<p>i saw that instead of "french language and literature," "french studies" is offered at smith. I was extremely excited to read about Dawes house and the well established study abroad programs, but I was wondering if the french studies major would prepare me for a career as a translator and if the advanced culture and lit courses are conducted in french or english, i couldn't find that on the site.<br>
<a href="http://www.smith.edu/catalogue/cgi-bin/catsearch.pl%5B/url%5D">http://www.smith.edu/catalogue/cgi-bin/catsearch.pl</a></p>
<p>Smith has special names for some majors (Government instead of Poli-Sci, for example), don't let it throw you. The advanced courses in the French department, whether they be culture or literature, are taught entirely in french and your papers are written in french as well. I'm not sure if it will prepare you for a career as an interpreter (maybe supplementing french with some government classes would be good for this, since I'm assuming you mean an interpreter in some kind of political arena), but after four years of french and a year abroad, you'd be pretty close to fluent.</p>
<p>thanks, i just noticed there was "italian language and literature" where there was "french studies" so i wanted to see what the difference was.
as for government, isn't there also poli sci?</p>
<p>nm you're right</p>
<p>My d. is a double major in music and Italian Studies. The difference between Italian Studies and Lit/Language (they really are separate majors) is that there is less emphasis (i.e. fewer requirements) in the literature itself, and more of the major can be made up in Italian history, art, etc. It is perfectly designed for someone in the junior year abroad program.</p>
<p>Note that, at least in Italian, the requirements for Smith's JYA are much stiffer than those found at other colleges. Two full years minimum, and a pledge not to use English as part of the program, with papers to be written in Italian only. To give you an idea of how that stacks up, at Williams you could only take three semesters of Italian - a Williams student couldn't qualify for Smith's JYA even if she wanted to. In the Italy program, there are always more Smithies who want to go than there are spaces; don't know if that is true in the Paris program.</p>
<p>Yeah, the Paris program has the same restrictions as the Florence program (except in French of course), and there are always more applicants than spaces. The trouble is, you can't go JYA in a non-Smith program in places where Smith has a program(Italy being the exception). For example, if you don't get into the Paris program, you couldn't do a JYA program in Provence or Marseilles with another college. You'd have to go to a francophone country instead, like French africa or Canada, and there aren't that many people that want to do that, so there's a big surge of french students trying to get into the one paris program. It can be kind of tough.</p>
<p>Don't forget that the Geneva program is also a French program.</p>
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<p>And, from what I've heard, a pretty darn good option, with internships in both the banking sectors and non-governmental organizations.</p>
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<p>If a student applied to JYA Paris/Geneva and don't get in... that's just scary because she's put in time and effort for 4 semesters and winds up with nothing! That's just a ridiculous rule there that the student can't go to France through another school. That's definitely a caution that every first year should know- there are absolutely no guarantees that they will be in France for sure.</p>
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<p>I have heard of no cases where a 4-semester student of French was not accepted (if she applied) to either the Paris or Geneva program; my d. says the Paris program generally has more applicants, though the Geneva program is more unique.</p>
<p>And I do wonder about the rule, generally speaking. Students go to other Italian programs all the time. (The IES program in Milan, for example, is centered around the Verdi Conservatory, and as ideal for music students; the American College in Rome program is especially suited for archaelogy.)</p>
<p>Like S&P said, Italy is the exception. For the other 3 countries, it's the Smith program or nothing.</p>
<p>But do you know of anyone with four semesters of French who applied who didn't get into one of the programs or the other?</p>
<p>I don't know that much about French programs. As far as I know, there is no other Italian program that requires the level of linguistic facility that the Smith program does. That, in fact, might be the real issue, with Smith simply requiring more of its majors generally speaking. The Duke/UWisconsin/UMichigan program in Florence, for example, requires no Italian at all, and all courses are taught in English. The IES Program in Milan allows students in with no Italian beforehand, and courses can be taken in English. The Wesleyan/Vassar/Wellesley program in Bologna requires only two semesters prior. The Colgate program in Venice only requires one year of language. So the issue might be (at least for Italy) what the school is hoping the students will get out of the programs, and I suspect the issue is the same for French (many of the French programs only require one year as well - Colby is a good example.)</p>
<p>Well... the major argument is the time commitment. It's hard when you're an underclasswoman who wants to explore everything but the idea of taking a foreign language for two years and taking up 25% of your courseload in that time frame seems.... daunting. And sort of ruins the purpose as mini pointed out- to really learn the language in an unique setting.</p>
<p>Well, I can't say that I do know anyone who didn't get into their program, but then again, only one sophomore I knew personally actually applied to go JYA (to Paris) and she was accepted. My class hasn't gone through the process yet, but mathematically speaking, SOME people must be rejected. No one applies without their language requirement being filled (what would be the point?) and their are usually more applicants than spaces. I do admit that it is unlikely for a student to be rejected if she does well in her French classes and is in good academic standing generally, but incoming first years should just be aware that there are no complete garauntees. They should also know that they are limited in France, Germany, and Switzerland to the Smith sponsored programs, and even in Italy they can only do the other programs if they are a Music or Classics major. I didn't know that as an incoming first year, and it was kind of a shock to me, so I just want everybody else to be prepared. JYA at Smith is competitive, and students should recognize that. It should not deter them from applying however, as JYA at Smith is also supposed to be AMAZING.</p>
<p>"And sort of ruins the purpose as mini pointed out- to really learn the language in an unique setting."</p>
<p>Actually, I was trying to suggest just the opposite - the point of the Smith programs is, HAVING ALREADLY learned the language, to put it to use in a deeper exploration of the culture, which only some previous fluency of the language will allow.</p>
<p>This is obviously NOT what many schools or individuals have in mind for JYA; it definitely isn't even what Smith has in mind for its students in non-European countries. But it is what they have in mind for their own programs. Now I have no particular problem with other approaches: my nephew, who knows no Italian whatsoever, is at Duke and will be in their program outside of Florence this fall, where all his courses will be in English. If that is what one seeks, Smith is the wrong school. (It's nice to have choices!)</p>
<p>"My class hasn't gone through the process yet, but mathematically speaking, SOME people must be rejected."</p>
<p>Sorry, but I see no evidence for it. In fact, both the Geneva and Paris programs regularly accept students from other schools. Could happen of course, but I haven't heard of it happening.</p>
<p>By the way, the Columbia University "Shape of Two Cities" program - which is half a year in New York and half a year in Paris, all conducted in English, and meant for students of architecture, urban planning, government - is also a Smith-approved program.</p>
<p>I think what Mini said bears repeating: the JYA programs that Smith runs are more rigorous than most of those run by other colleges because they have intents that are different; not necessarily better, but different. </p>
<p>And Smithies can participate in programs in other countries that don't require any facility in the language, e.g., you can study Math in Budapest without having a single word of Hungarian before arriving.</p>