisèle Prassinos  (Elisabeth Hodges, advisor). Graduate Students (PhD) in French at Vanderbilt University

Sophie Chopin,  Régimes d’ínteraction entre littérature et médecine dans l'œuvre de Louis Ferdinand Céline Voyage au bout de la nuit  (Jonathan Strauss, advisor). Graduate student (PhD) in French at Princeton University

Department of French, Italian, and Classical Studies

501 E. High Street Oxford, OH 45056

• Online: Miami Online
• Main Operator 513-529-1809
• Office of Admission 513-529-2531
• Vine Hotline 513-529-6400
• Emergency Info https://miamioh.edu/emergency

1601 University Blvd. Hamilton, OH 45011

• Online: E-Campus
• Main Operator 513-785-3000
• Office of Admission 513-785-3111
• Campus Status Line 513-785-3077
• Emergency Info https://miamioh.edu/regionals/emergency

4200 N. University Blvd. Middletown, OH 45042

• Main Operator 513-727-3200
• Office of Admission 513-727-3216
• Campus Status 513-727-3477

7847 VOA Park Dr. (Corner of VOA Park Dr. and Cox Rd.) West Chester, OH 45069

• Main Operator 513-895-8862
• From Middletown 513-217-8862

Chateau de Differdange 1, Impasse du Chateau, L-4524 Differdange Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

• Main Operator 011-352-582222-1
• Email [email protected]
• Website https://miamioh.edu/luxembourg

217-222 MacMillan Hall 501 E. Spring St. Oxford, OH 45056, USA

• Main Operator 513-529-8600

Initiatives

• Miami THRIVE Strategic Plan
• Miami Rise Strategic Plan
• Boldly Creative
• Annual Report
• Moon Shot for Equity
• Miami and Ohio
• Majors, Minors, and Programs
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Employment Opportunities
• University Safety and Security
• Parking, Directions, and Maps
• Equal Opportunity
• Consumer Information
• Land Acknowledgement
• Privacy Statement
• Title IX Statement
• Report an Accessibility Issue
• Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
• Report a Problem with this Website
• Policy Library