Formatted version

Los Angeles: Departments and Programs

Family Medicine
There is no history currently available for this department.

Film, Television and Digital Media
There is no history currently available for this department.

Folklore and Mythology Program
There is no history currently available for this program.

French and Francophone Studies
Instruction in the French language and literature began with the founding of the Southern Branch of the University in a small Department of Romanic Languages, which included French and Spanish. There were two staff members in the French section of this department, offering a total of three courses. On July 1, 1924, a separate Department of French came into existence with a total staff of eight members. It offered eight lower division and nine upper division courses. The department offered its first graduate work in 1935-36 with a total of four graduate courses. There were 12 regular staff members in the department, eight lower division courses, 11 upper division courses, and one professional course in teacher training. In that year, three M.A. degrees were awarded. Since 1935, a total of 117 M.A. degrees were awarded. Until 1957 the Ph.D. program in French was administered within an interdepartmental framework of Romance languages and literatures. The department granted its first Ph.D. degree in 1941 to the late Horace S. Craig for a thesis on "Sainte-Beuve--A study in the formation of his critical mind." From 1941 through the mid-1960's the department granted a total of 39 Ph.D. degrees in Romance languages with specialization in French or in French language and literature.

By the mid-1960s, there were many developments of importance in the work of the department, including the complete reorganization of lower division instruction, initiated on a progressive basis in 1961. The de Sauzé multiple-approach method was introduced at that time with the result that student proficiency in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing greatly increased.

At the graduate level, a program of Franco-African literature was introduced in 1962 as part of a general program to expand studies in French language and literature on a world-wide basis. Two National Defense Education Act fellowships with supporting funds were granted the department in partial subsidy for this new development.

Teacher training in French expanded after 1961 to meet the requirements of the California Language Law of 1965. A curriculum for teacher training was developed in 1964 to train teachers at the elementary school level. This program was conducted in conjunction with a Demonstration School of French for children administered by University Extension. As of 1964-65, the staff of the department included 30 regular members and 40 teaching assistants. Visiting appointments of eminent specialists from French universities became a regular feature of the department's program. In 1964-65, the department offered ten lower division, 24 upper division, 20 graduate courses and two courses in professional methodology for teachers. By the mid-1960s, the department had some 2,460 students, including about 150 majors and 125 graduate students. source

Copyright © 1999-2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Last updated 06/18/04.