German (BA)

A new world opens up when you learn a foreign language and come to know a foreign culture on its own terms. The German program at Ohio State makes this experience exciting, with interesting courses, study abroad and internship programs and the German-speaking environment at the Max Kade German House on campus. As a student of German, you’ll become acquainted with a culture that is central to the history and civilization of the West and learn the language of a country that is an economic and political leader in today’s world. You’ll also develop key skills, such as critical analysis, spoken and written communication and intercultural communication, that will prepare you for a wide range of professional careers and graduate studies.

 

Request more information about this major

Academic Advisors

Andrew Spencer

spencer.4@osu.edu
(614) 292-8485
355 Hagerty Hall

Affiliated Departments & Centers

Career Opportunities

Career Opportunities

In recent years, German majors have won Fulbrights, secured positions at BMW, Batelle, non-profits and been accepted by graduate programs and professional schools at universities in the United States and Germany. Pair German with another major to open doors, increase your earning potential, and benefit from a boost in marketability in fields like business, engineering, publishing, media, medicine, government, education, hospitality management and non-profits.

Said one student, "At the company I will be working for, we have already discussed plans of transferring to the Munich office within a few years.”

Graduate Students

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

The Ohio State University Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures offers a comprehensive course of study that covers literary and cultural studies, intellectual history, and German for the professions as well as in-depth specializations that include film studies, aesthetic philosophy, gender studies, cognitive studies, minority literature, ecocriticism, second language studies, Germanic linguistics, Scandinavian Studies, and Yiddish and Ashkenazic Studies. Said one student, “Learning about German culture has made me more tolerant of new cultures and ideas . . . This will help me to adjust to wherever life and my job take me.”

Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures Website More German Courses

Students who study German learn to speak, read, write, and comprehend the German language, but they also learn much more. Courses help students develop their ability to express their ideas clearly and persuasively, analyze and interpret texts and images, communicate across cultural boundaries and evaluate information and conduct research. The flexibility of Ohio State’s German major also makes it easier to combine it with a second major such as history, international studies, business, journalism, political science, engineering, biology or another foreign language with German. Traditionally students majoring in German pursue a liberal arts program. Many use their liberal arts preparation as a stepping-stone to advanced study or professional preparation in fields such as medicine or law.

courses you might take:

GERMAN 2254: Grimms‘ Fairy Tales and their Afterlives

In this course, we will try to understand the meaning and the enduring appeal of one of Germany’s greatest successes in the realm of cultural exportation—a book whose circulation figures are exceeded in Western culture only by those of the Bible, namely, Grimms’ fairy tales. This will mean asking a series of interlocking questions. How did the fairy tales come about? What were the aims of their compilers? How do the tales play to those aims? How do they exceed them? How do the tales tend to work structurally? What have their social and psychological effects been? How have they helped shape—and been reshaped by—popular cultures outside Germany, like popular culture in the U.S.?

GERMAN 2251: German Science Fiction

A genre of imagination and speculation that predicts the future, critiques society, constructs and deconstructs colonial fantasies, poses questions of identity and existence, explores alternate realities and journeys through time, all while attempting to unravel the enigma of alienation and estrangement of modern life. Taught in English.

GERMAN 2350: Introduction to German Studies

Broad intro to German history, culture and the field of German Studies. An ideal course for students considering a major or minor in German or for those with a general interest in German-language history and culture. The course will have four components: lectures on history (social, cultural, political, and linguistic); lectures on contemporary German-language society and culture; discussion about works of literature, film, philosophy, art, music; introductions to methods for studying language and culture. Taught in English.

GERMAN 3351: Democracy, Facism and German Culture

Culture of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany in literature, film, the other arts; the roots of fascism and its echoes in postwar Germany. Taught in English.

GERMAN 3252: The Holocaust in Literature and Film

Why, faced with a historical catastrophe of unimaginable proportions, would we devote a class to film and literature about it, rather than to “the facts”? How you say things matters. Come find out why.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Berlin May Session Study Abroad

Students explore and experience Berlin, learning about some of the most influential and memorable people who live or have lived in the city - from its establishment as a capital of the Kingdom of Prussia in the 18th century to its present role as capital of a reunified Germany and an important center of European politics and culture. Taught in English.

Learn More

Dresden Summer Study Abroad

The Program is an 8-week, intensive language and culture course offered at the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD). The program provides beginning and intermediate German language students with the opportunity to increase their language ability, study the recent history of Dresden and Saxony, and experience contemporary German life and culture. In addition to classroom instruction offered by OSU German instructors and guest lecturers, students participate in group field trips and have ample opportunities to explore on their own.

Learn More

Active German Club, Kaffeestunde and Stammtisch conversation groups

The German Club, and the Kaffeestunde and Stammtisch conversation groups welcome new members at all levels of German and all students with an interest in German culture, food and people.

Learn More

Max Kade German House (Living Learning Center)

The Max Kade House provides housing for undergraduate students above the first-year level in German, a native speaker, and one undergraduate resident advisor. The house serves as an "immersion environment" where German is spoken exclusively. Students also enjoy German-language television broadcasts and special events through the academic year.

Learn More

Internships and Senior Seminars

Internships in German (German 4191) and Senior Seminars at the 4000-level allow German majors and minors to explore advanced topics in German culture, intellectual history, language, film, history, and art.

Learn More

ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT STEP?

Future Students: Learn More

Schedule A Campus Visit

Take a Virtual Campus Tour

Continue Exploring

Top