As a candidate for honors in French you must have (or expect to have) a 3.5 GPA in French courses and a 3.2 GPA overall by the end of your junior year.

In the spring of your junior year, you must submit to the chair of the department a one-page proposal, written in French, on a topic you have already researched. The proposal includes a working title and a preliminary bibliography with primary and secondary sources.

At the same time you must submit an original writing sample on a topic that will be provided by the chair of the department (maximum: two pages in French; time limit: two hours).

Once you have been approved for honors, you start working on your honors thesis in consultation with your adviser in the fall of your senior year.  If you change thesis topics during the fall of your senior year, you must write a regular thesis rather than an honors thesis.

Roughly one third of your project must be completed by the end of the fall semester.

In the fall semester of your senior year, you take FRE 490 Senior Seminar with other French and Francophone Studies majors, in which you must receive at least a B+. In the spring semester of your senior year you must register for FRE 499, complete your Honors thesis, and submit it to your committee (adviser + two readers) by the April deadline. After necessary revisions, you will have an oral defense in French before your departmental thesis committee in early May. Director and readers vote on whether honors shall be awarded.

Prix du Monde Francophone

Established in 1991, the Prix du Monde Francophone, formerly known as the Le Prix de Français Prize, honors outstanding academic achievement and/or exceptional contributions to the Davidson French and Francophone Studies Program by a senior major. 

2022    Nadia Baye; Ashley Henneberger

2021    Benjamin Yokoyama; Lee Kromer

2020    Isaac Bowlin; Anna Shipp           

2019    Jiuyu (Jules) Xiao; Nina K. Austin

2018    Victoria A. Bonagura; Gwyneth B. Archer

2017    David A. DeGrood; Hannah E. Fuller

2013    Sara Simon

2012    Benjamin H. Ireland

2011    Karen R. Kirk

2010    Emily D. Cetrone

2009    Ali R. Karami Ruiz

2008    Halley M. Aelion

2007    Rachel V. Chabot

2005    Jade Tachie-Menson; Sara I. Jeurling

2001    Ashley K. Scheu

2000    Allison D. Gray

Pi Delta Phi National Honor Society

Pi Delta Phi is the French National Honor Society for undergraduate and graduate students. The Davidson College chapter was founded in April 2010.

As stated on the official Pi Delta Phi website, the purpose of the organization is to:

"The oldest academic honor society for a modern foreign language in the U.S., Pi Delta Phi has more than 350 chapters in the United States and two representative chapters at the American Universities in Paris and Aix-en-Provence in France."

  • Recognize outstanding scholarship in French language and literature
  • Increase knowledge and appreciation of cultural contributions of the French-speaking world
  • Stimulate and encourage French and francophone cultural activities

Interested students should contact chapter moderator Prof. Carole Kruger (cakruger@davidson.edu) regarding membership. For more information on the national organization, visit the Pi Delta Phi website.