French
Find out the requirements for studying towards a French major while on exchange.
Where to study
You can study towards your French major or minor in France or New Caledonia.
- The Université de La Rochelle is the recommended university in France for students of French. Appropriate French Language for Foreigners courses (FLE) from CUFFLE can be cross credited.
- Students can study various subjects at the Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie and appropriate FLE courses can be cross credited.
- At the Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, appropriate FLE courses in the DEUF programme can be cross credited in some rare circumstances, but not in the SELF programme.
Discuss these options with the French programme student exchange coordinator well before your application deadline.
Non-French speaking countries
You can apply for an exemption for a corresponding French language course taken on exchange in a non-French speaking country, but you cannot get your points cross credited towards your major.
To apply for an exemption, you will need to gain pre-approval from your faculty and upon your return from exchange, present your results and a detailed description (content, level and hours of teaching, assessment) of the language course(s) you took while overseas. Upon returning from exchange, a placement test may be required before you are allowed to proceed with your enrolment in other French language courses at Victoria University of Wellington.
French major requirements for exchange
Before going on exchange
Undergraduate students must have passed at least FREN 201 (i.e. reached a low B1 level) before going to study French in France. A higher level might be required in some cases.
For a French major or minor, the best time to study in France or New Caledonia is after you complete FREN 202 and before you undertake FREN 301. However, it is possible to go and study in France or New Caledonia earlier if you have completed FREN 201 at a very good level.
Some exchange programmes in France (such as the SELF programme at Lyon 3 for law students) offer courses in English that require no prior or little knowledge of French.
Courses to take on exchange
You must complete a French Language course for Foreigners (FLE course) equivalent to FREN 301 (covering the four skills, at lower B2 level and with a minimum of 48 hours of teaching). You need to seek approval from the French programme student exchange coordinator before your departure.
You also need to take other courses to gain general credit. When you successfully complete literature courses in France, you get general credit for these.
Completing your French major
You can’t complete your French major while on exchange. You can only get FREN 202 or FREN 301 cross credited towards your French major or minor. You must therefore take FREN 302, FREN 331 , FREN 332 or FREN 333 while at Victoria University of Wellington. If you took an overseas course as a substitute for FREN 202 you will need to complete FREN 301 in addition on your return.
French programme student exchange coordinator
