Study Abroad: Additional Programs

For programs sponsored directly by the Department of German Studies, see Study Abroad.

UW Study Abroad offers a variety of direct exchanges at German and Austrian Universities whereby UW students enroll in regular university courses at the partner university and receive UW credit for their work. Participants in direct exchanges pay regular UW tuition to UW and no tuition to the host university in Germany or Austria. All programs offer credits that can apply to our major. Please contact the undergraduate advisor in German Studies, Professor Jason Groves, before you go abroad to discuss how your study abroad credits might apply to credits in the major. Double majors need to check with their other program adviser in advance to determine what courses might apply to the other major.

There are also several independent language programs that might be especially attractive for short-term study or intensive summer language learning.

The information below gives some basic information about the different exchange partner universities and their specific strengths. Please see the UW Study Abroad website for detailed information about the German university system and some background about the different universities and the cities in which they are located. For questions regarding the administration of the exchange, please contact UW Study Abroad. Specific deadlines apply.

Independent Language Programs

It is FUBiS’ mission to provide international students with a premier study abroad program delivering the highest academic quality and furthering the development of intercultural competence.

FUBiS’ goal is to provide a stimulating and rewarding experience – academically, culturally, and personally.

See www.fubis.org or UW Study Abroad program brochure for details.

For more info see the Goethe Institute website or UW Study Abroad brochure.

The Internationale Frankfurter Sommerkurse is s UW affiliated language school options, which might be especially attractive for short-term study abroad and intensive summer language study.

Note: As it is not a full-time study option, credits earned through the Internationale Frankfurter Sommerkurse will be transferred through the UW Office of Admissions, not IPE, upon return.

Direct Exchanges

Humboldt University Berlin. Interesting courses for our majors can be found at the “Institut für deutsche Literatur” and the “Institut für deutsche Sprache und Linguistik”, both part of the “Philosophische Fakultät II”. German majors should also check out the offerings at the “Institut für Kulturwissenschaft”  that is part of the “Philosophische Fakultät III”, a department that has a fairly theoretical orientation in cultural studies and critical theory. All these departments are located in the center of Berlin near the main library, museums and exhibit halls, opera and theater, and other cultural attractions.

The Ruprecht Karls Universität Heidelberg is, like Freiburg and Tübingen, one of the oldest universities in Germany, all of them located in the state of Baden-Würtemberg. Heidelberg is known worldwide as a tourist destination with its famous renaissance castle and picturesque downtown. Students in German Studies will find a diverse offering of language and literature courses through the Seminar für Deutsch als Fremdsprachenphilologie, especially in their Kurzzeitstudium which is targeted for exchange students. Students with advanced German have the option of enrolling in a year-long certificate program and obtain the “Zertifikat über Grundstudien in der deutschen Sprache und Kultur”.

Students who go to Heidelberg on semester- or year-long exchanges may be eligible to be nominated for a Baden-Würtemberg fellowship.

UW German Studies and the University of Tübingen have a long history of exchanging students, faculty, and other collaborations. German Studies majors will most likely drift towards the course offerings in the “Deutsches Seminar” that is part of the Neuphilologische Fakultät and has courses in linguistics, medieval, and modern German Literature. There is also a large library with primary and secondary sources in the same building as the seminars. Students who are not quite ready to take classes in German language and literature with German native-speakers have access to the offerings of the “Fortbildung Deutsch als Fremdsprache”, a program located in the international office and geared towards international exchange students.

Students who go to Tübingen on semester- or year-long exchanges may be eligible to be nominated for a Baden-Würtemberg fellowship.