German Studies

Programme Structure & Content

Courses are available from first to fourth year. There is an Honours degree and a Designated degree in German.

First & Second Year

German for Beginners provides an intensive introduction to the German language for students with no previous knowledge of German, or with qualifications beneath Higher or A Level standard. This course may be taken alone or in combination with courses on social, political and cultural aspects of the German-speaking countries. Students who successfully complete this course may proceed to Level 2 courses and thereafter to Honours.

For students with a Higher or A-Level qualification in German, German Language courses deal with advanced aspects of German grammar and vocabulary, designed to improve students' command of both written and spoken German. Courses on modern German culture provide lectures on political, social, and cultural matters of the German-speaking countries in the twentieth century, together with the study of modern German texts.

Third & Fourth Year (Honours)

Beyond second year, students have considerable flexibility in putting a programme together from a variety of modules. Courses currently on offer include:

• Berlin, City of the Twentieth Century
• Images of Childhood in German Literature
• The 20th Century German Novel
• National Socialism
• Opposing Movements: Classicism and Romanticism
• Film and Text

Teaching & Assessment

Teaching is generally in small groups (seminars/tutorials), especially for language classes. Assessment is by a mixture of continuous assessment and oral and written examination. Students have approximately 4 hours of taught classes per week in first year. This rises to approximately 10-12 hours per week for Single Honours students in third and fourth year.