Handbook / Requirements

The Major Program 

The German major attracts students who begin their study of German at Bowdoin as well as those with prior preparation in the language. The program is adaptable to individual student backgrounds, styles and pace of learning, and can be pursued as a single major or in combination with any other major or minor program at Bowdoin. Prospective majors work closely with the professors in the department who are well acquainted with students and assist them in designing a unique program tailored to their individual interests.

The German major consists of seven courses above German 204, the final course of the intermediate language and culture sequence. This requirement can be partially fulfilled through courses from study abroad programs, and one of the seven courses may be chosen from the German literature and culture courses in English translation. Majors are encouraged to consider one of a number of study-abroad programs with different calendars and formats and senior students may pursue honors projects.

Study Abroad

The German department has long-standing connections and affiliations with year-long and semester programs in Germany and Austria, particularly in Berlin, Tübingen, Freiburg, Hamburg, Munich and Vienna. Students may also opt for summer programs at either the renowned Goethe-Institut or in cooperation with universities in Germany (Berlin) and Austria (Vienna).
Read more on the Study Away page »

Program deadlines for study away in Germany:
Please note: In addition to the program deadline, you must apply internally - by application to Bowdoin's Off-campus study office - to study abroad. Please talk to any of the German professors

Antioch Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
The application deadline is March 15 for the full-year or fall semester programs; October 15 for the spring semester program. Late applicants will be considered on a space-available basis.
http://www.antioch-college.edu/AEA/germany/

Brown in Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) - note: You must have the equivalent of three years of college German.
1 March, 2008 (for full year), 2 Oct 08 (for spring 09)
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/OIP/programs/germany/

Columbia in Berlin(Berlin Consortium for German Studies (BCGS):
The Freie Universität Berlin offers a wide range of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students majoring in a variety of disciplines may choose from an array of appropriate courses. Those with special interests may also enroll in courses at other local institutions such as the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Technische Universität Berlin, the Universität Potsdam, the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee, and Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler."
Deadlines:
For fall or fall/spring semesters: March 1
For spring or spring/fall semesters: October 15
http://www.ce.columbia.edu/berlin/program.cfm

IES Berlin, Freiburg, Vienna:
General deadline: Fall/full year: 1 May Spring: 1 November
Direct admission deadline (preferred): Fall/full year: 1 April Spring: 15 October
http://https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/Germany/Berlin/berlin.html
https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/Germany/Freiburg/freiburg.html http://https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/Austria/Vienna/vienna.html

Tufts Tübingen:
Completed applications for the full year, fall, and spring semesters should be submitted no later than February 1, 2008. Late applicants will be considered on a space-available basis.
http://www.ase.tufts.edu/studyabroad/TPA/Tueb.html

Wayne State München
Applications for the full-year and first semester only program option should be submitted after the end of the fall semester and not later than March 15. Please send you application so that it arrives in our office by March 15.
http://www.jym.wayne.edu/
Applications for the second semester only option should be submitted by October 15.

Teaching Assistant Program

Students play a crucial role in the Department's teaching. Seniors returning from study-away are selected as Teaching Assistants for the first four semesters of German-language instruction and assist as tutors and graders. They work closely with faculty to develop teaching skills and contribute their ideas and experience to the program. Usually, at least one of our TAs began the study of German at Bowdoin.

Honors Program and Independent Study

Independent Study provides advanced students with the opportunity to explore in depth an area of German literature or culture with a faculty advisor. Advanced German majors are encouraged to engage in year-long honors work in their senior year. Students are encouraged to use approaches that integrate their other academic interests with German literature and culture. The department offers one-and two-semester independent study projects which differ in length and scope. Honors projects are reviewed by all the members of the department's faculty. Recent honor theses include:

"Amerika: Ausgangspunkt - Fluchtpunkt - Sehepunkt. Charaktere in der Schweizer Literatur"

"Icarus Transformed: Cultural Contructs of Civil Aviation in Germany "

"Locke and Lessing, from the theorist to the dramatist : the interconnectedness of enlightenment tolerance"

"Identity and community : two generations of Afro-Germans through their poetry, prose, and performance"

"Localizing and vocalizing within the ether : place, parenthesis, and dialogue in Paul Celan's Atemwende"

" Translating Otto Emersleben's In den schrüNnden der Arktik : a perspective on Karl May, Robert Peary and the presentation of historical identity"

 "The theme of liminality in Ilse Aichinger's imaginative writing, 1948-1957 : from novelist to dialogist"

"und da ging etwas Grossartiges in mir vor." : Agency and the New Woman in Irmgard Keun's Das kunstseidene Mädchen"

More on the Honors, Grants & Prizes page »

Post-Graduate International Grants and Departmental Prizes

Bowdoin German majors continue to be extremely successful candidates for teaching and research grants to Germany and Austria. An average of three to four seniors and recent graduates have won Fulbrights every year, a total of 45 since 1993. The department also confers yearly Old Broad Bay Prizes in Reading German and the German Consular Prize in literary interpretation to deserving students.

Co-Curricular Options

The German Department has collaborated with other languages in creating a student library in a tradition-filled room in Sills Hall, the Peucinian Room, which is also used for seminars, small classes, and departmental get-togethers. German students also enjoy full use of the Language Media Center which houses a video viewing room and an extensive German film library. Computers with computer-assisted language software and individual video viewing and editing equipment supplement students' work with language and film. Live German radio and video news and other programming is available to students in the center and through computer hook-ups across campus. The Language Media Center's German website provides links to reference works and dictionaries as well as to websites on German language, literature, film, and folklore.