The Department of Modern Languages offers a two-year MA degree program in German. Its main objective is to introduce graduate students to all important aspects of modern German culture. The faculty is committed to providing graduate students with a firm foundation in scholarship and an opportunity to acquire teaching experience. Our students have been accepted into some of the best Ph.D. programs in the country or pursued other professional careers, e.g. at the Deutsche Schule in Chicago or at SAP in Karlsruhe. Expertise of German faculty and affiliated members is wide-ranging and comprises, for example: Literary studies from the eighteenth century to the present, German philosophy, history of ideas, Holocaust studies and human rights, nationalism, gender studies, performance & folklore studies, film studies. The German program encourages the pursuit of interdisciplinary interests and offers students ample opportunity to explore other intellectual disciplines.
ADMISSIONS
REQUIREMENTS (for general University requirements and for information on how to submit an online application, see Graduate-Studies): BA in German or equivalent, complete and acceptable academic transcripts ("good standing"); GRE score (Verbal and Quantitative); GPA (of last two baccalaureate years) of at least 3.00 on a 4-point system; TOEFL scores for foreign students whose native language is not English. In special circumstances, a student who has not had such preparation may, with special approval from the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies, remedy any deficiencies concurrently with work on the advanced degree. Consultation with the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies will determine the appropriate procedure.
FINANCIAL AID
Graduate students in German are eligible for teaching assistantships as well as other scholarships and other awards, many of them supported by the Ada Belle Winthrop-King Memorial Fund. These include funding for summer study, conference, and research funds, such as the Winthrop-King Summer Graduate Scholarship in German. This award is open to graduate students majoring in German who are seeking support for a research project or for language development in a German-speaking country during the summer semester. Click here for more details including application deadlines.
MA DEGREES AND REQUIREMENTS
Requirements for the MA in German Studies include course work, a substantial research paper, and a written comprehensive examination. The MA in German Studies is expected to be completed in two years.
Course Work: A minimum of 30 semester hours in graduate courses (including Minor, if any) must be earned. Of these, at least 24 must be taken for a letter grade and 21 from courses with German or FOL course numbers. All regularly enrolled German MA students, employed as Teaching Assistants in the German program, are required to sign up for at least six credit hours of German course work per semester. (Exceptions need the approval of the German program's Graduate Student Adviser.)
Research Paper: At the end of the last semester (by week 8) students are required to submit the final version of a substantial research paper (around 20 pages in length). This is an extended course paper directed by the major professor who offered the course. The paper can be written in English or German. It will be reviewed by at least two German faculty members, one being the major professor and at least one other German faculty member identified by the student. An oral defense may be scheduled. If any faculty member considers revisions necessary, they can be requested and shall be satisfied within a period of two weeks.
The Comprehensive Examination will be on six courses with German/FOL course numbers taken in the MA program at Florida State University. Questions will be specific in nature and are expected to elicit substantial critical responses of the essay type. The exams will be written in two periods of four hours each (normally on consecutive days). An oral examination, approximately one week after the written portion, is required when the student has failed one or more sections of the written examination.