Objectives

This award-winning part-time certificate program has been designed to enable students to master, in both oral and written French, the linguistic and communicative skills necessary to function effectively in a professional francophone environment.

The program is the equivalent of one year of full-time university studies, requires the completion of ten 3-credit courses, and starts at the low-intermediate level (courses CEFN 211 Functional French Grammar/Writing 1. and CEFN 212 French Communication Practice 1.). Students with a basic or an elementary knowledge of French will need to complete credit prerequisite courses before entering the program. Those credit courses won't be accepted as part of the Certificate. The overall program structure is divided into two modules:

1. The Preparatory Module comprises four prerequisite courses (one at the basic level and three at the elementary level) of 39 hours each.
2. The Intermediate and Advanced Credit Module consists of ten 3-credit courses of 39 hours each. It includes courses at the 200, 300, and 400 levels.

The program is offered three times a year: in Fall and Winter for a period of 13 weeks (Preparatory and Intermediate and Advanced Credit Modules). In Spring, both Modules last nine weeks. Courses are offered during the evening and on Saturday mornings.

Every student registered in a credit or non-credit course has exclusive access to online pedagogical material and other resources through the myCourses platform. This allows students to participate in virtual projects and/or reinforce their language training on an individual basis and at their own pace. The communication tools integrated in myCourses further consolidate the individual pedagogical support offered by the lecturer.

The program leads, under certain conditions, to the Certificate in Proficiency - French for Professional Communication (see "Academic Regulations"). The level of this certificate corresponds to the Advanced Level recognized by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Courses

Number	Title	Prerequisites	Available Times
			Spring/Summer 2025	Fall 2025	Winter 2026	Spring/Summer 2026
Prerequisite courses
CEFN 102	Basic French	Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	MON	SAT SAT MON MON
CEFN 104	Elementary French	CEFN 102 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	WED	WED THU
CEFN 106	Fundamentals of French Grammar / Writing	CEFN 104 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	TUE TUE	SAT MON MON
CEFN 107	Fundamentals of French Oral Communicatio ...	CEFN 106 OR CEFN 104 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	WED WED	SAT WED WED
10 Required courses - Intermediate and Advanced (30 credits)*
CEFN 211	Functional French Grammar/Writing 1	CEFN 106 AND CEFN 107 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	WED THU	MON WED
CEFN 212	French Communication Practice 1	CEFN 106 AND CEFN 107 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	SAT TUE	SAT TUE
CEFN 221	Functional French Grammar/Writing 2	CEFN 211 AND CEFN 212 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	WED THU	MON WED
CEFN 222	French Communication Practice 2	CEFN 211 AND CEFN 212 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	SAT TUE	SAT TUE TUE
CEFN 331	Functional French Grammar/Writing 3	CEFN 221 AND CEFN 222 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	TUE	MON TUE
CEFN 332	French Communication Practice 3	CEFN 221 AND CEFN 222 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	MON	WED THU
CEFN 411	French Grammar and Writing Techniques	CEFN 331 AND CEFN 332 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	TUE	MON TUE
CEFN 412	French Oral Communication Techniques	CEFN 331 AND CEFN 332 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	WED	WED THU
CEFN 421	French Written Communication Contexts	CEFN 411 AND CEFN 412 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	TUE
CEFN 422	French Oral Communication Contexts	CEFN 411 AND CEFN 412 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director		MON
Complementary Courses (authorized substitutions - if applicable):
CEFN 401	French Vocabulary in Context	CEFN 331 AND CEFN 332 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director		WED
CEFN 402	Persuasive French in Communication	CEFN 331 AND CEFN 332 OR Entrance Placement Test OR Permission of the Director	THU
Notes:
* 1. Students who begin their studies with courses CEFN 221 Functional French Grammar/Writing 2./CEFN 222 French Communication Practice 2. and who would like to be admitted to the Certificate of Proficiency - French for Professional Communication must take two complementary courses (CEFN 401 French Vocabulary in Context. and CEFN 402 Persuasive French in Communication.), or equivalent courses as approved by the Language and Intercultural Communication unit, to satisfy the requirements of the program. These courses may be taken as part of the advanced module of the program. For more information, please contact the academic unit.
* 2. Students who begin their studies with courses CEFN 331 Functional French Grammar/Writing 3./CEFN 332 French Communication Practice 3. and who would like to be admitted to the Certificate of Proficiency - French for Professional Communication must take up to two Comprehensive Challenge Exams (note: Challenge Exams are no longer offered) which correspond to the previous level (CEFN 221 Functional French Grammar/Writing 2./CEFN 222 French Communication Practice 2.), and two complementary courses (CEFN 401 French Vocabulary in Context. and CEFN 402 Persuasive French in Communication.), or equivalent courses as approved by the Language and Intercultural Communication unit, in order to satisfy the requirements of the program. These courses may be taken as part of the advanced module of the program. For more information, please contact the academic unit. THE ABOVE CHALLENGE EXAMS ARE NO LONGER OFFERED.
* 3. Students who begin their studies with courses CEFN 411 French Grammar/Writing Techniques./CEFN 412 French Oral Communication Techniques. are not eligible for admission to the Certificate of Proficiency - French for Professional Communication. However, these students may register as Special Students and may be eligible to receive the McGill Attestation of Proficiency in French if they successfully complete all four (4) courses of the Advanced Module (CEFN 411 French Grammar/Writing Techniques. CEFN 412 French Oral Communication Techniques., CEFN 421 French Written Communication Contexts., and CEFN 422 French Oral Communication Contexts.) with a minimum grade of B- (65%).
The above Challenge Exams mentioned in number 2 above are no longer offered.