Graduate Degrees
The graduate program in German is designed to broaden the student’s knowledge of, and to deepen insights into, German literature, culture and language. Its primary aim is professional preparation for teaching and scholarship in German literature and linguistics. Ph.D. applicants can choose between two programs: German literature (history and criticism) or German linguistics (modern, historical and applied) with half the work in literature. Several complementary features of the regular course program strengthen the pursuit of the program’s goals: the Swiss Writer-in-Residence program and the opportunity to study in Germany and in the USC Program in Freiburg.
Admission Requirements
Graduate work in German requires an undergraduate major of at least six upper-division courses in German, or equivalent. A student who does not have the prerequisites may be required to make up the deficiencies.
Degree Requirements
These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the
Requirements for Graduation section and the
Graduate School section
of the catalogue for general regulations.All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.
Master of Arts in German
Completion of 28 units, 19 of which must be at the 500 level or higher, and GERM 508 Bibliography and Research Techniques is required. A comprehensive examination, written and oral, on the period from the eighteenth century to the present is required. A reading examination in either French or Latin (certification of Grosses Latinum or equivalent is accepted), or a language for special research purposes approved by the student’s committee must be passed (unless the M.A. is a terminal degree).
Doctor of Philosophy in German
Screening Procedure
The student is accepted into the Ph.D. program upon satisfactory completion of the M.A. degree at USC. Students with master’s degrees from other institutions take a screening examination during their first semester at USC. Prior to being admitted to the Ph.D. qualifying examination, all candidates are expected to present a long seminar paper showing their ability to conduct research and use secondary literature.
Course Requirements
Satisfactory completion of 60 units beyond the baccalaureate and GERM 508 Bibliography and Research Techniques and 510 Methods of Literary Criticism and Linguistic Analysis are required. Program A: Thirteen graduate courses in German literature plus two courses in German linguistics, one historical and one modern. Program B: Eight courses in German linguistics and seven graduate courses in German literature. (Students in Program B take the regular M.A. examination after completing seven graduate courses in German literature.)
Foreign Language Requirement
Students in the Ph.D. program must demonstrate reading ability in French and one additional foreign language other than German (certification of Grosses Latinum or equivalent is accepted). Several language departments at USC offer special courses in preparation for examinations offered in these departments, or the standardized language examinations administered by the Educational Testing Service are accepted.
Guidance Committee
The guidance committee is chosen in consultation with the student after the special field of interest has been defined. The chair of the committee usually becomes the chair of the dissertation committee.
Qualifying Examination
The written qualifying examination consists of four parts, each taking four hours, each on a separate day. Program A: selected periods, genres and authors as well as critical methods. Program B: questions from two chosen periods in German literature; German linguistics.
Doctoral Dissertation
An original investigation in philology, German linguistics, textual criticism, literary history, or literary criticism represents the usual form of dissertations in German.
Defense of Dissertation
This oral examination is basically a defense of the method, conclusions, and implications of the dissertation.
Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching
The Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching provides certification in the theory and practice of second or foreign language teaching for student language teachers concurrently enrolled in graduate degree programs in foreign languages or related graduate programs at USC; for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages; for external candidates concurrently enrolled in similar programs at accredited colleges or universities; or for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages. The certificate is meant to supplement graduate study in the literature and linguistics of foreign languages. It is also meant to supplement classroom teaching. Refer to the
Department of Spanish and Portuguese for course work requirements.
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