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About Us
The German Program
at San Francisco State University
offers a comprehensive and carefully designed program for undergraduate
and graduate studies in the area of language, literature, culture, and
linguistics.
The Program addresses the needs of students at all levels, from those without prior knowledge of German to those with advanced, near-native or native competency in German. The curriculum is designed to enable students to develop language proficiency in accordance with the nationally recognized ACTFL standards. Learning German will open up new cultural perspectives and allow students to communicate with 120 million people in the German-speaking countries.
The German Program serves students from the entire university. Many of the students enrolled are double majors, who concurrently pursue a degree in disciplines such as International Relations, Humanities, History, Psychology, Creative Writing, Communication Studies, and Music. Students can also opt for a European Studies Minor.
In cooperation with the Office of International Programs we encourage students to study abroad. Through the California State University (CSU) International Program, students may study, for example, at the Universität of Tübingen, Universität of Heidelberg or other institutions of higher learning. Such opportunities give students an immersion experience, helping to build and reinforce language skills while earning units towards graduation. The German Program also facilitates paid summer internships in German-speaking Europe.
The Bachelor of Arts in German
The academic program leading to a B.A. in German offers a wide range of
courses to meet the diverse needs of today's student population. The
undergraduate curriculum includes coursework in language, literature,
linguistics and culture. In addition, students can elect courses in
translation and German for business. To ensure that all students
develop advanced language competency, the German Program places great
importance on small-sized participatory classes, which maximize
opportunities to communicate in German.
The German Program is approved as a Single Subject Matter Preparation Program for students wishing to pursue a career in teaching. Teacher candidates for the Single Subject Teaching Credential must complete additional required units beyond those required for the Bachelor of Arts in German.
Innovative teaching methods, films, multimedia and online materials enhance classroom interaction and enrich the academic experience. In addition, excellent computer facilities and a Foreign Language Multimedia Lab provide support for our academic program.
The Master of Arts in German
Over the course of their graduate studies in German, students acquire
in-depth knowledge of the literatures of the German-speaking countries
along with the critical skills for literary analysis. The German
Program offers the majority of graduate courses in German. As a result,
many of our M.A. candidates develop superior language competency.
We offer students a challenging and enriching course of studies that encompasses literary and cultural history with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, culture and aesthetics, and linguistics. At the end of the two-year program candidates take a comprehensive examination. The M.A. in German entitles graduates to teach at California Community Colleges and serves as preparation for entering doctoral programs at Ph.D. granting institutions.
The graduate program takes great pride in mentoring students and advises them in designing their course of study within the parameters of the graduate curriculum. Students are encouraged to take courses in a related field to complement their academic preparation in German studies. We have forged strong ties to other departments such as Classics/World and Comparative Literature, History, Jewish Studies, English, Humanities, Women's Studies and Instructional Technology.
The faculty of the German Program engages in a wide variety of research areas, such as literary theory, the history of aesthetic theory, psychoanalysis and literature, gender, nationalism and cultural politics, syntax, discourse analysis, pragmatics, and applied linguistics/Second Language Acquisition.
In addition to the academic program, qualified graduate students have the opportunity to gain teaching experience as Graduate Teaching Associates (GTA) in a conventional as well as partially online classroom. This paid GTA experience includes ongoing training and mentoring.