Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures (GRAD)

The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies

The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German offers students a combination of disciplinary rigor and interdisciplinary flexibility that recognizes the fundamental interrelation of all the cultural expressions of societies where the German language is spoken. Taking full advantage of the intellectual, educational, and cultural resources of two great universities, the program offers an attractive combination of individual attention in small classes and a close connection to the broader communities of literature, cultural studies, and German studies at Duke University and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The core German studies faculty (at a current number of 17 one of the largest in North American German studies), represents all branches of research in the field, including medieval studies, gender and sexuality studies, literary theory and poetics, European intellectual history, modernism, realism, German-Jewish studies, Holocaust studies, politics and culture in the 20th century, film and media studies, science studies, Afro-German and Turkish-German culture, and contemporary society. This ensures that all major aspects of German literary, cinematic, and cultural history, from medieval manuscripts to contemporary cinema, are covered by experts in the field. Faculty engage in innovative, interdisciplinary teaching and research projects involving other departments and programs and support close intellectual ties with major German universities. Students take courses full time in their first year of study; in subsequent years they acquire pedagogical training and teaching experience at both a private (Duke University) and a public (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) university. Multiple program options are available to students, from the study of historical periods and genres (medieval to contemporary) to literary criticism and theory. Interdisciplinary work is strongly encouraged. Admission is competitive and limited to no more than seven students a year. Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are committed to offering six consecutive years of full funding, including tuition, to students in good standing in the program. 

Admissions Requirements

We seek applicants with extraordinary academic records and intellectual curiosity, and we welcome applicants of any nationality, from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. A bachelor's degree or the international equivalent is required, generally in German studies or a related field. All applications are routed through The Graduate School at UNC–Chapel Hill in a single admissions process that ensures that incoming students matriculate fully at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Duke University. Please read UNC's admissions instructions for detailed information about the application process and requirements. Additional information is available on the Carolina-Duke website. Questions regarding translation issues and foreign degrees and transcripts should be directed to gsll@unc.edu.

Application Deadline

Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete their applications by early December and meet all posted deadlines.

Teaching

Teacher training is a central component of the Carolina–Duke Graduate Program in German Studies. Both departments provide rigorous training in foreign language teaching, which includes an introduction to the interdisciplinary fields of applied linguistics and second-language acquisition. Teaching assistantships are normally available to students in their second through fifth years of study who continue to make satisfactory progress towards the completion of their degree and remain in good standing in the program. It is crucial that teaching assistants (TAs) have highly advanced German language skills. During their first year, students' language proficiency in German will be evaluated. Only students who achieve a level of C1 according to the Common European Frame of Reference (CEFR) will be asked to teach in the German language program. Students who do not possess the required proficiency in German will be expected to obtain this proficiency as soon as possible. Beginning TAs generally teach first-year German. The foreign language pedagogy course is offered every other year, so all graduate students in the program will have the opportunity to take it either before they begin to teach, or concurrently with their first semester of teaching. In later semesters graduate students often teach second-year German and occasionally more advanced undergraduate courses as well (German culture and society, advanced composition). In addition, students may serve as discussion leaders in larger lecture courses or serve as research assistants.

Study and Research Abroad

Students are strongly encouraged to study and conduct research abroad as an integral part of their graduate work. Both Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have strong, long-standing partnerships with German universities.

Duke offers student exchanges with the Free University of Berlin and the University of Potsdam, programs in which graduate students in German studies regularly participate. Furthermore, select graduate students will be invited to serve as mentors, instructors, and/or program assistants in the undergraduate Duke study abroad summer program in Berlin.  

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has partnerships with German universities, including exchanges with the University of Tübingen and the state of Baden-Württemberg, and a new exchange with the University of Zürich. Further, graduate students in German at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have a strong track record for successful DAAD and Fulbright fellowships for study abroad.

Course of Study

1. Five core courses: Foreign Language Pedagogy: Theories and Practice; Foundations in German Studies, 1000 to 1750; Foundations in German Studies, 1750 to 1900; Foundations in German Studies, 1900 to the Present; and Theories and Methods in German Studies. Incoming students who have satisfactorily completed equivalent graduate courses may be exempted by the directors of graduate studies and graduate advising from one or more of the required courses.
2. Students are required to take two courses outside the German studies program that complement the students' areas of interest in an interdisciplinary fashion. In their first semester students take all their coursework in the program. In subsequent semesters, students may take one course per semester outside the program. All courses taken outside the program must be approved by the directors of graduate study.
3. A total of 16 courses (including those enumerated above), two of which must be credit for work on the dissertation.
4. Demonstration of advanced reading knowledge of an additional foreign language (a language besides English and German) that is appropriate to the student’s areas of research interest.  This may be done at any point during the student’s studies, but the requirement must be satisfied prior to the time that the doctoral thesis is submitted for the final defense.
5. A writing proficiency review, normally by the end of the second year. 
6. A Ph.D. preliminary exam, normally by the end of the third year.
7. A dissertation chapter and prospectus review defense, normally by the end of the fourth year.
8. An oral dissertation defense, normally by the end of the fifth year.

In addition, students are strongly encouraged to attend the program's monthly "works-in-progress" seminar, at which faculty, advanced graduate students, and guests present their current research. Students are also strongly encouraged to audit one graduate course per semester once they have completed their required coursework, during terms in which they are in residence.

Qualifying Requirements

1. Satisfactory performance in all coursework.
2. Satisfactory performance in the teaching program.
3. Demonstration of proficiency in German, including all four competencies (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), at a level of C1 (according to the Common European Frame of Reference), usually by the time the student enters the program or by the end of the first year of study.
4. Demonstration of reading knowledge in a second foreign language relevant to the student's research, as approved by the directors of graduate studies.
5. Up until the completion of their preliminary exam, all students will submit an annual plan of study report. Doing so encourages students to reflect in broad terms on their current intellectual interests and possible future trajectories for these interests. Visit the Annual Plan of Study Report web page for more information.
6. Successful completion of the writing proficiency review, normally by the end of the second year of study. Normally, students will submit a revision of a paper originally written for one of their courses.
7. Completion of the preliminary examination with a grade of "pass." The exam is normally taken in the third year of study.
8. Up until the completion of their preliminary exam, all students will submit an annual plan of study report. Doing so encourages students to reflect in broad terms on their current intellectual interests and possible future trajectories for these interests. Visit the Annual Plan of Study Report web page for more information.

9. Students who have completed their preliminary exam will submit a dissertation abstract instead of an annual plan of study report.

10. Participation in a bi-weekly dissertation colloquium once the student has successfully passed the preliminary examination, for each semester the student is in residence. Participants submit an abstract of their project at the beginning of each semester and share chapters of their work in progress.
11. Successful completion of a dissertation chapter review, usually by the end of the fourth year of study.

Coursework

Checklist of 16 Courses

1. Foreign Language Pedagogy

2. Foundations in German Studies, 1000 to 1750

3. Foundations in German Studies, 1750 to 1900

4. Foundations in German Studies, 1900 to the Present

5. Theories and Methods in German Studies

6–7. Electives: Courses from outside the program

8–14. Electives

15–16. Dissertation research

Carolina-Duke Courses

Students will enroll in courses both at Carolina and at Duke. In addition to the UNC German courses listed in this catalog, students should also look at the Duke graduate German courses.

Courses outside German Studies

Students will normally take at least two courses outside the German studies program. They are encouraged to take more as relevant to their interests and research.

All Carolina–Duke graduate students should familiarize themselves with Duke University's Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirements. International Carolina–Duke graduate students should familiarize themselves with the English Language Proficiency requirements.

Transfer Credit

Students coming in with an M.A. in German may, at the discretion of the directors of graduate studies, receive credit for coursework completed at their previous institution. Decisions about credit for prior coursework will be made at the end of the students' first year in the Carolina–Duke graduate program.

Reviews, Examinations, Dissertation

The Annual Plan of Study Report

All students are required to prepare and submit to the directors of graduate studies an updated plan of study form by January 31 of years one through three. Once the preliminary exam has been taken, students prepare and submit instead an abstract of their dissertation project.

The Writing Proficiency Review

For the writing proficiency review–an hour-long oral review that takes place in the second year of study–students submit a scholarly paper, normally written in English and about 30 pages in length, which expands and reworks a paper written for one of their courses. The director of graduate studies sets up a committee of three faculty members, including the student's primary advisor, in consultation with the student.

Ph.D. Committee

For the purpose of the preliminary examination and the dissertation chapter review, the Ph.D. committee consists of four faculty members, including the faculty advisor, selected by the student in consultation with the faculty advisor and the director of graduate studies. A fifth faculty member will be added to the committee for the dissertation defense. Typically, faculty members from the preliminary exam will also serve on the dissertation review and dissertation defense committees. At least one faculty member must come from each university department, and the majority of the committee must consist of Carolina–Duke German core faculty members.

The Preliminary Examination

The purpose of the preliminary exam is to ensure competency in a teaching field and to establish a comprehensive intellectual framework for the dissertation project. The exam should be designed so that students approach their teaching interests and dissertation research in such a way as to engage a set of broad questions that will speak to scholars both within and outside the field of German studies. The exam centers on two equally weighted lists, one of which generally concerns itself with a broadly defined literary field, such as a recognized period, movement, or genre across several periods. The other list focuses on a more specific topic such as represents the student's projected area of doctoral research, it being understood that by "area" of doctoral research something broader is envisioned than a list of texts immediately pertinent to the "topic" of the dissertation. In keeping with the prevalent conception of German studies, at least one of the exam lists ought to have a substantive interdisciplinary component; this might include integrating a particular historical span of literary production with an adjacent and related area, such as visual culture, music, religion, cultural anthropology, literary or critical theory, media studies, philosophy, linguistics, or political theory.

The preliminary examination has both a written and an oral component. The written portion of the exam is a take-home, open-book exam, consisting of two substantial questions, one on each field, given every other day. Students are given 48 hours per question and are expected to write for each question an original essay of roughly 15 pages on the assigned topic. Students are encouraged to make use of all available technology and of any materials, resources, databases, etc., they would normally consult while doing research. The oral portion of the exam, with questions from all examiners, lasts about 90 minutes and generally takes place no more than two weeks after the written exam.

Dissertation Overview

A successful German studies Ph.D. dissertation is expected to be a mature and competent piece of writing, embodying the results of significant and original research, and it must constitute a significant contribution to the field of German studies.

Following the preliminary exam in their third year of study, students are generally expected to complete their dissertation chapter review during their fourth year of study and to defend their dissertation by the end of the fifth year.

Once a student has begun work on the dissertation, the Annual Plan of Study requirement is replaced by a requirement that the student produce a dissertation abstract. This abstract is to be updated on an annual basis and, once it has been approved by the dissertation advisor, turned in by the deadline for the Annual Plan of Study.

Dissertation Chapter and Prospectus Review

In consultation with their advisor, students develop a dissertation project. Students submit to the dissertation review committee a chapter of 30 to 45 pages, a seven-to-ten-page overview of the dissertation, and a comprehensive bibliography. The oral review lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Dissertation Defense

When the student and the primary advisor are satisfied that a defensible draft is complete, they will offer it to the members of the committee for final approval and set a date for the final examination (also known as the dissertation defense). The defense will usually be held as soon after submission of the final draft as is practical and in keeping with University and Graduate School requirements.