Why Choose Nazareth for French?

The French degree program at Nazareth University is an immersive experience of language study, culture and literature, trips to Montreal, cooking Breton-style dinners, and a year in Rennes, France.

At the heart of the program is La Maison Française, a residential hall for 13 students interested in learning the language and the Francophone culture, and a cultural meeting place for Le Cercle Français (the French Club), for L' Alliance Française de Rochester, and for the Francophiles in the Rochester community. Movies, dinners, lectures, theatrical readings, and exhibits are held there regularly to enrich the student experience.

Over the past 10 years, several Nazareth students have received tutorial scholarships or teaching assistantships in Vitré, France.

Program Highlights

  • Our degree program offers an academic year in Rennes, France in affiliation with the Université de Haute-Bretagne. (Study abroad is required of all foreign language majors.)
  • Ninety percent of our students are accepted to graduate school.
  • Award-winning faculty; small classes.
  • Many opportunities for meaningful cultural exchanges between the United States and French-speaking countries.
  • Develop and practice translation skills with migrant families from French-speaking countries who gather at a center for refugees in Rochester.

Program Details

Eric Disbro, almnus of the French language degree at Nazareth College

Alumni Spotlight: Eric Disbro '16

Eric Disbro ‘16 is excited to go into a five-year master’s and Ph.D. program in French and Francophone Studies at Penn State with the cost covered and a paid graduate student instructorship teaching French. “I’m interested in how French art portrays women or people of color and how that portrayal affects the culture in other Francophone countries,” said Disbro, who spent sophomore year studying in Rennes, France. His interests were reflected in his triple major at Nazareth — French, Spanish, and art history — plus a minor in women and gender studies. “I would love to be a professor — teaching, researching, and writing.”

Example Careers

  • Translator
  • ESL teacher
  • Bilingual professional
  • Historian
  • Tour guide
  • Foreign Service professional

Internships/Field Experiences

  • Diwan School, Rennes, France
  • Association Les petits Bilingues, Rennes, France
  • Institut Franco-Americain, Rennes, France
  • U.S. Consulate for Western France, Rennes, France
  • English Teaching Assistantship, France

Graduate Schools/Employers

  • U.S. State Department
  • Bausch & Lomb
  • New York University
  • Institute of French Studies
  • LISAA School of Design, Paris/Rennes
  • U.S. Department of Defense