Bachelor of German at University of Florida

The B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literatures (FLL) provides students with a comprehensive knowledge of a specific language (or languages) and advanced familiarity with the cultural practices and traditions associated with the language(s) of specialization. The major in FLL enhances critical thinking and communication skills and provides students with a cross-cultural understanding of our contemporary world. The program allows students the flexibility to explore a single or dual language specialization as well as the opportunity to study culture through interdisciplinary fields of critical concentration, such as Comparative Cultural Studies, Film and Visual Culture, Intensive Area Studies, Literary Studies, and Medieval and Early Modern Studies. A major in FLL offers an excellent basis for a variety of careers, including graduate study in an area of foreign language and culture and/or in the humanities and social sciences, as well as careers in education, international development, diplomacy and government, national security, communications, law, journalism, arts and culture, publishing, and global business. Participation in UF study-abroad programs or a UF approved program is highly encouraged.

The German specialization of the Foreign Languages and Literatures major is not limited to knowing the language, but instead helps the student achieve multiple literacies. In the major, the study of language merges with the study of culture and includes:

• The works of German literature as well as German culture and civilization from the Middle Ages through the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century
• German cinema
• The writings of ethnic minorities in German-speaking countries
• The terminology of business, economics, and the European Union
• Summer studies or full-semester studies at a German or Austrian university.

For many students, the curriculum is an enriching discovery of their own past: more than 60 million Americans are at least partly of German heritage. More Americans can trace their ancestry to Germany than to any other foreign country, and since the middle of the 20th century more Americans have lived and worked in Germany than in any other foreign country.

Coursework for the Major

The German specialization in Foreign Languages and Literatures consists of preparatory language study at the lower division (1000 and 2000 level), and 33 hours of advanced language, theory, and culture study in the upper division (3000 level and above).

All coursework for the major must be completed with minimum grades of C.

Ordinarily, students will need to have completed GER 2200 Intermediate German 1 by their fifth semester at UF to be able to complete the German major.

Required Foundation Coursework | 16 Credits

Required Core Coursework | 33 Credits

Up to 15 credits of 3000/4000-level classes can be transferred from another institution.

No more than 3 credits can be earned in independent studies courses such as GEW 4905.

Overseas Study

The program recommends its summer program in Mannheim, Germany. Students can complete nine credits at the intermediate or advanced level depending on prerequisites met.

Placement

Students without prior German should take the GER 1130 and GER 1131 sequence (five credits each). An alternative manner of completing the basic language sequence in a single year is by taking the online German sequence GER 1125 and GER 1126, Discover German. These 10 credit sequences fulfill the college's language requirement.

Students with previous training in one of the languages should speak with the department.

The Foreign Languages and Literatures (FLL) major enables students to achieve communicative competence in their language(s) of specialization. Students will become knowledgeable in the culture and literature and/or linguistics associated with their language area(s) such that they will be able to critically analyze and evaluate authentic sources in the target language(s) and formulate independent, critical perspectives in the target language(s). Further, students will learn the intercultural skills and practical know-how necessary to negotiate traveling, studying, and living in the target culture(s).

Before Graduating Students Must

• Satisfy the Florida statutes for the College-Level Academic Skills Requirement.
• Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.
• Achieve one or more of the following, as determined by their specialization within the FLL program: an acceptable score on a language proficiency test and/or a satisfactory faculty evaluation of a term paper, final project, or oral presentation completed for a selected advanced course.

Students in the Major Will Learn to

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Content

1. Describe and define cultural concepts, literary production, and/or linguistic structure in language(s) of specialization.

Critical Thinking

1. Analyze, interpret, and evaluate texts according to their cultural, literary and/or linguistic content.

Communication

1. Express critical competence in relation to the culture(s) of specialization through performance of comprehensive analysis in written and oral form.
2. Display oral and written proficiency in language(s) of specialization.

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

¹

Courses focus on the acquisition of the language(s) of specialization at the advanced level.

²

Courses address literary, cultural, cinematic, historical, and/or social questions.

Assessment Types

• Proficiency exams
• Term papers or final projects
• Oral presentations