The University's first professor of French was hired during its second year of operation in 1910. For the next five decades the department remained relatively small and concentrated on first and second year classes which filled the second language requirement for a B.A. degree. The department opened on of the first language labs in Canada in 1959. With the introduction of Spanish Studies in 1964, the name was changed to the Department of French and Spanish. In 1968 the second language requirement was dropped from the B.A. degree and class enrolment was halved. The department overhauled its policies and programs by shifting emphasis to oral work at all levels. In 1989, Spanish came under the administration of the newly created Department of Modern Languages and French became an independent department. In 1998 the Department of Modern Languages was amalgamated with the Department of French and the College of Arts and Science's program in linguistics to form the Department of Languages and Linguistics.

?The following served as the head of the Department of French (1910-1964): J.A. MacDonald (1910-1939); M. Cameron (1939-1960); B. Bujila (1960-1964). The following served as head of Department of French and Spanish (1964-1989): B. Bujila (1964- 1965); R.S. Ridgway (1965-1976); M. Black (1976-1983); D.J. Bond (1983-1985); C.T. Wittlin (1985-1989). The following served as the head of the Department of French (1989-1998): C.T. Wittlin (1989-1991); J. Julien (1991-1998).