Courses offered in English are open to all students, regardless of levels of background, proficiency in German or eventual major. Students who have satisfied their language proficiency requirement (German 210 or equivalent) may take any 200 or 300 level course offered in German in the department. There is no fixed order of content courses and aside from language proficiency; none of our advanced courses come with prerequisites. Non-majors may also work with the Department and faculty in their home departments to take relevant German courses for major credit, and many of our courses are already cross-listed with other fields of study.

Our sequence of language courses (ranging from beginner to the advanced intermediate level) develops linguistic proficiency and cross-cultural competency that enables our students to interact with native speakers in an informed and culturally sensitive manner. Our language program thus prepares students for a broad range of opportunities (such as study abroad, internships, and employment in or interaction with the German-speaking world).

Students considering taking a German language course are advised to contact the department’s Language Coordinator, Dr. Anna Schrade, for placement in the appropriate language course. Please see the Placement Information of our website for more details.