Undergraduate German 2026-2027

Learn more about German 20th-century literature, dealing with the events that shaped German and European history. As in all good literature, we will discuss universal themes and topics covering all of the most important aspects of modern life.  

This interactive, skill-based course is designed for students with prior knowledge of German. It builds on previously acquired German communication skills to further develop students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities in German. Additionally, the course provides a deeper understanding of various cultural aspects of German-speaking countries.

Students who are considering applying for entry to German Honours must take this course.

Upon registration for this course, you are asked to complete a short online language placement to ensure that you are registered for the most appropriate course for your language ability.

• Students who have no experience of German register for GM1054: German for Beginners 1
• Students who have studied German to National 5/GCSE level (or equivalent) typically register for GM1054: German for Beginners 1
• Students who have studied German to Higher (or equivalent) register for GM1050 German Language 1

This interactive language course provides students with a foundation in German. It enables students to understand the gist of authentic spoken and written German and to speak and write about everyday topics with a degree of accuracy and fluency.

No previous knowledge of German is required, but this course can also be taken by students who took German at school before, on any level lower than Higher or A-level.

With 3 Language Classes and 1 Language Practical per week this course provides students with ample opportunities to develop their language skills in class, as well as supporting them to refine their personal self-study strategies.

After completion of German for Beginners 1, students can continue with German for Beginners 2 in the second term of each year.

Upon registration for this course, you are asked to complete a short online language placement to ensure that you are registered for the most appropriate course for your language ability.

It is recommended (subject to individual placement results) that:
• Students who have no experience of German register for GM1054: German for Beginners 1
• Students who have studied German to National 5/ GCSE level (or equivalent) typically register for GM1054: German for Beginners 1
• Students who have studied German to Higher level (or equivalent) register for GM1050 German Language 1

The course is designed for students who successfully completed GM1050 (semester 1)
The course builds on previously acquired German communication skills to further develop students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities in German. Additionally, the course provides a deeper understanding of various cultural aspects of German-speaking countries.

Students who are considering applying for entry to German Honours must take this course

This interactive language course provides students with a sound foundation in German. It is designed for students who completed GM1054 (German for Beginners 1) during term 1.

The course enables students to understand the gist of authentic written and spoken German and to speak and write about everyday topics with a degree of accuracy and fluency.

No previous knowledge of German is required, but this course can also be taken by students who took German at school before, on any level lower than Higher or A-level. With 3 Language Classes and 1 Language Practical per week this course provides students with ample opportunities to develop their language skills in class, as well as supporting them to refine their personal self-study strategies.

Learn more about modern German history and culture while also extending your skills in reading German texts. 

The course consists of language classes leading to advanced communicative competence in German and it will include the analysis of contemporary texts drawn from a variety of contexts. This course may be taken only by students who have completed the German for Beginners courses.

This level two language course will build on and extend students' fluency and written skills in German.

The intention of the course is to extend and reinforce further students' command of German grammar, vocabulary and syntactic structures, and to introduce various styles of written and spoken German. The course builds on the work done in GM2040 and  is intended only for continuing beginners. 

Building on work done in GM 2042, the course will develop further language skills.

This course will examine several landmark texts of modern Austrian literature and, indeed, world literature. We will look at Arthur Schnitzler’s examination of bourgeois hypocrisy in Fräulein Else, Franz Kafka’s dystopian presentation of an individual versus a powerful bureaucracy in Das Schloss, Ingeborg Bachmann’s depiction of a female subject’s struggle for identity in Malina, and Thomas Bernhard’s critique of the long shadow of Austria’s past in Heldenplatz. We will examine the works’ social and historical contexts, as well as the authors’ innovative style and use of language.

The German Junior Honours Language and Culture course builds on and extends students’ written skills and fluency in German, while engaging with aspects of contemporary German culture.

This course offers advanced German language learning at Level 3. The course runs for only the first semester.

What does it mean to be human? Writers have explored this question by turning to the nonhuman, and to realms of experience that modern human life excludes. The course examines literary works in relation to early twentieth century thought, society and culture in order to understand writers' discontentment with modern life. The course involves reading some key works of German literary modernism, by authors such as Döblin, Kafka, Rilke, Musil, and Hesse, alongside works by influential thinkers of this period such as Nietzsche, Simmel and Freud.

In recent decades, environmental crisis has become a global concern. In this course we examine how literary writers have engaged with issues such as pollution, nuclear disaster and climate change. If we are to prevent future environmental disaster we need more than a scientific understanding of facts – we need to understand how attitudes towards the environment are culturally shaped, and how environmental discourse is generated, debated and circulated.

The German Junior Honours Language and Culture course builds on and extends students’ written skills and fluency in German, while engaging with aspects of contemporary German culture.

What does it mean to be human? Writers have explored this question by turning to the nonhuman, and to realms of experience that modern human life excludes. The course examines literary works in relation to early twentieth century thought, society and culture in order to understand writers' discontentment with modern life. The course involves reading some key works of German literary modernism, by authors such as Döblin, Kafka, Rilke, Musil, and Hesse, alongside works by influential thinkers of this period such as Nietzsche, Simmel and Freud.

In recent decades, environmental crisis has become a global concern. In this course we examine how literary writers have engaged with issues such as pollution, nuclear disaster and climate change. If we are to prevent future environmental disaster we need more than an understanding of the scientific facts – we need to understand how attitudes towards the environment are culturally shaped, and how environmental discourse is generated, debated and circulated.

This course will examine several landmark texts of modern Austrian literature and, indeed, world literature. We will look at Arthur Schnitzler’s examination of bourgeois hypocrisy in Fräulein Else, Franz Kafka’s dystopian presentation of an individual versus a powerful bureaucracy in Das Schloss, Ingeborg Bachmann’s depiction of a female subject’s struggle for identity in Malina, and Thomas Bernhard’s critique of the long shadow of Austria’s past in Heldenplatz. We will examine the works’ social and historical contexts, as well as the authors’ innovative style and use of language.

This level 4 course is specifically aimed at students who want to improve their German Language skills, but who are not taking German as  part of a single or joint Honours programme in German Studies. It consists of a German language class, a composition class and an oral class.

Building on the skills gained during the Junior Honours language course and before, this module expands and refines German language expertise in writing, reading, speaking and listening, to an advanced level, for their final exit written and oral exam in German.

What does it mean to be human? Writers have explored this question by turning to the nonhuman, and to realms of experience that modern human life excludes. The course examines literary works in relation to early twentieth century thought, society and culture in order to understand writers' discontentment with modern life. The course involves reading some key works of German literary modernism, by authors such as Döblin, Kafka, Rilke, Musil, and Hesse, alongside works by influential thinkers of this period such as Nietzsche, Simmel and Freud.

In recent decades, environmental crisis has become a global concern. In this course we examine how literary writers have engaged with issues such as pollution, nuclear disaster and climate change. If we are to prevent future environmental disaster we need more than a scientific understanding of facts – we need to understand how attitudes towards the environment are culturally shaped, and how environmental discourse is generated, debated and circulated.