German
Head of the Department: Mara R. Wade
Director of Graduate Studies: Carl Niekerk
2090 Foreign Languages Building
707 South Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801
E-mail: mwade@illinois.edu or germanic@illinois.edu
Major: German
Degrees Offered: M.A., Ph.D.
Graduate Concentration: Medieval Studies (available to all degrees)
Graduate Degree Programs
The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in German, and Doctor of Philosophy in German. Students in the department may choose an additional specialization in Cultural Studies and Interpretive Research or a concentration in Medieval Studies. Candidates for the Ph.D. in German may additionally obtain a certificate in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE Certificate).
Admission
Applicants should apply online (www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/apply/) and submit a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation and a sample of their written work in English or German or both. For admission to the Master of Arts program, the writing sample might be a term paper, and for admission to the doctoral level, a master's thesis or seminar paper. Original transcripts (with English translations if applicable) showing all undergraduate and graduate work completed should be sent to SLCL Graduate Student Services, 3070 Foreign Languages Bldg., 707 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required. The applicant should ask the ETS to submit scores to institution 1836. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and must score at least 79 on the internet-based test (iBT); they must also pass the speaking sub-section of the iBT with a minimum score of 24 (see www.grad.illinois.edu/Admissions/instructions/04c).
Degree Requirements
*For additional details and requirements refer to the department's Website and the Graduate College Handbook.
Master of Arts
| Required Courses: | Thesis option - Required Hours | Non-thesis option - Required Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GER 510 | 4 | 4 |
| GER 515 or 520 | 4 | 4 |
| A 500 level course (not including GER 593) in German literature before 1800 | 4 | 4 |
| A 500 level course (not including GER 593) in German literature after 1800 | 4 | 4 |
| Electives within or outside of the department with advisor's approval | 0-16 | 16 |
| Language Requirement: proficiency in reading one language other than English and German. | ||
| Thesis Hours Required – GER 599 (min/max applied toward degree): | 0-16 | |
| Total Hours | 32 | 32 |
Minimum Hours Overall Required Within the Unit: |
24 | 24 |
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall: |
12 | 12 |
| Other Requirements:* | ||
| Deficiencies in undergraduate preparation may necessitate more than 32 graduate hours to meet the requirements | ||
| Written and oral examinations | ||
| Minimum GPA: | 3.0 | 3.0 |
Applicants should have completed undergraduate studies similar to the concentration in German at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, have a grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) for the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework, and be able to follow lectures in the German language. Acquaintance with German history and culture in their relation to the general European background is desirable. Admission to the program is on a competitive basis.
Candidates for the Master of Arts degree may emphasize either German literature or linguistics. All candidates must take courses in both literature and linguistics.
Doctor of Philosophy
| Required Courses: | Required Hours |
|---|---|
| One course in German or Scandinavian literature before 1500 | 4 |
| One course in German literature since 1500 | 4 |
| One course in German, Germanic, or Scandinavian linguistics | 4 |
| GER 582 | 4 |
| GER 515 and 520 (unless completed during masters) | 0-8 |
| Course work electives at the 500 level | To total 40 |
| Research in Special Topics, GER 593 (min/max hours applied toward degree): | max 4 |
| Language Requirement: a reading knowledge of two research languages other than English and German | |
| Thesis Hours Required – GER 599 (min/max applied toward degree): | 12-32 |
| Total Hours | 72 |
Minimum Hours Required in the Unit: |
32 (not including GER 599) |
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall: |
72 |
| Other Requirements:* | |
| Credit in GER 496 will not count toward degree requirements | |
| Teaching of elementary or intermediate German (at least one half-time appointment as teaching assistant for one academic year). | |
| Minimum GPA: | 3.0 |
| Masters Degree Required for Admission to PhD? | Yes |
| Preliminary Exam Required | No |
| Final Exam/Dissertation Defense Required | Yes |
| Dissertation Deposit Required | Yes |
Applicants must meet the admission standards outlined for the Master of Arts and, in addition, hold a Master of Arts in German (or equivalent) with a graduate grade point average of 3.5 (A = 4.0). Admission to the program is on a competitive basis.
Candidates for the Ph.D. in German may specialize in older German literature, modern German literature, Germanic linguistics, or Scandinavian literature.
Students working toward the Ph.D. degree must have completed all requirements for the Master of Arts degree given above and must complete an additional 40 graduate hours of coursework approved by the graduate adviser. At least 32 graduate hours must be for courses in Germanic Languages and Literatures. No more than 8 hours of credit in 400 level courses beyond those presented for the M.A. will be counted toward these ten units. The 40 hours may include up to 4 hours of Ger 593 "Research in Special Topics,' but may not include any credit for GER 496 'Special Topics in German Studies' for work taken as independent study. Residence requirements are those of the Graduate College.
Graduate Teaching Experience
Although teaching is not a general Graduate College requirement, experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate experience in this program, and all students teach. Non-native English speakers must first pass a test of their oral English ability (see www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/taengprof.htm).
Research Interests
The department faculty includes nationally and internationally recognized scholars in all areas of research within the field. These areas include older and modern German literature, Scandinavian literature, comparative literature, medieval studies, Renaissance studies, gender and women's studies, film, American-German relations, historical and synchronic Germanic linguistics, German civilization, and German language pedagogy. The University Library has one of the nation's outstanding collections of works pertaining to study and research in Germanic literatures of all periods and in Germanic and general linguistics.
Financial Aid
All students accepted into the program have financial support, usually in the form of a Teaching Assistantship (see www.grad.illinois.edu/admissions/taengprof.htm).
Generally, the department selects one student annually to study for a year at the University of Gottingen with an assistantship there; and one graduate student to serve as administrative assistant to the program director in the Austria-Illinois Exchange Program in Vienna. The stipends for these fellowships and assistantships are comparable to those for students serving in the department as half-time assistants. The department further has contacts with a variety of universities and institutions in German-speaking countries; these cooperative endeavors also include arrangements for graduate students to study and teach abroad.
For continuing graduate students, the awarding of financial aid of all types is contingent upon making satisfactory progress toward a degree.