Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Graduate program

Applications for admission in Fall 2024 are currently open. Deadline for applications and supporting materials: January 15th, 2024

Key features

  • Core curriculum across language areas
  • Broad opportunities for interdisciplinary research

  • Proficiency in target language plus additional language

  • Professionalization workshops

  • Training in second language acquisition
  • Training for academic and non-academic jobs

There are five specializations available:

French and Francophone Studies

Our French graduate program provides a broad set of advanced research and communication skills. Gain specialized knowledge in the following areas: French Literatures (XVII to XX), Postcolonial Literatures, Quebecois and Franco-Canadian Literatures, Comparative Literature, Travel Writing, Gender studies, Film, Theatre, Visual Arts, French Linguistics, Sociolinguistics and Second-Language Teaching. Develop cultural knowledge and global awareness of Africa, Asia, Canada, the Caribbean, and France via intercultural and interdisciplinary perspectives, and studies in theoretical approaches. You'll write your theses and dissertations in French.

 

Etudes françaises et francophones

Notre programme en études françaises et francophones vise à donner aux étudiants de meilleurs outils de communication et de spécialisation dans les domaines suivants : littératures françaises (du XVII au XXe siècles), littérature postcoloniale, littérature québécoise et franco-canadienne hors Québec, littérature comparée, littératures de voyage, études du genre, cinéma, théâtre, arts visuels, linguistique française, sociolinguistique et didactique des langues. Ces différentes perspectives interdisciplinaires et interculturelles, ainsi que des approches théoriques et critiques ouvrent les étudiants aux connaissances approfondies sur l’Afrique, l’Asie, le Canada, les Caraïbes et la France. Nos étudiants rédigent leurs mémoires et thèses en français.

German is studied most productively with interdisciplinary, international or intercultural goals in mind. To study German here in North America means looking in from the outside. To study German in the 21st century means linking it to issues and concerns relevant to other cultures, languages, histories and modes of thinking. Gain specialized knowledge in the following areas: German intellectual history, German literature, German and Central European film, antisemitism, the Holocaust, the GDR, 18th- and 19th-century European literature, the acquisition of German as a second language, and German phonetics and phonology. We encourage research in German in conjunction with Education, English, Film, Fine Arts, French, History, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy and Spanish.

We embrace a vast range of subjects and theoretical approaches, and share a strong interdisciplinary focus. Research cinemas of the Hispanic world, musical expressions in Hispanic cultures, language heritage and identity, exile literature, Sephardic and gender studies, performance studies, and textual criticism. Enjoy exceptional opportunities to deepen your knowledge, increase your intercultural competencies and prepare for careers in academia and many other fields.

The specialization in Transcultural Studies investigates the complexity and interaction of modern cultures that are represented in the linguistic and geographical areas studied by faculty in the Linguistics, Languages and Cultures, as well as French, Italian and Spanish programs. Projects and courses in this specialization may address cultural works from the geographic areas where Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish are spoken.

Cultures cannot be considered separate satellites; the known and the foreign are blurred, such that transcultural becomes a more accurate term for the analysis of complex cultures than inter- or cross-cultural.

The Applied Linguistics specialization incorporates projects that may or may not be connected to one language only, and focuses on language acquisition, language learning and teaching, and sociolinguistics. You can choose to undertake experimental studies in any of these areas and in any of the languages taught in the School.

MA and PhD programs

We offer a course of studies that invites cross-cultural and linguistic initiatives. Develop skills and deepen investigation into an interest area of your choice.

Study texts and visual media from French, Spanish and German-language communities in an international context. Perform comparative research across these or other cultural traditions represented in our school. Or pursue applied linguistics research in any of these languages.

You'll benefit from the small size of our program. Enjoy personal attention from professors in an open, collegial atmosphere. We provide funding to all students admitted to the thesis-based MA and the Ph.D.

MA students may expect financial support during the first 20 months of their program. Ph.D. students may expect financial support for the first 44 months of their program. Funding levels depend on students making reasonable progress toward completion of their degree.

Want to know who's in the program? Meet our current grad students

Admission requirements

All applicants must meet the minimum entrance requirements set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Specific program admission requirements may be found at the individual program pages below.

Curious about fees and funding? Explore types of financial support

Languages, Literatures and Cultures


Graduate Program Advisor

Federica Gowen
403.220.4001
artsgradsc@ucalgary.ca 

Graduate Program Director

Elena Bratishenko
403.220.8109
bratishe@ucalgary.ca