German Studies BA (Hons)

German Studies is taught by the Department of Languages and Cultures. Through our approach we can enable you to acquire high-level language skills and a thorough understanding of German cultures and societies within a global context. This programme includes an international placement year where you will study abroad.

Your first year comprises an exploration of the German language and its cultural context. Alongside this, you will study two minor subjects that complements your degree, one of which may be another language.

Building on your language skills in Year 2, you will also study Germany’s culture, politics and history in more depth, as well as selecting modules which are international in scope and promote a comparative understanding of Europe and beyond.

Spending your third year abroad in a German-speaking country makes a major contribution to your command of the language, while deepening your intercultural sensitivity. You can study at a partner institution or conduct a work placement.

In your final year, you consolidate your German language skills, and study specialist culture and comparative courses, such as ‘Images of Austria: National Identity and Cultural Representation’, and ‘Autocrats, Caudillos and Big Men: Understanding Dictatorship and its Cultural Representation in the 20th Century’. You will also develop a particular topic from your second year studies into your specialist dissertation.

Careers

As well as language and subject-related skills, a degree in languages can help you to develop rich interpersonal, intercultural, cognitive and transferable skills that can be utilised across a variety of careers.

At Lancaster, German is ranked 4th in the UK for graduate prospects in The Complete University Guide 2020. Our graduates have found work in a wide variety of areas such as accountancy, IT, business development, civil service, events management, finance, journalism, publishing, research and sales, as well as teaching and translating both in the UK and beyond.

Many German Studies graduates continue their studies at Lancaster, making the most of our postgraduate research facilities. We offer Masters degrees in Translation and Languages and Cultures, which can lead on to a variety of careers including translation, and teaching.