As the official language of the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and portions of several other European countries—and with linguistic enclaves in the Americas and Africa—German is today the native tongue of close to 120 million people. For such advanced degree programs as art history, music history, philosophy and European history, German is still a required language. And whether the motivation for study is business, culture, travel, friendship or heritage, a knowledge of German can add inestimable depth to a student’s landscape of thought and feeling.

Students should ideally plan to study German for at least two years. First- and Second-Year German aim to teach students how to communicate in German and acquire grammatical competency through exercises that both demand accuracy and encourage free expression. While conference work in Beginning German consists of intensive grammar work with the German Assistant (both group and individual conferences), intermediate-level students work on their cultural competency by reading German literature and carrying out projects such as interviewing native German speakers or doing research about various cultural and political topics. Advanced German, usually a literature seminar in German, solidifies students’ cultural competency by offering a thorough overview of German history and culture from the 18th century to the present. A special emphasis is placed on 20th-century German history and culture.