European Studies (German pathway) with a year abroad

Course detail Description

The European Studies (German pathway) BA degree course is split between European Studies modules and German-specific modules. You will study a range of required modules that will include European politics, political economy, political thought, contemporary history, culture, economics, law, alongside of which you will focus on German politics, history, language and contemporary culture.

This degree is a four-year study course that is composed of optional and required modules totalling 450 credits. Each year, you will take modules totalling 120 credits, apart from your third year where you will take modules totaling 90 credits. Your third year of study will be in Germany, developing your modern language skills and deepening your understanding of German culture and attitudes towards Europe.

We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the course. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study with about 15% of your week in scheduled learning and teaching activities and 85% spent in guided independent study. You will be assigned a personal tutor who will provide support and guidance for your studies.

Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

The primary methods of assessment for this course are coursework, assessed essays, written examinations and individual and group presentations. Your oral exam in your third year will be taken once you return to King’s College London following your study abroad year.

The Strand Campus, where most of the teaching takes place, is located in the heart of London adjacent to the Thames and close to Covent Garden. No other place in the United Kingdom can compete with London with regards to the opportunities on offer for the study of modern Europe. The library and research facilities available, as well as the range of contacts with cultural institutes, libraries, international firms, journalists, clubs and government agencies, far outstrip anything available elsewhere. Foreign language film showings, exhibitions, political talks and other cultural events take place continually.

Year 3 is spent at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

• European Studies (French pathway) BA
• European Studies (Spanish pathway) BA
• European Politics BA

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3
• Year 4

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 450 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide upto-date, innovative and relevant courses of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates

You are required to take the following modules:

• The Making of Modern Europe (30 credits)
• An Introduction to German Politics (15 credits)
• Milestones of German History (15 credits)

You are also required to take one of the following language modules based on German language ability:

• Introductory German (for ab initio) (30 credits)
• German Core Language Module I (for non-native speakers) (30 credits)
• Translation from & into German I (for native speakers) (15 credits)

In addition, you are required to take one module from a range of ‘Europe’ optional modules that may typically include:

• Introduction to Politics (30 credits)
• Introduction to International Economics (30 credits)
• Politics and Society in Britain, 1780-1945 (30 credits) [Department of History]
• European Law (30 credits) [The Dickson Poon School of Law]
• The Causes of War (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
• Principles of Economics (15 credits) [King’s Business School]
• States & Market (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]

Native speakers also take one of the following German modules:

• Medieval Germany: Language, Literature & Society (15 credits)
• One Hundred & Twenty Years of German Cinema (15 credits)

Year 2 Required Modules

You are required to take the following modules:

• The Integration of the European Union (30 credits)
• Politics, Economy & Culture in Cold War Germany (15 credits)

In addition, you are required to take one of the following language modules based on your German language ability:

• Intermediate German (for ab initio) (30 credits)
• German Core Language II (for non-native speakers) (30 credits)
• Translation from & into German II (for native speakers) (15 credits)

In addition, from the following range of modules, ab initio and non-native speakers are required to take one 15 credit module and native speakers are required to take two 15 credit modules:

• Gender & Identity in Arthurian Romance (15 credits)
• The Weimar Republic: Culture and Crisis (15 credits)
• Berlin Past & Present: The Reconstruction of a Capital City (15 credits)
• 18th Century German Thought: The Education of Humanity (15 credits)
• The German Reformation (15 credits)
• Society, Politics and Popular Culture in Germany since 1870 (15 credits)
• A Year in the Life of German-Language Film (15 credits)
• Talking Back: Voices of Protest in German Culture (15 credits)

You are also required to take 30 credits from a wide range of ‘Europe’ optional modules that may typically include:

• International Political Economy (30 credits)
• Foreign Policy Analysis (30 credits)
• War & Society (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
• History of the European Cold War (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
• War in International Order (30 credits) [Department of War Studies]
• Institutions, Identity & Society in Russia & Eurasia (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]
• Microeconomics (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
• Politics of Central & Eastern Europe (15 credits)
• Macroeconomics (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]
• Political Theory of Capitalism (15 credits) [Department of Political Economy]

Year 3 Required Modules

You will spend your third year of study in Germany. Our current partner institution is the Faculty of Social Science at Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin.

Once you have returned to King’s College London following your study abroad year, you will be required to take 30 credits of Aural & Oral Exams

• Year Abroad Practical Language module (30 credits)

You are required to take 60 credits of optional modules from the International Programme at the Faculty of Social Science at Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin.

• Exchange Placement Abroad module (60 credits)

Year 4 Required Modules

You are required to take one of the following language modules based on German language ability:

• German Core Language III (for ab initio and non-native speakers) (30 credits)
• Translation from & into German III (for native speakers) (15 credits)

Additionally, you are required to take 60 credits from a wide range of “Europe” options, which may typically include:

• European Political Thought (30 credits)
• The Political Economy of Finance & Crisis (30 credits)
• The EU in the International System (30 credits)
• European Political Economy (30 credits)
• Extended Essay (if written on a European topic) (30 credits)
• Public Policy in Europe (15 credits)
• Russia & the EU (15 credits) [King’s Russia Institute]

Ab initio and non-native speakers are required to take 30 credits, and native speakers are required to take 45 credits, from the following range of German optional modules which may typically include:

• Extended Essay (if written on a German topic) (30 credits)

or

• Dissertation (15 credits) [German Department]

Please note that it is not possible to take both Extended Essay and Dissertation options.

• Contemporary German Politics (15 credits)
• Aspects of post-1945 German Culture (15 credits)
• Death & the Afterlife in Medieval & Modern German Literature (15 credits)
• German Foreign Policy (15 credits)
• Religion, Sex, Politics: German Literature of the 16th & 17th Centuries (15 credits)
• German in Motion: Migration, Integration & Political Transformation 1945–2015 (15 credits)
• Maximising Performance: Brecht, Boal & Big Business (15 credits)

King’s College London reviews the modules it offers on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.