Master's Degree Program
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 section 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 various cultural institutions and forms of everyday life.
Before the beginning of each semester graduate students are expected to consult with the Graduate Coordinator in order to sign up for courses and discuss their progress and to attend meetings scheduled by the Graduate Coordinator.
Language Requirement
German Studies 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 than3 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 coordinator twice during each semester and discuss with her/him the progress made and their future studies.
In addition, the German section offers as a mechanism of support a colloquium at which advanced graduate students present their work and annual written feedback and evaluation.
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 of their non-thesis exam. All committee members must be faculty of the German section. The supervisory committee is formally approved by the Graduate Coordinator, 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 Coordinator.
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.
It is recommended that MA candidates take their exams at the end of the fourth 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 coordinator 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 five identification questions on the most common genres, epochs, and concepts as well as two 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 German section 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. Questions about 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 texts from the M.A. reading list or special areas like film history or theory. The department provides an M.A. reading list, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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. Those students who write a M.A. thesis need a committee of two faculty members, one who is the first and one who is the second reader of the thesis. 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. Those students who write a M.A. thesis do not take the written exam. The oral exam lasts approximately one hour and covers questions regarding the M.A. thesis and not a reading list.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
Graduate courses are research-oriented in the sense that they include secondary literature as comprehensive as possible whether they investigate specific topics or survey periods. In all graduate 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, as a rule all participants of graduate courses will write a major paper. M.A. students need to enroll in the anchor courses offered during the times that they are enrolled as a M.A. student.
- GEW 6205 Foundations of Literary Study
- 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
Topical Courses
In addition to the anchor-courses, topical courses will be offered such as:
- GEW 6266 The History of the German Novel
- GET 6295 Weimar Cinema
- GET 6299 New German Cinema and its Legacy
- GEW 6305 Studies in German Drama and Theater
- GER 6505 German Culture
- GEW 6725 Culture and Society in the Weimar Republic
- GEW 6726 Literature and Culture in the Third Reich
- GEW 6826 German Literary Theory
- GEW 6900 Seminar in German Language and Literature
- GEW 6901 Special Study in German Languages and Literatures
- GER 6940 Supervised Teaching
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 Coordinator and the coordinator 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, the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures offers a Graduate Minor in German consisting of at least 6 credit hours of graduate courses. Course of study will be determined by the German Graduate Coordinator 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.
