The Graduate Programs in German

Please see the formal requirements for the Ph.D. programs in German. See also a list of our graduate students and a description of study-abroad opportunities for graduate students.

The department at Yale has long been considered one of the strongest departments of German in the United States. While keeping to a tradition that allows students to emphasize a rigorous study of canonical, and now also non-canonical, texts of German literature, the department also encompasses and encourages within its own framework the intensive study of interdisciplinary fields such as film, critical theory and philosophy, and the practice of contemporary methodological approaches.

In our close-knit intellectual community the faculty works with each of its students to develop a course of study that combines those elements of German culture that most reflect the individual's interests. Our goal is to allow as much freedom as possible while assuring the completion of a degree that will have thoroughly prepared the student for a strong entrance into the profession. Our record in placing our graduates has been superb over the years.

The Interdisciplinary Context
One of the many strong points of Yale as a graduate institution is the permeability of the walls between departments. In keeping with this, the department has a large number of exceptional affiliated faculty (see Faculty) who have their official appointments elsewhere but who are committed to periodically offering courses in the Department and to working actively with our students. In order to enrich their interdisciplinary and theoretical thinking, students are also encouraged to explore any contiguous fields of their choosing at Yale. We have a strong Department of Comparative Literature, a vital Program in Film Studies, and over the years our students have also established rewarding collaborations in such fields as Jewish Studies, History, Political Theory, Music, and Art History. Our own courses draw students from a wide range of other departments.

Admissions and financial support:
We take in a small number of graduate students each year in a competitive selection process. The size of the program assures the high overall quality of our students, the faculty's commitment to close contact with each of those students during the course of study, and an atmosphere of intellectual collegiality.

The university offers a financial support program of five years that includes two initial years of fellowship, two years of teaching fellowships and an additional year of dissertation support. (A sixth year may be possible with study abroad.) Students are eligible for fellowships for summer study in their first two years, with submission and subsequent approval of a plan of study, and eligible for a wide array of competitive summer fellowships that Yale offers in succeeding years.

In addition, within the framework of our Yale-Baden-Württemberg exchange program, the German Department can send its graduate students to Heidelberg, Tübingen, or Freiburg for a two-month period during the summer. They receive a monthly stipend from the respective university as well as a generous travel stipend from the Max Kade Foundation. (Help in obtaining housing is also available.)

Teacher Training
Students may choose to teach in their third and fourth year, during which time they have opportunities for different kinds of teaching, introductory to advanced language classes, German for Reading, as well as some occasional opportunities of a more literary nature. In these years they work closely with our language program director on issues of pedagogy. Rigorous teacher training and pedagogy comprise a central element in the professional preparation currently regarded as ideal for the requirements of future academic appointments. The teaching program is flexible and many of our students choose to continue teaching over a longer period of time. On the other hand, if for any reason no suitable teaching is available, students nevertheless continue to be funded.

Study Abroad and Exchanges
The Yale Department of German has always encouraged its students to take part in the many opportunities for study and research abroad which include the DAAD program as well as other fellowships and opportunities recently arranged with overseas institutions. External funding for study abroad can thus provide a sixth year of supported study. The Graduate School has an exchange program with Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Tübingen for which all of our graduate students are eligible. Almost all of our students find their way to a German-speaking country at whatever juncture proves most useful for the completion of their degree.

Our department is affiliated with the Institut für Allgemeine und Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft at the Freie Universität in Berlin which provides our graduate students studying in Berlin with a "home base."

Exchange students come to Yale every year from a number of German institutions (the Freie Universität in Berlin, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Konstanz and Tübingen have participated) and this continues to be an important force in internationalizing the graduate experience here and in forging close trans-Atlantic ties for our students.

Courses Offered in the German Department
Courses for the coming academic year and previous years are listed here.

Visiting Scholars
For many years now the department has hosted a series of visiting professors who teach and work closely with our graduate students. Most of these have returned to Yale as recurring visitors, so that the contact with the program is long-standing and continuous, and the relationship with our graduate students is productive and meaningful. Recent and present scholars include Winfried Menninghaus (Freie Universität, Berlin), Henry Sussman (SUNY Buffalo), Aleida Assmann (Konstanz) and Leo Lensing (Wesleyan University).

Events
The Yale University Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures was the very first to institute a graduate student conference. Each year the graduate students organize this event around a topic of their own choosing. Faculty and students from other institutions, as well as our own students, participate by presenting lectures and papers. Our upcoming conference will be our fifteenth. In addition, the department hosts speakers every year both from the United States and abroad.

Graduate Faculty
German Department Faculty:
Cyrus Hamlin, Carol Jacobs, Winfried Menninghaus (Visiting), Rainer Nägele, Brigitte Peucker, Henry Sussman (Visiting), Kirk Wetters

Affiliated Faculty:
Katie Trumpener (Comparative Literature and Film), Jay Winter (History), Karsten Harries and James Kreines (Philosophy), Seyla Benhabib, Steven Smith (Political Science), Christopher Wood (History of Art).

Contact:
Director of Graduate study:
Spring 2008
Professor Brigitte Peucker
Tel: (203) 432-0785
brigitte.peucker@yale.edu

Chair:
Professor Carol Jacobs
Tel: (203) 432-0789
carol.jacobs@yale.edu