Introduction
The German program at Dickinson offers students a variety of courses in German language and cultures. Classes are small, supportive and challenging. Our courses focus on combining intensive language learning and cultural study. The first two years of German language courses include a wide range of topics and are taught as preparatory to the upper-level courses that focus on different areas of German culture (e.g. film, literature, politics, history, and art). While taking the four semesters of language courses (GRMN 101, 102, 201, and 202) students can take cultural courses we are offering in English. After completing the language sequence, we offer a number of options for continued study and students are also ready to study abroad at our partner university in Bremen (Germany).
200-level courses above German 202 introduce students to the study of German culture with a focus on how to analyze a variety of cultural forms and topics related to the German speaking world. Courses numbered in the 300s cover additional aspects of German culture, literature, history, art, and film in more depth and allow students to implement cultural studies frameworks from their 200-level coursework. Special topics courses are offered on a regular basis and are taught in either German or English. Please check the course bulletin for more details.
The German major is conceived in such a way that we encourage students to explore other interests in the liberal arts in conjunction with our program at Dickinson and study abroad at the University of Bremen.
Note: It is entirely possible to start learning German at Dickinson and complete all credits for a major and reach a sufficient language proficiency to spend the junior year abroad. There are a number of opportunties to take German-language courses over the summer and sometimes over winter break as well. For more information, contact the chair of the German Department.
Courses appropriate for prospective majors
Introductory and intermediate courses that fulfill the Dickinson language requirement:
GRMN 101 and 102, German in Everyday Life
GRMN 201, Contemporary German Cultures
Note: The successful completion of GRMN 101, 102, and 201 fulfills the college language requirement. 201 can count toward the courses required for the German minor.
Intermediate courses for prospective majors
After GRMN 201, prospective majors will take GRMN 202 (Mediated German Cultures), which constitutes a credit for both majors and minors.
GRMN 202 is the minimally required course to be able to study abroad in Bremen. If there is time, additional courses are strongly recommended. It is entirely possible to start learning German at Dickinson and complete all credits needed for the German major and/or reach a sufficient language proficiency to spend the junior year abroad (which is strongly recommended for majors and does not incur additional cost beyond Dickinson tuition).
Students are encouraged to take German courses taught in English during their language sequence. After the completion of GRMN 202 students may take any course offered in German at the 200-level. A 300-level course is typically taken upon return to the Carlisle campus after the Junior Year or Semester in Bremen and has a prerequisite of the successful completion of a 200-level course in German above GRMN 202.
Placement
Students who studied German in high school and wish to continue with German at Dickinson must take the online German placement exam, unless they receive a 3 or above on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam. The department, upon having received the placement test score, will place each student in the appropriate German class and will let each student know by email where he/she has been placed. In a few instances it may be necessary to make further adjustments in the placement after classes have started. Such final adjustments will be made during the first four weeks of classes. Students who cannot take the online exam before July 1 should contact the chair of the German Department before August 25.
Test scores and credits that may affect course selection
Advanced Placement scores: course credit and/or placement
A student who has achieved a grade of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement test will be granted credit for college work (GRMN 201) and will receive placement in the appropriate, more advanced German course. For most students, this is GRMN 202. In the case that GRMN 202 is deemed inappropriate or does not fit a student’s schedule, the chair of the German Department should be consulted. Students with an AP score of 3 will not receive college credit for their AP score, but will be automatically placed into GRMN 201. Students with grades of 1 or 2 on the Advanced Placement test will not receive college credit and need to take the online German placement exam in order to be placed in the appropriate German course like all other students who wish to continue with German.
Transfer Credits
Students who wish to get credit for German courses taken at other colleges or universities should see the department chair. Transfer students who decide to major in German at Dickinson must take at least five of their ten courses required for the major at Dickinson. Minors must take at least three of the six courses at Dickinson.
For course descriptions and requirements for the major, refer to the Academic Bulletin: German.
Courses that fulfill distribution requirements
Language requirement:
Completion at the intermediate level, GRMN 201
Arts:
GRMN 213: Modern German Film
GRMN 370: German Cinema (special topics)
Humanities:
GRMN 211: Introduction to German Intellectual History
GRMN 213: Modern German Film
GRMN 214: Formations of German Identities: Class, Race, and Gender
GRMN 215: German Environments
GRMN 300: Examining Major Cultural Movements
GRMN 301: German Cultures in Transition
GRMN 304: Minority Cultures in the German Context
GRMN 370: German Cinema (special topics)
Social Sciences:
GRMN 340: Comparative Cultures: USA-Germany
Writing in the Discipline (WID):
GRMN 202
Sustainability Connections (SCON):
GRMN 400: Mountains in the German Imagination
GRMN 210: Exploring German Cultures
GRMN 303: The Two Germanies: Cultures of East and West Germany
Sustainability Investigations (SINV):
GRMN 215: German Environments
Suggested curricular flow through the major
The following two curricular flows are based on a student starting in either GRMN 101 or 202. If you begin German at Dickinson at a different level, please speak with a faculty member to determine the best sequence of courses for you.
Placement into GRMN 101 or no previous knowledge of German
First Year
GRMN 101
GRMN 102
A 200-level course in English
Sophomore Year
GRMN 201
GRMN 202
A 200-level course in English
Junior Year
Study abroad in Bremen (a full year is strongly recommended)
Senior Year
GRMN 300-level
GRMN 400 senior seminar
Placement into GRMN 202
First Year
GRMN 202
GRMN 200-level (211 or above)
Sophomore Year
GRMN 200-level (211 or above)
GRMN 200- or 300-level
Junior Year
Study abroad in Bremen (a full year is strongly recommended)
Senior Year
GRMN 300-level
GRMN 400 senior seminar
Honors
Senior German majors who successfully complete a year-long independent study project worth two course credits will be eligible to be voted honors in German on the completion of the project. A student will graduate with honors in German if a) their original research receives the grade of "A" from the supervising instructor and b) the student successfully defends their project before a panel of the entire German faculty so that the project is designated as "worthy of honors."
Independent study and independent research
Independent study projects are an option open to self-motivated students who desire to study a topic not offered in a regular College course. Most projects are taken for either half or full course credit. Usually independent study students will have a weekly meeting with their advisors.
Occasionally, students may elect an independent study project in the German language. This option is open only when it is clear that the student's needs cannot be met in the traditional language courses. Possibilities for independent language work include: advanced oral and written language practice; technical translation.
Co-curricular activities/programs
Each year two German language assistants (OSAs) from the University of Bremen are actively involved with all aspects of the German program at Dickinson. In addition to the language assistants, additional exchange students from Bremen are often on campus.
The German Club sponsors several events every year both together with the German department and independently.
A German Language Table is held each Monday from 5:30-6:30 pm in a HUB sideroom for students who wish to speak—or merely listen to—German while they eat.
German films are shown regularly throughout the academic year. They are most often screened on Tuesdays at 7 pm. The program for each semester will be announced on posters and through announcements in German classes.
We regularly welcome German writers, scholars, translators, filmmakers, and artists to the Dickinson campus, visits that are often made possible by generous funding from the Max Kade Foundation.
Opportunities for off-campus study
Junior Year: Students are encouraged to spend one or two semesters abroad during the junior year. For qualified students, the Junior Year in Bremen is a Dickinson-affiliated program with a wide range of course and program options, including laboratory courses in the sciences.
Summer Immersion Program: The German Department offers a four-week student immersion at the University of Bremen, West Germany. See the course description for GRMN 220, Bremen Practicum.
Additional Remarks
Possible Careers and Double Majors: Recent German majors have pursued a wide variety of careers. Some have gone on to graduate schools such as Johns Hopkins, George Washington, the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, or universities in Germany. Others have entered law or medical school. Still others have become teachers, business executives, research scientists, librarians, etc. Recently, several of our students have successfully secured positions with American subsidiaries of German companies.
We have had great success with students being awarded positions as English Teaching Assistants or a research grant through Fulbright. Other funding opportunities exist through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) for experience in labs in Germany.
Many students interested in German have become double majors, as they have found that a German major in combination with another field (e.g. biology, international studies, physics, economics, another language, political science) may enhance their career opportunities.