The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

German, B.A.

German is one of the major world languages and has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union. It is also one of the ten most commonly spoken languages in the world and the second most commonly used scientific language. German books make up a fifth of the world’s published books. Germany is an economic powerhouse. It is the world’s second largest exporter, and ranks number one in Europe and number four globally. Germany hosts numerous international corporations and the economic relationship between Germany and the United States thrives with over ten billion dollars of direct investment by Germany in the US.

Enjoy learning this rich language, often called the language of thinkers: many of the world’s most important works of literature, art history, theology, psychology, physics, chemistry, engineering, medicine and philosophy were written in German. Come meet Beethoven, Freud, Marx, Mozart, Nietzsche, Goethe and many of the other Great Germans. German is also fun to learn. The language is very similar to English. Consider that “Haus” is “house,” “Finger” is “finger,” and “Hand” is “hand.” Learning German will make travel to Germany so much more rewarding. Germany is one of the top travel destinations of the world, and you will enjoy ordering your beer and pretzel at Oktoberfest or eating black forest cake in a small cafe on the streets of Freiburg. Take advantage of our study abroad opportunities in Germany and other German speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland.

German, B.A. at a Glance

A Major in German consists of 31 credits above the elementary language level. Students complete 12 credit hours of core language courses at the intermediate (2000) and advanced (3000) level. Students take a core course GERM 1502 on German and German-Speaking Cultures. Furthermore, students take 6 credit hours of elective courses at the 3000 level, 9 credit hours of elective courses at the 4000 level. A 1 credit hour Senior Seminar completes the Major.