The French program in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has earned top marks from both the National Research Council and the French government.

The program was one of only 16 in the nation selected by the French government as a “centre pluridisciplinaire.” The designation not only recognizes the excellence of the program, but also makes it eligible for grants from the French government, as well as for a series of collaborative initiatives ranging from faculty exchange to colloquia.

The French Embassy invited universities to apply for the designation of “multidisciplinary center,” held by such institutions as Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and Stanford. One of the major advantages of the designation is that it facilitates visits by high profile writers, artists, and scholars. One of those who will visit the UConn campus is Michel Houellebecq, the most recent winner of the Goncourt Prize, France’s most prestigious literary award.

The National Research Council earlier this fall ranked the program among the best in the nation. The rankings are done in ranges, and the French program was ranked 1-6. This ranking means that, in certain categories – student placement and scholarly productivity, for example – the UConn program was actually first in the nation.

More than 5,000 programs in 62 fields at 212 universities were ranked in a variety of fields.

The French program offers courses in French and Francophone literature, culture, and society, and treats the learning of language as integral to the mastery of a range of disciplines, says Anne Berthelot, professor of French and medieval studies and co-chair of French and francophone studies and associate head of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages.

It is also home to Contemporary French & Francophone Studies, the only journal in the United States devoted exclusively to 20th-century and contemporary French studies. The journal was founded and continues to be edited by two faculty members of the French program, Roger Célestin and Eliane Dalmolin.

So what does one do with a French major? Many things, Berthelot says, including work for a Connecticut business with a French orientation or affiliation. Indeed, the program includes courses in business French, technical translation, and international business, as well as courses in French cinema and media. It also offers students a chance to earn a certificate from the Paris Chamber of Commerce, to study abroad in Paris or Toulouse, or intern in a company that relies on French for business.

Beyond the traditional focus on literature and education, UConn’s French studies program also stresses the preparation of students for a variety of disciplines, such as international affairs, politics, anthropology, film studies, history, sociology, and business. Graduates of the program have gone on to work not only as academics in colleges and universities, but also in institutions ranging from the U.S. foreign service and non-governmental organizations to a major French wine company.

The program has about 600 undergraduate students, and majors must learn a second language ranging from German, Spanish, and Italian to Latin, Biblical Hebrew, or Arabic. It also has 15 active graduate students.

But a major reason the department is so highly ranked, Berthelot says, is the faculty. “We have a really good team here. We have excellent chemistry, and our specialties and interests complement each other,” she says. “We are part of a big department of modern and classical languages, and we have a multi-disciplinary approach to our scholarship in our different specialties as well as to our teaching.”