The Department of French Studies works together with the Center for French and Francophone Studies, an independent but closely allied unit, to put the Louisiana State University French program at the forefront of study of French and Francophone literatures, language, and cultures. In recognition of this, the French Embassy to the United States has designated the CFFS as a centre d'excellence, an honor given to only 15 university French programs in the United States. 

The French language and culture, in both its Cajun and Creole aspects, is central to the life of Louisiana. The French program offered by the Louisiana State University is committed to increasing public awareness and appreciation of the state’s French and Francophone heritage in four primary ways: 

• by the Center for French and Francophone Studies, which supports international scholars working with the extensive holdings of the Hill Memorial Library, and sponsors international and bilingual colloquia on Franco-Louisiana history; 
• by the National Science Foundation-funded research of Sylvie Dubois and her team of graduate students, who have developed a massive computerized database of Cajun French; 
• by the online journal, edited by Alexandre Leupin, Mondes Francophones; and 
• by offering an undergraduate Cajun Studies program leading to a minor in Cajun French. 

The program offers student and faculty exchange programs with the Université de Poitiers, the Université de Limoges, the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, and the Aix-Marseille Université. -