G-CDG-PHD - The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies - PhD

Students take courses full time in their first year of study; in subsequent years they acquire 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.

Course of Study

• 14 Courses, to include the following:

  • Five Core Courses:

    • Foreign Language Pedagogy, Theories and Practices

    • Foundations in German Studies I, 1000 - 1750

    • Foundations in German Studies II, 1750 to 1900

    • Foundations in German Studies III, 1900 to the Present

    • German Linguistics

  • 2 Courses outside the German Studies program that complement your areas of interest in an interdisciplinary fashion

• German Language Proficiency (Superior level rating on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in all four competencies: reading, writing, speaking and listening)

• Second Foreign Language Competency (a language besides English and German)

• Writing proficiency review

• Preliminary examination

• Dissertation Chapter Review

• Oral dissertation examination

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.