French and Philosophy

French and Philosophy is a combination that places you at the intersection of two of the most influential traditions in European intellectual life. French is not just the language of France but of a vast Francophone world spanning sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, the Caribbean, and Quebec, and it is the language of a literary and philosophical tradition of extraordinary richness, from Descartes, Rousseau, and Voltaire through Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, and Derrida. Philosophy provides the analytical and conceptual tools to engage with those traditions and with the fundamental questions about knowledge, existence, ethics, and value that they address.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year, full-time MA programme develops your French to a high level of proficiency across all four skills, engaging you with French and Francophone literature, culture, history, and contemporary life. Alongside this, you will study philosophy in depth, developing the rigorous analytical and argumentative skills the discipline demands. The combination is unusually productive: your philosophical training deepens your engagement with the French intellectual tradition, while your immersion in French culture enriches your understanding of how philosophy is lived and contested within real societies.

A year abroad is included, giving you the opportunity to study or live in a French-speaking country and to develop your language through immersive experience.

Graduates of French and philosophy programmes go on to careers in education, translation and interpreting, publishing, journalism, the civil service, international organisations, law, and the cultural sector. The combination of linguistic competence and philosophical rigour is valuable in any role that requires clear thinking, persuasive communication, and engagement with complex ideas. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in French, philosophy, linguistics, or ethics.