French is a major world language, spoken in many parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas. At Edinburgh, you will study the French language in the context of the diverse countries, cultures and societies in which it is spoken. Over the course of our four-year programme, you will have the opportunity to acquire near-native fluency in French while gaining the broad cultural education valued by graduate employers. We will introduce you to the extraordinary richness and variety of the francophone world through the study of:* literature and cinema * political history and social movements * philosophical ideas Our courses cover material from the Middle Ages to the 21st century and include specialist options taught by leading experts in key disciplines, including post-colonial studies and gender studies.

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study a global language in its cultural context. It has one of the best French collections in the UK in the National Library of Scotland. French has been taught here since 1894, making it one of the first modern European languages to be offered at Edinburgh. Our French Theatre Society, Les Escogriffes, was formed in 1968, and we established the Centre de recherches francophone belges for the promotion of francophone Belgian studies in 1995.Studying over four years enables you to choose courses, including from other disciplines, that match your own interests, expertise and employability needs. It is possible to learn another language as part of your programme, for example, or to take options in other areas of the arts, humanities and social sciences.We are unique in Scotland in offering students a full academic year abroad within the four-year honours programme, regardless of whether you spend the year studying or working. You will spend Year 3 in a country where French is spoken, gaining immersive experience of the language and crucial intercultural competencies.