The German History pathway of the MA in Language, Culture and History allows students to investigate in depth the rich, diverse traditions and violent upheavals of German and Austrian history. Drawing on the expertise of an unparalleled range of specialists at UCL, this programme provides a foundation for understanding some of the most important junctures and developments of the modern era.
The MA offers students the opportunity to explore a range of aspects of German history, and gives students a grounding in one of the principal areas of modern history, essential for an understanding of contemporary Europe and its past. Text-based language teaching is available for students wishing to develop their linguistic skills.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme offers two pathways: taught and research.
Taught: one core cross-language module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). Research: one core cross-language module (30 credits), two taught modules (60 credits), and a research dissertation (90 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma, one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), full-time nine months or part-time two years, is offered.
A Postgraduate Certificate, one core module (30 credits), one optional module (30 credits), full-time three months, part-time six months, is offered.
Core module
The core Language, Culture and History module permits research into two areas of major contemporary interest, such as:
Optional modules
Students choose from a range of optional modules on topics such as the following:
Dissertation/report
All MA students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of12,000 words (taught pathway) or 18,000 words (research pathway).
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Formal teaching occurs in the first two terms and the third term is devoted to revision sessions, examinations and detailed supervision of the dissertation project. Student performance is assessed through coursework essays, a dissertation, and unseen written examinations.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Language, Culture and History: German History MA
The degree offers a graduate qualification in its own right, as well as serving as a pathway towards doctoral research in the field of German and European history. Many students progress from one of our MA programmes to an MPhil or PhD research degree.
Employability
With their specialist knowledge and language skills, German Master's graduates can be found in business, finance, the media, international agencies, teaching and academia.
UCL is ranked third in the UK for Modern Languages in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017.
UCL's central location offers students easy access to excellent resources, including the British Library, the Institute for Germanic Studies, the German Historical Institute and the Institute of Historical Research.
The cultural offerings of the Goethe-Institut, the Austrian Institute, and a wealth of exhibitions, films and theatrical performances are all nearby.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: School of European Languages, Culture & Society
74% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
The German Studies pathway of the MA in Language, Culture and History offers a wide range of modules covering many aspects of German language, culture and history. This highly flexible programme allows students from a diversity of backgrounds to pursue topics in more depth, to acquire new areas of interdisciplinary expertise and to enhance their German language skills.
This MA enables further exploration of aspects of German literature, culture, history, politics, and social and political thought, within an explicitly thematic and theoretical framework. Students can specialise in particular areas of interest through the optional modules. Text-based language teaching is available for students wishing to develop their linguistic skills.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme offers two pathways: taught and research.
Taught: one core cross-language module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). Research: one core cross-language module (30 credits), two taught modules (60 credits), and a research dissertation (90 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma, one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), full-time nine months or part-time two years, is offered.
A Postgraduate Certificate, one core module (30 credits), one optional module (30 credits), full-time three months, part-time six months, is offered.
Core module
Optional modules
Students choose from a range of optional modules on topics such as the following:
Dissertation/report
All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a 60-credit dissertation of 12,000 words, or a 90-credit dissertation of 18,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Formal teaching occurs in the first two terms and the third term is devoted to revision sessions, examinations and detailed supervision of the dissertation project. Student performance is assessed through coursework essays, a dissertation, and unseen written examinations.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Language, Culture and History: German Studies MA
The MA provides an excellent foundation year for subsequent doctoral research in all areas of the department's research specialisms. Many students progress from one of our MA programmes to an MPhil or PhD research degree.
Employability
With their specialist knowledge and language skills, German Master's graduates can be found in business, finance, the media, international agencies, teaching and academia.
UCL is ranked third in the UK for Modern Languages in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017.
UCL's central location offers students easy access to excellent resources, including the British Library, the Institute for Germanic Studies, the German Historical Institute and the Institute of Historical Research. The cultural offerings of the Goethe Institut, the Austrian Institute, and a wealth of exhibitions, films and theatrical performances are all nearby.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: School of European Languages, Culture & Society
74% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
You’ll develop a critical understanding of the most important current issues and controversies within Germanic Studies.
You choose one specialised area within the general field of Germanic Studies (for instance German politics, 19th and 20th-century German and Dutch literature, German thought, German and Dutch linguistics or Luxembourg studies).
This focus helps you develop in-depth knowledge and the capacity for independent investigation and critical analysis.
If you’re sure you don’t want to progress to a PhD, choose this course. It has a shorter dissertation and a greater proportion of coursework than the research track.
You’ll study in a lively, sociable and intellectually stimulating environment. We’re part of the School of Languages and Cultures. We have nine permanent academics, a DAAD Lektor, an Österreich-Kooperation Lektor, and numerous language assistants and research associates. Our teaching is informed by new developments in the field and by our strong interdisciplinary outlook.
Your degree is rooted in our long and distinguished history of research. Our expertise spans Germanic languages, literature and society from the Enlightenment to the present day. Our research is world-leading and internationally recognised.
Fortnightly research seminars bring together students, departmental staff and visiting academics from the UK and abroad.
We’re based in modern premises at the heart of the University campus. Shared with the School of Languages and Cultures, English and History, the building is designed with student needs in mind, and features modern flexible learning, teaching and research spaces.
Our library has a wide range of materials, including major collections in modern literary, cultural and social studies, nineteenth-century German studies, contemporary German theatre and drama, Germanic linguistics, Dutch studies and Luxembourg studies.
Your course will train you in the techniques you need to prepare, write and present your work. You’ll also learn about research principles and ethics, interview techniques, formulating professional applications and the academic job market.
For information about funding opportunities for postgraduate study, please visit our website.
Choose either the Research Track or the Programme Track, depending on your future plans. Each can last one year (full-time study) or two years (part-time study).
Within Approaches to Germanic Studies I or II, choose from:
Teaching takes place through small group seminars (on average two to three students) and one-on-one supervisions. Assessment depends on the module.
You’ll develop a critical understanding of the most important current issues and controversies within Germanic Studies.
This course will prepare you for doctoral research and improves your chances of obtaining funding from the AHRC and other funding bodies.
You’ll study in a lively, sociable and intellectually stimulating environment. We’re part of the School of Languages and Cultures. We have nine permanent academics, a DAAD Lektor, an Österreich-Kooperation Lektor, and numerous language assistants and research associates. Our teaching is informed by new developments in the field and by our strong interdisciplinary outlook.
Your degree is rooted in our long and distinguished history of research. Our expertise spans Germanic languages, literature and society from the Enlightenment to the present day. Our research is world-leading and internationally recognised.
Fortnightly research seminars bring together students, departmental staff and visiting academics from the UK and abroad.
We’re based in modern premises at the heart of the University campus. Shared with the School of Languages and Cultures, English and History, the building is designed with student needs in mind, and features modern flexible learning, teaching and research spaces.
Our library has a wide range of materials, including major collections in modern literary, cultural and social studies, nineteenth-century German studies, contemporary German theatre and drama, Germanic linguistics, Dutch studies and Luxembourg studies.
Your course will train you in the techniques you need to prepare, write and present your work. You’ll also learn about research principles and ethics, interview techniques, formulating professional applications and the academic job market.
For information about funding opportunities for postgraduate study, please visit our website.
Choose either the Research Track or the Programme Track, depending on your future plans. Each can last one year (full-time study) or two years (part-time study).
Within Approaches to Germanic Studies I or II, choose from:
Teaching takes place through small group seminars (on average two to three students) and one-on-one supervisions. Assessment depends on the module.
Research Methods in Modern Languages is assessed by two 1,500-word reviews of texts in your chosen area, as if for publication in a suitable journal (including initial draft, revisions, adapting to journal house style and copy-editing).
Approaches to Germanic Studies is assessed by a 3,000-word essay. Research Colloquium is assessed by a presentation and participants are required to actively participate in the organisation of the colloquium. Your final dissertation will be 18,000–20,000 words for 90 credits.
Our research staff are experts in German literature, culture, film and history; their research and teaching both include, and move beyond, the more traditional areas of German studies, making Royal Holloway an ideal place to study for a postgraduate degree in German.
This degree enables you to independently explore your area of interest in real depth, it can also provide you with the chance to test or try out an area of study in preparation for doctoral study. Whilst you will be working independently, you won’t be alone, you will receive specialist one-to-one tuition throughout your degree. You will work closely with your specialist supervisor, or supervisors, to develop a clearly defined research topic and complete a 30,000-40,000 word dissertation.
You will be part of our research-led environment in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects. The breadth of our teaching and research expertise means that we are able to provide the latest thinking, expert support and intellectual challenges. Our cutting-edge work ranges from the medieval to the 21st century and spans literature, cinema, thought and the visual arts. We offer postgraduate supervision by scholars of national and international standing in a large range of fields from the 18th to the 21st century, with emphasis on the Enlightenment and Goethe (including gender and political issues), realism and 19th-century women’s literature, film and literature in the Weimar Republic, Modernism and the European avantgarde, Austrian literature, post-war German cinema, contemporary women’s literature and gender studies. Our academics would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in postgraduate research in their areas of expertise.
In addition to your dissertation you will undertake a taught course designed to equip you with an array of theoretical and historical approaches to the study of literature, art and culture. This will enable you to articulate, refine and persistently test your own approach to your chosen topic within this broader theoretical and methodological framework. You will also have access to skills training and enjoy the additional support of a dedicated Research Advisor.
Theories of Literature and Visual Culture
This module is taught across two terms. It provides you with knowledge of a range of historical and modern theoretical approaches to the study of literature and the visual arts. It refines your theoretical understanding and provides you with the methodological tools needed to proceed to PhD research if you so wish.
Dissertation
You will write a 30-40,000 word dissertation on a subject of your choice, receiving one-to-one support from your supervisor.
Theories of Literature and Visual Culture is assessed by an essay and presentation.
The dissertation is examined by a Visiting Examiner and includes a viva voce.
On graduating you will have a proven ability to undertake focused research, improved your written and oral presentation skills, and honed skills in critical analysis. In addition, you will have an understanding and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in literature, film, cultural studies or the visual arts. All of the these skills will be appealing to employers and enable you to pursue your chosen career. Alternatively, you will also be in a strong position to continue onto doctoral study, having demonstrated that you have the self direction, originality and initiative required.
In recent years a number of our Modern Languages, Literature and Culture postgraduates have gone on to successful academic careers both in Britain and internationally in the fields of modern languages, critical theory and film.
Postgraduates have also embarked upon many interesting and successful careers outside academia – in the UK, continental Europe and the United States – including journalism at The Independent, work for NGOs, trade sales, publishing, professional translating, teaching, opera direction, museum curatorship, creative arts, and librarianship.
One of the University’s larger modern language subject areas, German has earned its place as a significant centre for research, with half of our research ranked as internationally excellent or world leading in the latest Research Assessment Exercise.
The size of our graduate school means we are able to support a broad range of German and Austrian cultural and literary research themes, from the medieval period to the present.
Current interests include:
We promote the connection between language and culture through a number of extracurricular programmes, both formal and informal.
You will have the opportunity to take part in our annual play, which is commonly a collaborative effort with a noted German author or playwright.
We organise regular film nights, followed by Stammtisch, and gallery visits are also offered.
We maintain close links with the Scottish arm of the Goethe Institut and the Edinburgh German Circle, which both provide opportunities to make contacts and socialise with the city’s sizeable German community.
Testament to our breadth of research expertise and lively graduate school community, our RAE ranking also reflects world-class resources (such as our well-stocked libraries and the expansive Karin McPherson collection of GDR writing) and commitment to publishing, most notably through our production of the esteemed Edinburgh German Yearbook.
This programme will introduce you to the intrinsic complexities of the history of Anglo-German cultural relations since the late eighteenth century, and the current practices of cultural exchange between the two countries. The programme will offer you a unique opportunity to engage with practitioners from the media, publishing and cultural organisations and familiarize you with theoretical, critical and methodological questions in the field of cultural transfer. We aim to engage you in reflecting on the development and significance of Anglo-German cultural relations, analysing history and current practice.
The core course focuses on the theory and practice of cultural transfers and brings students into contact with representatives of cultural institutions working in this field, through work experience placements. It will make students aware of how to build on and deepen the skills and knowledge gained as undergraduates when analysing and assessing the various aspects of cultural transfers, such as the significance of translation relations, or patterns of mutual perception since 1800.
Theory and Practice of Anglo-German - Cultural Transfers
(choose two of the four)
• Anglo-German Travel Writing
• In pursuit of prejudice?
• Thinking Translation
• The Rise and Fall of the Hero(ine)
All modules will be assessed through essays in English or German:
For the core course, you will be expected to produce 2,000 words on research methodology, plus two 3,000-word essays.
You will also produce a 4,000-word essay for each of your other two modules. Your final dissertation will be between 10,000 and 12,000 words.
This MA will enable you to have a career in intercultural relations, be it with the media (print and digital), publishing, cultural institutions, translation, and/or (non-) political cultural organisations. It will provide you with intellectual and analytical skills which you can apply in further research towards PhD and an academic career.
This course will prepare you to teach German across the 11-16 or 11-18 age range. It is a 10 month course which allows graduates to train to teach, gain a postgraduate qualification and qualified teaching status (QTS).
The course combines master's level academic study of key language learning theories and methods with a range of practical experiences. Approximately two-thirds of the course is spent in our partnership schools and colleges developing practical teaching skills with the support of trained mentors and experienced modern language teachers.
The University teaching team has an international reputation for research, teaching and publications in education. We are dedicated to developing your expertise and we believe passionately in the benefits of creative, motivating and engaging language lessons in order to create the next generation of life-long modern language speakers. Our sessions are all interactive and good pedagogy is modelled by skilled and highly motivated tutors and guest speakers. Your University tutors combine experience as outstanding teachers with academic knowledge of innovative, current and relevant educational research.
We have strong partnerships with schools and colleges, many of which are involved in research projects with the University. We work with a large variety of schools, comprehensives, grammar schools, specials schools and sixth form colleges, allowing us to personalise your placement experiences to your individual needs. University tutors and school-based mentors will provide support and challenge to help you achieve your potential.
What our students say:
The PGCE at The University of Manchester balances just the right amount of University-based training with a great deal of school-based teaching practice. The many opportunities to put the theory into practice, coupled with the high level of support from the University and partner schools led to the PGCE being an enjoyable and challenging year which has prepared me well for my first year of teaching.
For more details on interviews, please visit our PGCE website .
The academic elements of the course enable trainees to research, observe and reflect on key aspects of education practice including teaching, learning and pedagogy. You will be required to complete master's level assignments on teaching, learning and assessment, and your language skills. The course will also encourage you to pursue your own specific interests in your teaching practice.
The course will:
The structure of our PGCEs includes both school-based and University-based learning. On our secondary PGCEs, around two thirds of your time will be spent in secondary schools, academies or colleges on placements. You will also need to undertake self-directed study in the evenings and weekends, such as background reading, creating lesson plans and completing written assignments.
The course includes a wide range of teaching methods, including: seminars; group discussion; practical workshops; lectures; and presentations. You will be an active participant in your own development as you make the transition from subject expert to excellent modern language teacher.
School and University-based experiences are formally assessed and your school/college mentors and University tutors will help you to record your achievements and to set targets.
During each placement, a University tutor will observe your teaching and at the end of each placement you will receive a report from your mentor. The report will grade you in the following areas: teaching; planning, differentiation and assessment; learning environment; and wider professional responsibilities. The grades are awarded by your mentor in conjunction your University tutor. These reports, together with your record of achievement and development, facilitate your progression as a trainee teacher and on an ongoing basis as a newly qualified teacher.
You are also required to complete a number of written assignments which allow you to gain 60 master's level credits. Modules include: Teaching, Learning and Assessment; a School/College-based Enquiry (with supporting literature review); and a Reflection of Professional Practice. On-going guidance and support to complete these assignments will be available from your University tutors.
Generous, tax-free funding is available to the best graduates training in a range of subjects. You could get a £26,000 bursary or be awarded a prestigious scholarship - which provides additional support and benefits throughout your training year.
Information about additional funding options for September 2018 can be found on the Department for Education website
Home/EU students may be eligible for a repayable tuition fee loan. Home students in England may also be eligible for a repayable student maintenance loan. The loans support available to PGCE students is similar to what is available for undergraduate students and information about government financial support for undergraduate students is available here .
If you have graduated in the last three years from The University of Manchester with a 1st class honours degree, you may also be eligible for our Alumni Scholarship .
