The French Interdisciplinary Group (FIG) was founded in 1996. It organizes presentations, seminars, and colloquia on French or francophone studies, on French scholarship, and presentations by French visitors in all disciplines, from the humanities to the sciences. It offers two regular speakers’ series, the Causeries, for undergraduates, and the Cafés Philosophiques, organized by and for graduate students.

FIG also supports graduate student research by providing small summer grants, making possible exploratory investigation of dissertation topics in libraries and archives in France or other francophone countries, or by learning French or perfecting one’s French for research purposes in France or another francophone country.

FIG attaches particular importance to forming partnerships in faculty research and graduate education with French institutions of higher education, notably Sciences Po, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), the École Normale Supérieure, and the École Normale Supérieure-Lettres et Sciences Humaines (Lyon).

FIG Affiliates include over 50 faculty members and as many Graduate Affiliates from every school of the university, and from most departments of the Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences. FIG is associated with the Center for International and Comparative Studies, with which it works closely to promote the internationalization of education and scholarship at Northwestern.