French Undergraduate Study

You will learn French at the University of Exeter within the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Visual Studies a vibrant community for all those interested in in French and Francophone languages, cultures, and societies.

Spoken by over 300 million people worldwide, a French degree is your gateway to connect with people, cultures and histories in France and Belgium, in north and sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, Canada, and beyond.

Our internationally-renowned teaching team of Francophone and Anglophone academics will support you through your studies.

We offer an impressive variety of modules in most areas of French Studies: cultural studies from the Middle Ages to the present; literature and the visual arts; film; linguistics; gender studies and philosophy.

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Mont Saint-Michel, or Saint Michael's Mount, a French cultural icon and World Heritage Site

Top 20

Top 20 for French in the UK

^{17th in the Complete University Guide 2026}

Top 150 icon

Top 150 worldwide for Modern Languages

^{QS World University Subject Rankings 2025}

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Spend a year abroad on an International Placement

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1st in the UK for research impact

^{Joint 1st for world-leading or internationally excellent research, REF 2021}

Discover French at the University of Exeter

You will learn French from a specialist team of Francophone language tutors and leading scholars in their field. Our research and scholarship complement our teaching and vice-versa, as we share the latest knowledge and ideas with our students.

We take pride in offering a wide range of options French Studies, with choice from your fist year onwards, so you can pursue tailor-made pathways: cultural studies from the Middle Ages to the present; literature and the visual arts; film; linguistics (the scientific study of the French language); gender studies and philosophy.

Your language study will be guided by an academic team of both native and non-native speakers of French. At the heart of our Department is our pioneering Language Centre, with fantastic learning spaces and community-driven learning opportunities such as the Languages Café.

Students normally spend some or all of their third year abroad in a French-speaking country, working as a language assistant, undertaking a work placement, or studying with one of 15 partner institutions, including the Sorbonne, Bordeaux and Chambéry in France, Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, and the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

Customise your French degree

You can study French through four pathways:

1. Focus on French and graduate with a BA in French

Apply to BA Modern Languages through UCAS.

2. Study French with one or two other languages

(e.g. Chinese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish)

Apply to BA Modern Languages through UCAS.

3. Study French with a second subject

Combine French with Arabic, Art History & Visual Culture, Classical Studies, English, Film Studies, History, International Relations, Latin, Politics, Philosophy or Sociology.

4. Study French with a bespoke selection of subjects

Apply to our Flexible Combined Honours programme.

Study or work abroad

The International Placement can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable aspects of a Modern Languages degree. It is also one of the major factors that makes languages graduates attractive to employers.

By immersing yourself in the culture you study, you will not only enhance your language skills, but cultivate: