GIVE

French Program

For all things French at Columbia College, you are in the right place.

  • Gain a sought-after skill while acquiring a well-rounded liberal arts education.
  • Foreign language study at C2 helps you build your written and oral communication skills in English.
  • Students with 4 or more years of French score significantly higher on standardized tests (like the GRE) with a verbal component because of the estimated 35-40% of English/French shared vocabulary. If you are headed to grad school, consider advanced French studies as an undergraduate to help pave your way and improve your chances of admission.
  • Many graduate programs/degrees require second language competency; start building your skills now if you are considering grad studies in the Humanities. For example, French is the language required in many Art History programs. French theory plays an important role in English Departments.
  • Language study fosters qualities crucial to success in business. Note that French is an official language of United State’s largest trading partner Canada; an important amount of business takes place with companies from French-speaking Quebec.
  • Language study fosters qualities crucial to successful leadership.
  • Employers look for young hires who have taken risks and met significant challenges, like putting “ego” on the line when learning a new language and while studying abroad.
  • French is a practical language, in terms of number of speakers of French worldwide (about 70 million) and in its widespread use as a second language in Europe (neck to neck with German as the most commonly spoken foreign language after English). For more, see Shyrock’s article “French, The Most Practical FL, “ a recent listing of international jobs (9/14/04) distributed by the US State Department: 130 required or preferred French, 57 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 39 Spanish, 5 Arabic, 2 Portuguese, 3 Russian, 3 German, Italian 1, other 5.
  • Enrich your life by experiencing cultural diversity of peoples on 5 continents, their arts, cuisines, fashions and arts de vivre (ways of living).
  • Travel to exotic places. Whether close to home in Caribbean islands or far from the U.S. in French Polynesia, be able to communicate with the locals using French.
  • Impress your friends: be able to answer 2-3 clues a week to the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle because you know French!