It is our mission to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Teaching:

The Department provides its undergraduates with a solid background in German culture, literature, and language and prepares them to live and work in an ever-increasing global world. It offers a wide-range of courses, including ones that focus on literature, gender, minority issues, film, and business. Small class sizes insure close interaction between students and faculty. The Department offers free tutoring hours and a weekly social hour where students may practice their language skills in a friendly setting. About half of our faculty members have won teaching awards.

The Department offers its graduate students advanced study in German culture, literature, and applied linguistics and prepares them for a variety of professions, including teaching (at the high school and college-level), translation, and foreign service.  Graduate concentrations are further available in Gender and Women’s Studies, Central and Eastern European Studies, Jewish Studies, and Second-Language Acquisition. The Department prides itself on the professional training of its students. Students are trained in teaching methodology and may participate in internships and workshops that have been developed around practical topics essential in the field. We further offer a strong mentorship program where students and faculty work one-on-one on teaching and research issues. We offer both the M.A. and Ph.D.

Our fundraising efforts are focused on rewarding strong students at all levels: in 2008, we gave out over $64,000 in scholarships and prizes.

Research:

The faculty represents an active research profile. We are currently nationally ranked for our research productivity, and it is our mission to continue to excel in research. In addition to our publication record, our faculty members have long been active in their fields. They hold or have held important positions in their professions, including the presidency of the Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association, the presidency of the Hegel Society, the vice-presidency of the Goethe Society, and the editorship of the German Quarterly, the Women in German Yearbook, and the “New Studies in the Age of Goethe” book series.

Service:

The Department has as its mission to act as a resource for German culture in the greater Chicago area. We work with area high schools and offer professional development opportunities for local-area teachers. Together with several of the area consulates and cultural institutes, we often offer German cultural events that are open to the public. Every year, we sponsor an annual “German High School Day,” where over 450 high school students compete in German-speaking events.

 

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