Haverford College
German Major/Minor Requirements

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

The German major consists of ten units. All courses at the 200 or 300 level count toward the major requirements, either in a literature concentration or in a German Studies concentration. A literature concentration normally follows the sequence 201 and/or 202; 205 or 206; or 214, 215; plus additional courses to complete the ten units, two of them at the 300 level; and finally one semester of Senior Conference. A German Studies major normally includes 223 and/or 224; one 200 and one 300 level course in German literature; three courses (at least one should be a 300 level course) in subjects central to aspects of German culture, history, or politics; and one semester of German 321 (Advanced Topics in German Cultural Studies). Within each concentration, courses need be selected so as to achieve a reasonable breadth, but also a degree of disciplinary coherence. Within departmental offerings, German 201 and 202 (Advanced Training) strongly emphasize the development of conversational, writing, and interpretive skills.

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

A minor in German and German Studies consists of seven units of work. To earn a minor, students are normally required to take German 201 or 202, four additional units covering a reasonable range of study topics, of which at least one unit is at the 300 level. The two remaining upper-level courses may be taken either within the German program, or be chosen with the approval of the department from the recommended electives for German Studies majors.

STUDY ABROAD

Students majoring in German are encouraged to spend some time in German-speaking countries in the course of their undergraduate studies. Various possibilities are available: summer work programs, DAAD (German Academic Exchange) scholarships for summer courses at German universities, and selected junior year abroad programs (Berlin, Freiburg, Vienna).

Students of German are also encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities on both campuses for immersion programs in German language and culture: residence in Haffner Hall foreign language apartments at Bryn Mawr College; the German Film Series; the German Lecture Series; the weekly Stammtisch, and more informal conversational groups attended by faculty members.

REQUIREMENTS FOR HONORS

Any student whose grade point average in the major at the end of the senior year is 3.8 or above qualifies by grade point average alone for departmental honors. Students whose major grade point average at the end of the senior year is 3.6 or better, but not 3.8, are eligible to be discussed as candidates for departmental honors. A student in this range of eligibility must be sponsored by at least one faculty member with whom s/he has done course work, and at least one other faculty member must read some of the student's advanced work and agree on the excellence of the work in order for departmental honors to be awarded. If there is a sharp difference of opinion, additional readers will serve as needed.