Bachelor in French Studies (Bachelor's)

Tuition is Tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year is $64,980..

The Francophone Studies major leads to qualifications in French language and culture across global regions. Students study literature, history, and cultural practices from French-speaking countries through a multidisciplinary curriculum. The programme emphasizes critical analysis and linguistic proficiency in French. It prepares students for advanced work in international contexts.

Focus areas include French literature, Francophone history, Cultural studies, Linguistics, Global French-speaking regions, Comparative literature.

The major requires 36 credits distributed across language courses, literature, history, and cultural studies. Students complete advanced coursework and may include off-campus study in French-speaking countries.

Graduates pursue careers in international relations, education, translation, and cultural institutions.

Applicants must meet Bowdoin College's general admission requirements. A strong high school record and demonstrated interest in language and culture are expected. Submit transcripts, standardized test scores, and a personal statement.

The programme totals about 36 credit hours. On-campus, full-time, four-year programme. For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 8% of applicants.

Bowdoin’s history includes the story of the land that became the Schiller Coastal Studies Center. William Hastings Thalheimer, a member of the Bowdoin Class of 1927, and his wife, Irma, purchased the Orr’s Island farm in 1957 and later expanded the property. They deeded the land to Bowdoin in 1981, and it transferred to the College in the 1990s. The former family farmhouse remains one of the center’s administrative buildings.

Today, the 118-acre center in Harpswell supports advanced marine research and interdisciplinary work focused on Maine’s coastal environments, economies, and communities. Its two and a half miles of coastline, forest, and field provide a setting for study and teaching. Bowdoin students have used the facility’s seawater-filled wet laboratories and contributed to eelgrass restoration in Casco Bay.

On the Brunswick campus, students study subjects including biology, chemistry, computer and data studies, economics, English, environmental studies, government and legal studies, mathematics, languages, and the arts. Research and practical opportunities include summer projects, community and public service internships, coastal studies, GIS mapping, and work involving artificial intelligence. Bowdoin’s liberal arts education connects classroom learning with questions in society, science, culture, and public life. International students should expect a small-college setting in Brunswick, Maine, with access to both campus resources and coastal fieldwork.