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Master of Arts in German
General Responsibilities and Expectations
Graduate students are responsible for the successful completion of their studies. They are expected to be highly motivated and interested in continuously improving their language skills, in broadening their knowledge of German culture, history, and society, as well as in increasing their comprehension of the theoretical approaches that constitute the foundation of cultural, literary, and media studies. In order to reach these goals graduate students should make optimal use of all means and opportunities offered in and by the Department and on campus (e.g.: presentations, films, German TV, conferences whose topics, origin or content is pertinent to German studies, etc.) The German department also offers several opportunities to study a semester or a year abroad. Every M.A. student should have spent a considerable time in Germany in order to experience in an authentic way its cultural and geographical diversity, its mentalities, its various cultural institutions and forms of everyday life.
Before the beginning of each semester graduate students are expected to consult with the Graduate Advisor and to attend meetings scheduled by the Graduate Advisor.
Language Requirement
The German department does not offer German language courses for its graduate students. It is assumed that entering graduate students have competence in oral and written German. They must be able to follow a course taught in German and to read all primary literary texts in German. It is neither expected that students write their research papers in German, nor that they make their contributions to classroom discussions exclusively in German. It is, however, imperative that students seeking a graduate degree in German work constantly on the improvement of all language skills in order to be prepared for jobs or further studies. Advanced graduate students are strongly encouraged to increase their use of German in graduate seminars.
The ability to use the English language correctly and effectively is required of all candidates.
The Master's Degree
The M.A. degree is either a final degree or an entrance degree for those who intent to continue their studies in a Ph.D. program. In both cases students are expected to develop a solid and broad knowledge on German literary and cultural history. This includes media and film studies as well as the theoretical foundations of the studies of literature, media, and culture. Therefore, students must focus their reading and course-work on these areas. Not more than 6 credits can be earned in courses taken outside the department. These courses must supplement directly the primary fields of studies in order to be recognized toward the M.A. degree in German. To ensure that students are 'on track' they will the graduate advisor twice during each semester and discuss with her/him the progress made and their future studies.
Thesis and Non-Thesis
There are two ways to obtain the M.A. degree: one with thesis, one without. The thesis and/or the M.A. exam performances have to be evaluated as satisfactory by a supervisory committee. Students are free to choose the chair and the additional two members of their supervisory committee. At least two of the committee members must be faculty in the German Department. The supervisory committee is formally nominated by the department chair, approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Students who choose the non-thesis option have to complete 36 credit hours in graduate courses or 33 credits plus the Supervised Teaching course, if taken.
Students who choose the thesis option have to complete 30 credit hours in graduate courses or 27 credits plus the Supervised Teaching course, if taken. Three of the 30 credit hours (GEW 6971-Research for Master's Thesis) must be taken during the term in which the final examination is given and during the term the degree is received.
Transfer credits are subject to the approval by the Department and the Graduate School. Credits earned at universities in German speaking countries with which the University of Florida has signed an exchange agreement have to be approved by the Graduate Advisor.
Students who wish to change from the thesis to the non-thesis option must obtain permission from their supervisory committee. The Graduate School has to be informed about the change at least one full semester before the M.A. examination.
Master's Examinations
Examinations will be administered during the fall and spring semesters. Every candidate has to consult the deadlines published by the Graduate School for each semester's exact dates. The written exam must be taken no later than the 10th week of classes. Oral examinations will be administered no later than two weeks after the written examination.
It is recommended that MA candidates take their exams at the end of the semester in which they complete their required credit hours. During the semester in which students take their exams they must be in constant contact with the graduate advisor to avoid a deadline being missed or a requirement overlooked. The graduate advisor is involved ex officio in every phase of the exam process in order to ensure that all requirements have been fulfilled.
The first part of the M.A. examination consists of a four-hour written exam. It includes several identification questions on the most common genres, epochs, and concepts as well as essay questions based mainly on the students' course-work. The chair of the supervisory committee is responsible for providing the questions for the written exam. All members of the department that taught courses the candidate attended are solicited to contribute questions to the written exam.
The supervisory committee has to have accepted the written exam as satisfactory before an M.A. candidate is admitted to the oral examination. Orals cannot be scheduled prior to the approval of the written exam. Minor flaws the written exam can be addressed in the oral examination. The committee, however, will request that students rewrite parts of the exam if some answers are incomplete or contain more serious errors. If 50% of the written exam is unacceptable the committee will decide if and under what conditions the student will be allowed to retake the whole exam.
The oral exam lasts at least one hour. Time spent on questions from the written exam does not count as part of the oral examination. The oral examination covers for the most part authors and texts from the M.A. reading list or special areas like film history or theory. The department provides an M.A. reading list. Up to 40% of the texts on the departmental reading list can be replaced by the M.A. candidate, however, substituted authors or texts can only be replaced by texts and/or authors from the same historical period.
The student can use either German or English in answering questions in all M.A. exams.
Master's Thesis
Students who write an MA thesis have to earn 30 credits. In its content and its form the M.A. thesis has to fulfill all the requirements of a publishable research paper. It should be no shorter than 50 pages, contain original research and demonstrate that the author is familiar with the more current, relevant publications on her/his topic. It is not necessary that students be completely finished with their thesis in order to take the oral and written exam. The degree requirements, however, are only fulfilled after the completion of the thesis.
In addition to the supervisory committee, the thesis must also be accepted by the Editorial Office of the Graduate School. Students, therefore, have to follow the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences guidelines for the M.A. degree. These are published and made available by the Graduate School.
M.A. candidates who have their M.A. thesis accepted and/or passed the written and oral M.A. exams are awarded the degree of Master of Arts.
Anchor Courses
The following anchor-courses must be taken by all M.A. students within the course of their studies:
- GEW 6205 Foundations of Literary Study
- GEW 6266 The History of the German Novel
- GEW 6405 Medieval and Renaissance Literature
- GEW 6425 From Luther to Lessing: Early Modern German Literature
- GEW 6535 German Classical and Romantic Literature
- GEW 6558 Young Germany, Biedermeier, Realism and Naturalism
- GEW 6735 Modem German Literature
- GEW 6736 Contemporary German Literature
- GET 6195 German Film and Literature
Topical Courses
In addition to the anchor-courses, topical courses will be offered such as:
- GEW 3233 The History of the German Novel
- GET 6295 Weimar Cinema
- GET 6298 Woman and German Cinema
- GET 6299 New German Cinema and its Legacy
- GEW 6305 Studies in German Drama and Theater
- GEW 6339 History of German Poetry
- GER 6505 German Culture
- GEW 6725 Culture and Society in the Weimar Republic
- GEW 6726 Literature and Culture in the Third Reich
- GEW 6755 Contribution of Women in German Literature
- GEW 6826 German Literary Theory
- GER 6855 The Structure of German
- GEW 6900 Seminar in Germanic Language and Literature
- GEW 6901 Special Study in Germanic Languages and Literatures
- GER 6940 Supervised Teaching
These courses are research-oriented in the sense that they consist of an exemplary investigation of a specific topic and include secondary literature as comprehensive as possible. In these courses, students become familiar with the application of different theoretical approaches and practice all skills needed to conduct research and to write a publishable research paper. Therefore, all participants of topical courses will write a major paper in preparation for their M.A. or Ph.D. thesis.
Graduate Minor
Students are encouraged to pursue the possibility of obtaining a Graduate Minor in a field related to the major. For information, consult with the German Graduate Adviser and the adviser in the appropriate department. A faculty member of the minor area of study will be present during the M.A. examination. For students from other departments, GSS offers a Graduate Minor in German consisting of at least 6 credit hours of graduate courses. Course of study will be determined by the Graduate Advisor of GSS together with the student and submitted to the Graduate School prior to his/her enrollment in the program.
Special Credit for Advanced Students
Students who have taken graduate courses at an accredited American or foreign university may be given 6 credits toward the M.A. with thesis or the M.A. without thesis. To receive credit, students must submit proper documentation and must have a "B" or better in each course taken.
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