Germanic Studies

Master of Arts
Doctor of Philosophy

For More Information

Campus address: Burdine Hall (BUR) 336, phone (512) 471-4123; campus mail code: C3300

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program, Department of Germanic Studies, 2505 University Avenue Stop C3300, Austin TX 78712-1802

E-mail: germanicstudies@austin.utexas.edu

URL: http://liberalarts.utexas.edu/germanic/

Facilities for Graduate Work

The Department of Germanic Studies is committed to scholarship and teaching at high professional standards, nationally and internationally, in order to support students' individual achievement and to foster their career development, both within and beyond the academy, Faculty research and teaching activities are interdisciplinary and transcultural, engaging cultural studies, linguistics, literature, digital humanities, and second language studies.  The graduate program offers coursework informed especially by twenty-first century research on emerging and traditional forms of textuality and media; contemporary problems of cultural identity, migration and exile, and cultural contact; and significant theoretical, practical, and digital approaches to the humanities. Primary sources and archives (digital, media, or textual) feature prominently in the program, approached through the lenses of contemporary theories, models, and tools for language, cultural and media studies. The Department's research profile stresses work with texts as part of media cultures, investigating cultural practices, and understanding language communities; it does so by building on and moving beyond traditional scholarly models to create contemporary contexts for research and teaching in the humanities, as well as for related careers in the public sphere.

The department encourages programs of study that combine German and other Germanic cultures, especially Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish; it welcomes work that makes substantial links between cultural sites in different periods and different regions, as well as between different scholarly disciplines and research paradigms. Course offerings of the resident faculty are supplemented by visiting scholars from Europe, including long-term German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) lecturers, and occasional writers or scholars in residence. While completing core requirements within the department, students are encouraged to pursue links to and coursework in other programs in the University. The campus' infrastructure for digital research and teaching is first-rate and rapidly evolving, aiming to create new communities and forums for scholarly research and teaching, as well. 

The University Libraries are state-of-the-art. They are among the 10 largest collections in the country and focus especially on digital collections. The Harry Ransom Center, the campus rare books library, has substantial holdings in German drama, manuscripts, and publishers' correspondence; and the Blanton Museum of Art has one of the largest collections of prints, drawings, and paintings in the country, including significant holdings in European graphic arts.

Areas of Study

All students in the graduate program take a core of required courses. In consultation with the graduate advisor, each student chooses a concentration to aid in the choice of electives. Concentrations are developed by students in consultation with the graduate program to accommodate their individual career goals and interests. Students' concentrations may include courses from outside the department that are related to the major area of study.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) in the spring 2022 semester.

Katherine M Arens Kirsten L Belgum Hans C Boas Pascale R Bos Kirkland Alexander Fulk Sabine Hake Nicholas A Henry Peter Hess

John M Hoberman Barbara Laubenthal Marc Pierce Thorsten Ries Sandra B Straubhaar Jurgen K Streeck Lynn R Wilkinson

Admission Requirements

Entering graduate students must have a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent from a university outside the United States), ordinarily with a major in German or the appropriate Germanic language.