MA, German

Degree Program Summary:

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies offers the MA degree with a concentration in German literature or linguistics, thesis or non-thesis option. Requirements for the degree are 30 credit hours of coursework, (33 credit hours for the non-thesis option), a thesis, a final examination and a reading examination (or a grade of B in a course at the 2002 level or higher) in a modern foreign language besides German. In addition to comprehensive training in the discipline, the department also provides candidates the opportunity to develop elementary and intermediate language teaching skills while serving as teaching assistants. A full description of the program and the requirements may be obtained at the departmental website or by contacting the graduate coordinator.

The German studies major is designed to provide students with communicative proficiency in the German language and competency in the interpretation of German culture. Following the completion of basic requirements, the program offers optimal flexibility to the individual student who can choose from a variety of courses and, under the guidance of a faculty mentor, devise a curriculum geared towards his or her specific career goals and intellectual interests. The department is comprised of specialists in the major areas of German studies who integrate language teaching with the teaching of German literature, linguistics, film, and culture studies as well as important aspects of contemporary German society, business, and politics.

The study of German in the United States has undergone significant changes in recent years and the German program at the University of Georgia reflects those changes by offering intermediate and advanced German courses that cover broad subject areas but generally are not literary survey or genre courses. Instead, the focus of a course may be a specific issue or a topic that students learn to investigate in depth or from a particular perspective. Through such courses students acquire the critical tools to undertake independent inquiries into the field of German and form their own questions about cultural specificity and difference. While either German literature or linguistics constitutes the core of these courses, they are frequently interdisciplinary and include materials and methods from other fields such as history, music, film, philosophy, art history, and sociology.