The French Department is committed to helping graduates secure employment and it provides support and preparation in a variety of ways. Throughout the year the Chair and Head Graduate Advisor host a series of job market meetings, which are intended to demystify the job-search process. Meeting topics include: how to prepare for the market over the summer; an overview of the job search process; writing a job letter; crafting a writing sample; preparing a syllabus; composing a curriculum vitae (CV); what to expect at MLA and on-campus interviews; negotiating a job offer. Faculty (even those not on your dissertation committee) will, at your request, review and comment on drafts of job letters, CVs, teaching statements, and writing samples. Copies of these materials from recent graduates are also available in the French Graduate Office, so students can see what an effective cover letter, CV, teaching statement, etc. look like.

Students also prepare for the job market by participating in mock interviews, mock job talks, and dissertation panels. These panels are intended to help job-seekers practice and refine the very short version (5-10 minutes maximum) of their dissertation description, which they need to have at the ready as they proceed through the job-search process. The panelists’ aim is to clearly articulate the What and the Why, i.e. what their dissertation argues and why it is significant (not just significant to scholars in their area of specialty, but to scholars in the field of French literature generally). The Department’s works-in-progress series also gives advanced students the opportunity to present their research in more detail.

GSI Teaching and Resource Center
This Center provides pedagogical support for Graduate Student Instructors, including workshops and individual consultations on composing a teaching statement and teaching portfolio, items that are increasingly required in one’s job application materials. The Center also offers workshops on syllabus and course design, a wide variety of teaching issues, and the academic job search.

Summer Institute for Preparing Future Faculty
Each year the Graduate Division sponsors this institute, which is designed to enable graduate students to excel in all aspects of academic life as they pursue an advanced degree at Berkeley and transition from graduate school to future academic careers. Courses include “From Graduate Study to Faculty Member”; ‘Editing, Academic Writing, and Academic Editing”; and “Developing a Teaching Portfolio.”

Documented since 2009, our PhD graduates have received employment offers at the following institutions:

Employment Offer – Position Type – Position Start Date

Amherst College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2025
Case Western Reserve University, Assistant Professor, Spring 2023
Northwestern University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2023
Duke University, Postdoctoral Associate, Fall 2023
Vassar College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2023
Georgetown College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Summer 2023
University of Pennsylvania, Assistant Professor, Fall 2022
Lehigh University, Assistant Professor, Summer 2021
Georgetown College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2021
Emory College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2021
Williams College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2021
EDC Paris Business School, Professor and Director of Language Learning, Fall 2021
Maynooth University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2020
Queen’s University Belfast, Lecturer, Fall 2019
Reed College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2019
University of California Berkeley, Lecturer, Fall 2019
University of California, Santa Barbara, Summer 2019
College of William and Mary, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2018
Columbia University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2018
Davidson College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2018
Skidmore College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2018
UC Santa Barbara, Lecturer, Fall 2018
University of Tabriz, Assistant Professor, Fall 2017
University of California Davis, Lecturer, Fall 2017
University of Utah, Assistant Professor, Summer 2017
Austin College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2016
San Francisco State University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2016
University of Georgia, Assistant Professor, Fall 2016
University of the Pacific, Lecturer, Fall 2016
University of California, Berkeley, Lecturer, Fall 2016
University of California, Berkeley, Lecturer, Spring 2016
University of Minnesota, Visiting Professor, Spring 2016
Northern Illinois University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2015
Northern Illinois University, Associate Professor, Summer 2015
Skidmore College, Assistant Professor, Spring 2015
Rhodes College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2014
San Francisco State University, Associate Professor, Fall 2014
George Mason University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2014
Pomona College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2014
St. Olaf College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2014
St. Olaf College, Associate Professor, Spring 2014
Grinnell College, Visiting Instructor, Fall 2013
Hamilton College, Visiting Instructor, Fall 2013
Reed College, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall 2013
George Mason University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2013
St. Olaf College, Associate Professor, Fall 2013
University of Washington, Assistant Professor, Fall 2013
University of Richmond, Assistant Professor, Fall 2012
University of Wisconsin Madison, Assistant Professor, Fall 2011
University of Wisconsin Madison, Assistant Professor, Spring 2011
Middlebury College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2010
Pomona College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2010
University of Texas at El Paso, Assistant Professor, Fall 2010
University of Melbourne (Australia), Senior Lecturer, Fall 2010
Macalester College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009
University of Texas at San Antonio, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009
Scripps College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009
Auburn University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009
Georgian Court University, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009
University of South Carolina Upstate, Professor, Fall 2009
Dickinson College, Assistant Professor, Fall 2009

Non-Academic Placements
University of California, San Francisco, Program Director and Adjunct Assistant Professor
University of Calfornia, Berkeley, Center for Teaching and Learning, Equitable Assessment Consultant
Natural Language Processing and Prompt Engineering tech startup (Writer), Senior Analytical Linguist
Salesian High School, High School Teacher
Salesian High School, High School Teacher
AI-Powered AWS FinOps Platform (nOps.io), Content Marketing
Germantown Academy, Teacher
Accent Global, Paris, Senior Academic Programs Coordinator
August Uncommon Tea, Cofounder and Chief Creative Officer 
Bellese Technologies, Senior Human-Centered Design Researcher
Alliance française de Berkeley, teacher 
Polyglottist Language Academy, Director
Ghent, Belgium​​​​​​​, Photographer