19 German Course Programs in USA

Wabash College understands that learning German is one avenue of many for understanding and interacting with the world, its peoples, and its histories. The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures prepares students for citizenship in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual global community, promoting proficiency in the German language as one avenue to expand knowledge of cultures and literatures in a pluralistic world. Proficient and engaged faculty work with students to provide a greater understanding of world affairs through the lifestyles, traditions, achievements, and culture of Germany.

A student majoring in German studies must complete nine units beyond the level of German 202, including GR305 (Composition, Conversation, and Context), GR416 (Senior Project), and seven additional elective courses. Students will work closely with their major advisor to develop a course of study that addresses their interests. Elective courses must be approved by the major advisor. Three of the elective courses may be German courses offered in translation at the 200 level, or courses in other disciplines that have a thematic focus on German Studies. GR 120 and 121 (offered only through the study abroad program in Lüneburg) may substitute for two of these electives. The remaining four electives must be fulfilled by German courses above the level of GR305 in which all work is completed in the German language.

German Studies at Whitman helps students develop the critical skills to be informed global citizens through the study of German language and the literature, culture, and history of the German-speaking world from a variety of academic perspectives. German language and culture are often thought to be homogeneous, and the canonical literature and thinkers taught in many German Studies programs reproduce this image. Whitman’s German Studies Department is committed to representing German languages and cultures in their diversity by introducing students to authors and thinkers whose different identities regarding their race, sex, gender, and class often contribute to their exclusion from the field. Students will also learn to read canonical texts and cultural products critically with regard to their elisions and appropriations of marginalized peoples and voices. German Studies courses bring German-language texts and artworks into dialogue with the challenges and priorities we find in our local and contemporary communities. We strive to understand how we can better make sense of our global and local problems by studying German texts, thought, and art.

Students begin to learn German through listening, speaking, reading, and writing about situations familiar to us including our personal biographies, families, daily life, studies, travels, and hobbies. Regular writing assignments help students to learn vocabulary, check spelling, and form thoughts with German sentence structure. Regular speaking activities aid in acquiring accurate pronunciation and listening skills. By the end of the semester, students will feel comfortable conversing in German about a wide range of topics relating to everyday life, including yourself and your family, your studies, clothing, weather, and living.

As a German Studies major or minor, you will become fluent in German language, literature and culture. You will study across disciplines, learning about German history, literature, fine arts, music, cinema, international relations and architecture. Expand your studies through associated humanities and social sciences courses. Become well-versed in everything from philosophers Nietzsche and Marx and the writings of Rilke and Kafka to WWII and the Holocaust and European Union issues.

The German department offers courses in the language, literature, and culture of the German-speaking countries of Europe. The program is designed for students who wish to become literate in the language and culture, comprehend the relationship between the language and culture, and gain a better understanding of their own culture in a global context.

How is it that the culture of German-speaking Europe has so profoundly influenced and shaped Western civilization—and especially the culture of the United States—through the centuries and into today? The Department of German Studies and Italian Studies provides the opportunity for students to explore such questions and others in its language, literature and culture courses. Students encounter a culture of “poets and thinkers” (as well as scientists, engineers, artists, and some admittedly unsavory characters), and have the opportunity to experience German language and culture firsthand through Smith’s own study abroad program in Hamburg, Germany.

Majors will become proficient in the German language, gain knowledge of German-speaking literature, culture, and history, and engage in the critical analysis of those traditions. To receive honors, a student must at the time of graduation have an overall GPA of 3.2 or better, have a 3.5 average in all courses counted toward the major, have fulfilled all the requirements for the major, and the department must judge the thesis (written for German 495) and its defense worthy of honors. In the case of an exceptional academic record, together with a thesis of the highest quality, the department may confer high honors.

German helps students understand themselves as participants in their own culture & to also understand U.S. history & culture. The German minor program enriches students’ academic and career opportunities by providing them with skills that complement many majors at SSU. German helps students understand themselves as participants in their own culture.

The German department at Dickinson distinguishes itself through its high level of contact with current German society and faculty interests in a large spectrum of topics and periods. We crafted our curriculum to expose students to the diversity of the German-speaking world while also supporting students’ acquisition of the German language. Our curriculum is based on the principle that students come to German-speaking cultures with a variety of academic interests and goals. Our students demand an education that supports their language skills, and we task ourselves to do so within the mission of the liberal arts.

The German language is the most widely spoken across Europe. Learning the language can connect you to millions of native speakers across the globe.

We offer a broadly conceived German studies program which encourages a comparative study of the German language and culture through its linguistic and literary history, systems of thought, institutions, political configurations, and arts and sciences. Course offerings serve students with particular interests in German literature, literary theory and criticism as well as those interested in studying German and German-speaking cultures from the perspective of communication arts, film, history, history of ideas, history of art and architecture, history of religion, institutions, linguistics, mass media, philosophy, politics, urban anthropology, and folklore. Majors choose between a literature concentration or a German studies concentration, and thorough knowledge of German is a common goal for both.

The Department of German at Williams College offers an integrated approach to the study of language, literature, and culture. Our curriculum offers students the opportunity to explore German-speaking Europe’s extraordinarily rich cultural tradition, one that has thoroughly influenced many fields ranging from philosophy to music, theatre, art history, linguistics, history, psychology and sociology. Today, Germany is one of the leading countries in the European Union, and all three German-speaking countries are actively engaged with the exciting new heterogeneity of Europe.

Highlight your skills and drive with a minor German from the University of Mount Union. This program complements a number of other majors and prepares you to work in an international field. Seize the unique opportunity to learn the language, history and literature through our German program at the University of Mount Union.

Interdisciplinary in nature, the academic field known as German studies combines the close study of texts and media with broad humanistic inquiry into the foundations and structures of culture and society. As the world faces growing political uncertainty, socio-economic polarization, and ecological crisis, the ability to think historically and interpret critically has become increasingly important; students can hone this ability by studying the German-speaking countries’ specific historical experiences and the cultural manifestations of those experiences.