German Major Requirements
(Also see Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree.)
Students are encouraged to declare their intent to major in German in their sophomore year and to make an advising appointment with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to discuss their academic plans, including options for a study abroad semester or year.
Majors must complete a minimum of ten courses (at least 3 credits each) in German beyond AS.210.261 Intermediate German I. AS.210.262 Intermediate German II is a requirement but can be waived through the placement exam and subsequent completion of Advanced German I.
Majors must complete 15 credits at the 300-level or above. Majors are required to complete the Advanced German sequence, (AS.210.361 Advanced German I: Cultural Topics of the Modern German-speaking World and AS.210.362 Advanced German II: Contemporary Issues in the German Speaking World), which counts for 6 credits (2 courses) and fulfills the Writing and Communication requirement for the major. Successful completion of the Advanced sequence is a prerequisite for upper level AS.213.xxx seminars taught in German. If students are waived from AS.210.361 and/or 362, they must complete an additional AS.213.2xx-4xx course per waived advanced language course to keep the number of required courses at nine.
Of the remaining seven courses, majors choose courses designated AS.210.3xx (German language), AS.211.xxx (with POS-TAG MLL-GERM), courses in other departments with POS-TAG MLL-GERM, and AS.213.xxx. No more than 6 credit hours of translation courses (courses in English with POS-Tag MLL-ENGL) may be used to fulfill major requirements and five of the nine courses for the major must be taken at Hopkins. All major requirements must be completed with a grade of C- or better and may not be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Writing and Communication in the Major
Students must complete at least 6 credits of Writing and Communication Foundational Ability coursework in one major. For this major, students would be able to fulfill this requirement by completing two required courses of the major, AS.210.361 and AS.210.362. Students waived from either of these courses would need to complete electives in the major that are designated as Writing and Communication courses.
Pre-Requisites to the Major (or appropriate placement):
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.210.161 | German Elements I | 4 |
| AS.210.162 | German Elements II | 4 |
| AS.210.261 | Intermediate German I | 3 |
| Total Credits | 11 | |
Major Requirements:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.210.262 | Intermediate German II | 3 |
| AS.210.361 | Advanced German I: Cultural Topics of the Modern German-speaking World | 3 |
| AS.210.362 | Advanced German II: Contemporary Issues in the German Speaking World | 3 |
| Seven additional German courses 1 | 21 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
- 1
Courses designated AS.210.3xx (German language), AS.211.xxx (with POS-TAG MLL-GERM), AS.213.xxx, or courses in other departments with POS-TAG MLL-GERM apply towards the additional 21 credits. The AS.210.3xx courses that currently apply are AS.210.363, AS.210.364 and AS.210.365.
Sample Program of Study
The following 4-year plan presents a sample guideline for students starting with no prior knowledge in German. Beyond the completion of the Advanced German sequence, the selection of courses suggested below is just a suggestion; students are free to choose other courses and vary the sequence as long as they complete the total number of credit hours and do not exceed the maximum number of credits for courses taught in English. Students with prior knowledge in German must take the departmental placement exam before registering for a German class. It is recommended that they discuss specific arrangements for the completion of their requirements with the DUS.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.210.161 | 4 | AS.210.162 | 4 |
| German elective taught in English | 3 | ||
| 7 | 4 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.210.261 | 3 | AS.210.262 | 3 |
| German elective taught in English | 3 | ||
| 6 | 3 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.210.361 | 3 | AS.210.362 | 3 |
| German elective | 3 | ||
| 3 | 6 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| German elective | 3 | German elective | 3 |
| German elective | 3 | German elective | 3 |
| 6 | 6 | ||
| Total Credits 41 | |||
Honors in German
The Department of German offers an Honors Program for highly qualified undergraduates. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 to qualify for the program. Students will work on a project in German literature and thought under the guidance of a faculty advisor. The program is completed by a senior essay more comprehensive in scope than a seminar paper. Students interested in the honors program should meet with the Director of Undergraduate Studies no later than the spring semester of their junior year to discuss the requirements and outline the research project to be conducted the following year. The two honors thesis courses are AS.213.509 German Honors Program and AS.213.510 German Honors Program and these courses may not count towards other requirements of the major.