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M.A. Degree

You can view the Proposed Degree Requirements (Word) online. For detailed information about the requirements, reading list, and qualifying examination for our M.A. degree program, please contact the Graduate Program Assistant Kay Green.

Advising and Mentorship

Our department believes that mentoring is a key aspect of a graduate student's experience. As students are admitted to the program they will be assigned a mentor/counselor for their first year. Their mentor will advise them about their degree requirements and encourage their professional development. Click here to see the University Mentoring Guidelines.

General Requirements

• Enrollment: 12 units per quarter for full-time status; less than 6 units per quarter for part-time status. (Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Associate Instructors are expected to enroll in 12 units of course work.)
• Grades: A grade average of B or better must be maintained in courses taken for the degree. On receipt of a grade of C or lower in any course, a candidate will be warned. A second grade of C or lower will be regarded as grounds for disqualification.
  

Core M.A. Program

The core M.A. program encompasses four major areas:

• German Cultural and Intellectual History
• German Literary History
• History of the German Language
• Language Pedagogy.

The following selection of courses is recommended:

• GER 101: A& B: Survey of German Literature
• GER 206: Cognitive Grammar for Applied Linguists
• GER 262: Studies in Twentieth Century Culture. Or: GER 297: Special Topics in German Literature
• GER 202: Middle High German
• GER 211: Concepts in Literary Theory. Or: GER 212: Contemporary Approaches to Literary Theory
• GER 390 A-C: The Teaching of German.
• In addition, students choose two more seminars in German Literature from GER 240 to GER 297.
• NB: 300 level professional courses cannot be used to satisfy the Graduate Studies unit requirement for the M.A.

During the second year, students, in close consultation with the graduate advisor, will develop a selection of primary works taken in German literature from the general departmental reading list that will serve as material basis for the comprehensive examination.

Students have two options in pursuing the M.A.:

• Plan I requires completion of 30 units of work at the upper division and graduate levels and submission of a substantial thesis (60 - 80 pp). At least 12 of the 30 units required must be graduate work in the major subject. There is no comprehensive exam.
• Plan II requires completion of 36 units of upper division and graduate courses and satisfactory performance on a comprehensive final examination. At least 18 of the 36 units required must be graduate courses in the major subject. No more than 9 units of research (299 courses or equivalent) may be used in satisfying the 18-unit graduate course requirement.

Plan I does not stipulate an exam in addition to the thesis. By contrast, Plan II requires a comprehensive examination consisting of three three-hour written segments and one one-hour oral component which is taken upon passing the written portion of the exam, each part administered on separate days by three members of the Graduate Program in German. The student has appropriate input into the composition of the exam committee through the Graduate Adviser. The comprehensive examination may be repeated once.

Completion Schedule

The minimum residence requirement for a Masters degree is three regular quarters of full-time enrollment (12 units per quarter). Two six-week summer sessions may be counted as the equivalent of one regular quarter for purposes of satisfying this requirement. A minimum of two units must be taken in each summer session. Typically, students complete the program in two years.