German Studies student working with a professor

A wide variety of opportunities to explore language, literature and culture

Academics

The Department of German Studies offers students a wide variety of opportunities to explore the language, literature and culture of German-speaking countries. Courses are offered in German as well as in English, with subjects ranging from medieval to contemporary literature and include studies of film, visual culture, intellectual history, music, psychology and women's studies. The department also offers opportunities to explore Dutch and Swedish language

Popular Destinations

Undergraduate Studies Graduate Studies Course Listings German Language Study

Pathways of Scholarship

Undergraduate Studies

As a German studies major, you’ll gain proficiency in reading, speaking and writing German, become acquainted with the culture of German-speaking countries and develop skills in reading, analyzing and discussing German texts in relevant disciplines.

Click here to learn more about out undergraduate program, or browse some of our sample courses below:

Academics participating in a six-week faculty summer seminar in the humanities and social sciences on the Cornell campus. The “Literature-Media-Form” seminar examines topics in the interdisciplinary field of German studies from historical and theoretical perspectives.

Graduate Studies

One of the leading graduate programs nationally and internationally, German Studies at Cornell offers a flexible yet rigorous course of study that draws on the expertise of faculty members from both the Department of German Studies and a variety of units in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Click here to learn more about our graduate program, or browse profiles of our current graduate students.

German Studies News

Share and hear poetry in many languages at this April 9 event

The event celebrates April as National Poetry Month.

University Lecture examines ‘The Narrative Brain’

Our minds and the ways we tell stories are closely attuned, research shows, and scholar Fritz Breithaupt will explore how that connection works during a March visit as University Lecturer.

promotional poster showing a blue ball marked with black cross-hatches and the words "Media Objects

Media Objects podcast releases 'sonic essays' based at Cornell

The series features the voices and research of 13 Cornell faculty members, more than half from A&S.

Two people -- characters in a play -- stand in a field full of flowers

German studies hosts evening with ‘Rosa and Blanca’ playwright

Rebekka Kricheldorf will talk about writing comedy and more with Samuel Buggeln, the play’s director and artistic director of Cherry Arts, on Nov. 12 – one of several collaborations.

Crowdfunding launch supports Ways of Knowing podcast at Cornell

A crowdfunding campaign launched Nov. 1 to support a Cornell-based season of "Ways of Knowing,” a new podcast created by The World According to Sound.

A&S announces membership in MLA Strategic Partnership Network

“We felt this is an important resource that should be available to our humanists at all levels, whether they have the resources to pay for membership or not,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences.

World Languages Days open to public this year

To celebrate Cornell’s commitment to fostering global literacy and cross-cultural understanding, the Language Resource Center in the College of Arts and Sciences will host World Languages Day on Oct. 26.

Language ‘Sustainability through Collaboration’ Conference at Cornell

Cornell, the only institution offering regular multilevel instruction in all six of the major Southeast Asian languages – Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Filipino (Tagalog), Thai and Vietnamese – will host a conference on the teaching of these languages on Sept. 19-21.

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