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Fact Sheet for German Majors and Minors

The German Studies Curriculum

Undergraduate majors in German Studies acquire language proficiency in German and a broad background in German culture, history, and literary studies. As early as their fourth-semester, students can choose from several different subject areas, including German for professional purposes, German contemporary culture, current events, cultural history from the Middle Ages to the present, fairy tales, music, applied linguistics, and language teaching. 

In our third-year courses, students – German 300 Encounters in Language and Culture (6 units), and German 301, Voices Past and Present (3 units) –, students move toward advanced language abilities, while also exploring the cultural history and contemporary life of the German-speaking world.

At the upper levels of the program, students have the opportunity to create a study plan in discussion with the Undergraduate Advisor that suits their personal interests, and which may emphasize a variety of areas including literature, cultural studies and pedagogy.

The following page provides an overview of the coursework for a Major or Minor in German Studies at the University of Arizona:

 

To Major in German Studies, you will need…

  • a minimum of 30 units beyond the 200-level, including the core courses - 300 and 301 (9 units), and 496C, which is a senior capstone course to be taken in the senior year (3 units), always in Spring semester (all these are required).
  • 18 units chosen from the following list [up to six units of 300 and 400-level General Education courses in German Studies, plus 400 (for honors students) may be counted toward the major. One of these General Education courses must be used to fulfill the writing emphasis requirement]:

- 302 German Conversations

- 310 Present Day German: Its Structure and Uses

- 313 Studies in Genre

- 315 German for Business

- 400 The Multilingual Subject

- 411 Dealing with the Past

- 412 Tales of Love

- 416 Minority Views in German Culture

- 420 Periods in German Culture

- 430 Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures

- 440 Jews and Judaism in German Culture (lectures in Eng.)

- 450 Constructions of Identity

- 455 Music and German Literature (lectures in Eng.)

- 475 Advanced German Usage

- 480 Applied Linguistics for German as a Foreign Language

- 494 A German Studies: Teaching Practicum

  • 496 A, B, D, E, F, G Senior Semina
  • 392
  • 399 (as appropriate)
  • 499 (as appropriate)

Majors select their supporting minor in consultation with the Undergraduate Advisor, based on their interests and future career plans.

Residence requirement: 18 units of upper-level courses in German Studies (beginning with 300 and 301)

 

To Minor in German Studies, you will need…

 a total of 23 units are required beyond German 102.

There are two possible tracks:

Option A (with an emphasis on German language):

  • GER 201 and 202 (or GER 211)
  • GER 300 and 301
  • Further German-language, German Studies courses (equaling at least 6 credit units), choosing from the following:

- 302 German Conversations

- 310 Present Day German: Its Structure and Uses

- 313 Studies in Genre

- 315 German for Business

- 411 Dealing with the Past

- 412 Tales of Love

- 416 Minority Views in German Culture

- 420 Periods in German Culture

- 430 Crossing Borders/Crossing Cultures

- 440 Jews and Judaism in German Culture (lectures in Eng.)

- 450 Constructions of Identity

- 455 Music and German Literature (lectures in Eng.)

- 475 Advanced German Usage

- 480 Applied Linguistics for German as a Foreign Language

- 494 A German Studies: Teaching Practicum

- 496 A, B, D, E, F, G Senior Seminars

- 496 C the Senior Capstone (co-convened with graduate students!)

- 392 (as appropriate)

- 399 (as appropriate)

- 499 (as appropriate)

  • If you choose GER 211 to replace GER 201 and 202, you will be short of 2 credits, hence you will have to choose an additional course beyond the gateway courses

A total of 23 units

Residence requirement: 6 units beyond the two gateway courses (300 and 301)

 

Option B (with an emphasis on German culture):

  • GER 201 and 202 (or 211; however, 211 gives you only 6 credits, instead of 8 for 201 and 202)
  • GER 301
  • 12 units of 200-,  300-, and 400-level General Education courses in German Studies (a minimum of 9 units must be upper-level credits), choosing from the following:

- 273 Tradition and Revolution: German Romanticism

- 274 Dialogue of the Sexes: Men and Women in Contemporary German Society

- 275 The German Classical Heritage: 1755 to 1945

- 276 Rebellion and Crisis: Germany and Beyond

- 278 Medieval Answers to Modern Problems

- 325 History of German Cinema

- 373 Women’s Fictions in Twentieth-Century Germany

- 375 The Birth of the Modern: Culture and Politics in Turn-of-the-Century Vienna

- 376 German-Jewish Writers

- 379 Religion in German Culture

- 392 Directed Research

- 440 Jews and Judaism in German Culture

- 455 Music and German Literature

- 399 (as appropriate)

- 499 (as appropriate)

A total of 23 units

Residence requirement: 6 units of General Education level courses (in English) in German Studies

 

For further information about the courses offered by the German Studies Department, please see the following sites:

 

The Department of German Studies also participates in the Honors Program at the University of Arizona and offers a pathway to the honors.

For more information, please contact the Undergraduate Advisor, Professor Albrecht Classen, to schedule an appointment.