Texas Tech University

Languages & Cultures - German MA Program

The German Track of the Master of Arts degree in Languages and Cultures (part of the Department of Classical & Modern Languages & Literatures) equips students with unique skills that are highly transferable to a variety of careers. Students of German are trained in research, as well as in advanced linguistic, intercultural, and professional skills that will serve them well on the competitive job market or in academia.

What We Offer:

  • 2-year funding through Teaching Assistantships1
  • Courses (taught in German) that cover the full range of German-language history, culture, literature and film from the Middle Ages to today
  • New courses (taught in English) on Germany and the European Union; German Business Culture; Media, Discourse, Power in German-Speaking Countries; German Translation that will count towards dual MA degrees such as the German MBA (forthcoming fall 2022)
  • Practical and theoretical training in foreign language pedagogy (including personal mentoring by a faculty member with a M.Ed.)
  • International atmosphere with native speakers of German
  • Options to pursue a graduate minor, to do independent research, or to write a master's Thesis
  • Collaboration with faculty in conducting research, or in presenting papers at professional conferences (We have a track record of award-winning students at local and international conferences, for example: CAUTG prize for best student paper 2018; TTU Graduate Student Conference prize for best paper 2019)

German Faculty Profiles

The program features a diverse faculty who are at home in both traditional German scholarship and contemporary theoretical approaches. Faculty research areas include SLA and Applied Linguistics (Dr. Stefanie Borst), Disability Studies (Dr. Alec Cattell), Northern Myth, Folklore, and Classics (Dr. Charles Grair), Violence Studies, Graphic Novels, and Literary Animal Studies (Dr. Belinda Kleinhans), Austrian Literature, and Crime Fiction (Dr. Anita McChesney).

Your transferable skills thanks to an MA in German at TTU:

If you think a degree in German Studies only equips you to be a German teacher, think again! German Studies graduates are versatile generalists, with skills and expertise in a wide range of areas. If they don't go on to teach German, they often work in areas that revolve around communication or where they will be researching and disseminating information, such as corporate communications or journalism. German Studies graduates also tend to be successful in the fields of advertising, publishing and PR as well as at research institutes, media companies or libraries. Learn more about German Studies careers!

1- Student fees will be waived and students will receive a monthly stipend for teaching duties; students will still need to pay tuition and health insurance.

Research-related skills

Research
  • Identify, investigate, and creatively solve problems
  • Critically engage with, distill, and synthesize large bodies of information
  • Work independently
  • Meet deadlines
  • Master multiple research methodologies
  • Implement feedback from various sources, including supervisors and peers
Writing and Public Speaking
  • Write in multiple genres, across a variety of platforms, and for different audiences
  • Deliver presentations at national and international conferences
  • Prioritize and organize a large body of knowledge
  • Engage with colleagues about topics important to the field

Management-related skills

Program Management and Coordination
  • Collaborate with a team to achieve a common goal or solve a common problem
  • Switch smoothly between leadership and support roles
  • Delegate tasks as needed
  • Plan and execute events
  • Design marketing materials and campaigns
Classroom Instruction and Management
  • Convey complex content to a diverse audience
  • Guide discussions toward a consensus
  • Present information through lectures, discussions, and active-learning techniques
  • Manage the expectations of multiple constituencies
  • Adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and think on one's feet

Instruction-related skills

Advising and Counseling
  • Listen actively and attentively
  • Make recommendations
  • Comprehend and adhere to requirements and organizational policy
  • Assist others in the navigation of bureaucracy
Assessing Student Learning
  • Devise and implement metrics for success
  • Provide substantive and timely feedback
  • Keep detailed administrative records
  • Accurately report results

Other skills

German Studies specific skills
  • Refine your reading/writing/speaking/listening skills in German
  • Acquire a thorough understanding of the historical, political, and cultural development of the German-speaking cultures of Europe
  • Demonstrate a thorough grasp on the current differences between German-speaking European countries (especially Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
Miscellaneous
  • Create materials targeting a particular audience
  • Master technical skills to manage and convey information in innovative ways
  • Communicate effectively across cultures
  • Perform technical work such as graphic design, video or audio editing
  • Use social-media savvy in professional context
  • Secure grant funding (optional)

This table is adapted from the MLA Transferable Skills for PhDs in the Humanities.

Careers of past graduates:

Graduates from the TTU German MA program have gone on to work in a variety of competitive fields and careers, including localization specialists (Hilton), government administration, Foreign Service, international business, and high school teaching. We also enabled graduates to be competitive enough to win Fulbright Stipends (for example: Laura Schuster, Fulbright Austria 2017-18). Many have also gone on to continue in Ph.D. programs across the United States (including University of Washington in Seattle, University of Texas at Austin, University of California – Davis).

Contact:

Apply Now

  • You will need to apply to the Texas Tech Graduate School.
  • Direct questions regarding the admissions to Carla Burrus. For program information and questions, please contact Dr. McChesney, German graduate advisor.

Program Details

The Languages and Cultures MA Program in German at Texas Tech maintains a focus on literary studies and pedagogy while integrating a large scope of cultural material and a variety of theoretical frameworks. Courses are offered both through the Languages and Cultures program (CMLL) and through the German track program (GERM). Courses are listed in the Texas Tech University Course Catalog; areas taught include History of the German Language and Medieval Literature; Early Modern and Enlightenment Literature, Weimar Classicism, German Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism, Modernism, Weimar literature and Film, Exile Literature, Postwar Literature and Culture, and Contemporary Literature, Culture, and Cinema. Students may also take courses in Literary Theory, Research Methodology, and in Teaching Methods and Pedagogy of Second Language Acquisition. We have a vibrant program that benefits from an experienced team of cross-disciplinary professors. Small seminars provide intimate contact with faculty members and the opportunity to pursue individual research. Faculty members encourage intellectual inquiry and critical thinking through several collaborative endeavors. Opportunities exist for scholarships for study abroad or for professional development at workshops and institutes in the US and abroad.

The German Program at Texas Tech offers an intensive, hand-on, practical teaching workshops for our Graduate Part-Time Instructors and Teaching Assistants, thus ensuring solid, communicative-based instruction in our undergraduate courses. We are dedicated to training all new instructors in our department with the theoretical and practical aspects of effective teaching, and we provide continual, guided supervision in their own teaching of lower-level German courses, thus ensuring a high quality of instruction and practice. All applicants to the MA are encouraged to apply for a teaching assistantship and funding, which is allocated on a competitive basis.

We encourage students to pursue their own academic interests. The graduate advisor formulates a degree plan with respect to the interests of the student and availability of the Graduate Faculty. MA students have the option of writing an MA Thesis in all historical literary periods and in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, literary theory, and cinema. We consider professional development to be an important aspect of our program, and we prepare and encourage all of our students to present papers at regional and national conferences.

Program Requirements and Options

1. Basic Framework

The program extends over two years. There are two options: 36 hours of regular coursework (9 hours per semester), or 30 hours of regular coursework plus 6 hours minimum of thesis coursework (CMLL 6000). Official details of all program requirements and options can be found in the Graduate Catalogue of Texas Tech University.

Early in a student's first semester, a Degree Plan will be compiled with the Graduate Advisor and submitted to the Graduate School, listing the courses to be taken as part of the student's program of study. This Degree Plan is subject to revision as necessary.

The ordinary pattern of graduate coursework in a Degree Plan is as follows:

Fall A LING 5312 Second Language Pedagogy
CMLL Common Course Seminar
GERM Seminar
Spring A CMLL Common Course Seminar
CMLL Common Course Seminar
GERM Seminar
Fall B CMLL 5302 Theoretical Foundations
CMLL Common Course Seminar
GERM Seminar
Spring B CMLL Common Course Seminar
GERM Seminar
GERM Seminar

Notes:

  • Specific topics in graduate seminars, ordinarily specifying literary periods, genres, or theories, will be chosen with a view to the needs of current graduate students and the specialties of the faculty.
  • New students enroll in LING 5312 on the pedagogical methods required for teaching German at the college level. In the second Fall semester, a course on Literary Theory is offered; these courses are offered on a continual rotation.
  • Teaching Assistants' and Part Time Instructors' first priority will be to enroll in these courses. After these courses have achieved their minimum enrollment, flexibility will allow for students to take courses in other areas or to pursue an individual study course (CMLL 7000 Individual research).
  • Any member of the graduate faculty may direct an MA thesis. The thesis committee consists of the Director and two other members, chosen by the student in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. A student writing a thesis will enroll in a minimum of two consecutive courses of CMLL 6000 in place of the CMLL Common Course offerings.

2. The Second Language Requirement

The Graduate School requires sophomore proficiency in a second language for completion of the Languages and Cultures MA degree. German graduate students can fulfill this requirement by passing a fourth semester language course (2302) at TTU with a grade of B or better, by passing a Graduate Reading Course at TTU, or by passing a translation exam administered by a faculty member in CMLL. The student should contact the Graduate Advisor for more information about fulfilling this requirement.

3. Comprehensive Examinations

Written and oral examinations for the MA degree will take place in the final semester of a student's program of study, according to deadlines set by the Graduate School. The examination committee will be composed of three members of the graduate faculty chosen by the student in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. In the written exam, the student will be responsible for all material covered in program graduate courses for which the student received a grade, for the German MA Reading List, and for any other material agreed upon by the candidate and the committee chairperson. Upon successful completion of the written examination, an oral examination will be scheduled, which is not limited to questions posed in the written examination. For students writing an MA thesis, the oral examination will consist of a thesis defense.

Resources and Links

Research Resources

  • Texas Tech Library: Your first place to look with several thousand titles in French. Check the catalog.
  • Interlibrary Loan at the Texas Tech Library: Excellent service. Will order books from any library that has them. Fast, courteous and efficient.

Databases

  • JSTOR: Excellent source of academic articles. Also on the TTU Library homepage. Search on campus without a login.
  • Google Books: A great source to research and preview book (and sometimes read whole books).

Other Research Resources

Von hier ist alles möglich.
From here, it's (all) possible.

CMLL German Studies

  • Address

    CMLL Building, 2906 18th St, Lubbock, TX 79409
  • Phone

    806.742.3145