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Programs of Study, 1997-1999
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
Head of the Department: Marianne E. Kalinke
Correspondence and Information: Head, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 3072 Foreign Languages Building, 707 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801. E-mail: kalinke@uiuc.edu
GRADUATE FACULTY
Professors: U. H. Gerlach, M. Kalinke, H. Knust, J. M. McGlathery, K.-H. Schoeps
Associate Professors: J. Lalande, M. Wade, R. Wright
Assistant Professors: F. Schwink, A. Tietjen Wright
GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS
The Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of master of arts, master of arts in the teaching of German, and doctor of philosophy.
ADMISSION
Applicants for graduate degree programs are asked to take the Graduate Record Examination and to have their scores reported to the department. Applicants are also asked to submit a sample of their written work (in English or German or both; for admission to the M.A. program, this might be a term paper, and for admission to the doctoral level, an M.A. thesis or seminar paper). International students must demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of English by taking the TOEFL test.
MASTER OF ARTS
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 course work plus any graduate work completed, 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 in Germanic languages and literatures may emphasize either German or Scandinavian literature or linguistics. All candidates must take course work in both literature and linguistics.
The master's degree requires eight units of graduate work, although deficiencies in undergraduate preparation may necessitate more than eight units to meet the requirements. Residence and other requirements of the Graduate College must be met. Candidates for the M.A. degree must demonstrate proficiency in reading one language other than English and German (usually French). Required courses (or approved equivalents) are German 365 and 366 (Structure of the German Language I, II), German 311 and 312 (German Literature 750-1770), German 415 (Middle High German), German 420 (History of the German Language), German 410 (Introduction to Graduate Study), and two graduate literature courses at the 400 level. Electives may be chosen from within or from outside the department with the approval of the graduate adviser. The degree is awarded upon the successful completion of three, three-hour written examinations and a one-hour oral comprehensive examination, or upon successful defense of a thesis. More detailed information may be obtained from the departmental office.
MASTER OF ARTS IN THE TEACHING OF GERMAN
Applicants must meet the same admission standards as those for the master of arts in German. Candidates for the M.A.T. degree must earn five units in German emphasizing either language and linguistics or literature and culture, two units in approved courses in educational policy studies, one unit of studies in educational foundations, and one unit in foreign language education. Candidates must also complete all undergraduate requirements for a teaching certificate, although no graduate credit is given for undergraduate courses. In some cases, with proper advance approval, graduate courses may be applied to the teaching certification requirements. Contact the certification officer of the Council on Teacher Education (130 Education Building, 333-7195) for information pertaining to pursuing certification while enrolled in the graduate program. Residence requirements are those of the Graduate College. The degree is awarded after the successful completion of three one-and-one-half hour written examinations and a one-hour oral examination. More detailed information is available from the departmental office.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
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, and Scandinavian literature.
Students working toward the Ph.D. degree must have completed all requirements for the M.A. degree given above and must complete an additional 10 units of course work approved by the graduate adviser. (The 10 unit requirement will be in effect for students entering in fall 1997 and is pending approval.) Residence requirements are those of the Graduate College. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in reading two languages other than English and German that are considered useful in their area of specialization.
After passing the written preliminary examinations (three four-hour comprehensive examinations), the student is admitted to the oral examination, the successful completion of which admits the student to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The candidate must then complete eight units of thesis research and successfully defend the thesis in an oral examination. All candidates for the Ph.D. degree must have taught the equivalent of three one-semester courses on the college level (i.e., teaching one-half time for one academic year) before being admitted to the final oral examination (thesis defense). Candidates for the Ph.D. in German may additionally obtain a "Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education" (SLATE Certificate). Candidates are required to complete courses in linguistics (2), psycholinguistics/sociolinguistics (1), second language studies (2), and research methods (2). More detailed information is available from the departmental office.
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, 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 German and other literatures of all periods and in Germanic and general linguistics.
FINANCIAL AID
Teaching assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis to promising candidates with strong academic records. Preference may be given to students who have lived in a German-speaking country or have had some teaching experience. Teaching assistantships are usually awarded at one-half time for the academic year. Each year the department may nominate one or more outstanding students for a University fellowship. A limited number of tuition and service fee waivers may also be available. Full details on amounts of financial aid and time limitations for eligibility may be obtained from the departmental office.
Each year the department selects one graduate student to study for a year at the University of Regensburg, Germany, with a fellowship stipend; two graduate students to study for a year with assistantship stipends at the universities of Göttengen and Heidelberg, respectively; 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.
For continuing graduate students, the awarding of financial aid of all types is contingent upon the maintenance of satisfactory progress toward a degree.
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