Why choose UIUC? About
the Graduate Program
| The
Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures within
the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the largest
and most distinguished in its field in the United States.
Its faculty, representing a wide range of study in German
literature and Germanic philology and linguistics, as
well as in the Scandinavian literatures and in German
language pedagogy, is recognized internationally for
scholarship through individual research and through
its cooperation in the editing of the Journal of
English and Germanic Philology (University of Illinois
Press), founded in 1897 and one of the oldest journals
in its field. The Department's first Ph.D.'s were granted
in 1908; the first M.A., in 1900.
The department has a
reputation for excellence in teaching on both the undergraduate
and graduate levels. It is recognized for the congenial
atmosphere that prevails among faculty and students
and for a working climate conducive to learning and
productive scholarship.
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Interdepartmental Cooperation
Germanic Languages and Literatures
cooperates closely with related units in the University, particularly
with the Program in Comparative
Literature, the Program in Medieval
Studies, the Department of Linguistics,
the Unit for Cinema
Studies (for the study of German and Scandinavian film),
the Unit for Criticism
and Interpretive Theory, the Medical
Scholars Program, the multidisciplinary Program in Second
Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE), and
with the ATLAS (Applied
Technologies for Learning in the Arts and Sciences) unit
(with facilities for using and developing computer-aided learning
materials).
Exchange Programs
Strong connections are maintained
with the German-speaking countries of Europe and with Scandinavia.
Annual fellowships and assistantships are available through
the Department's exchange programs with the German universities
of Göttingen, Heidelberg, and Regensburg, and financial
aid is often available for students interested in studying
in a Scandinavian country. Graduate students can also apply
for the position of Assistant to the Director of the Austria-Illinois
Exchange Program for undergraduates in Vienna.
Students regularly qualify
for scholarships for study abroad from such agencies as the
Fulbright-Hays Commission and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst.
In addition to participating in the open national competitions,
students may also enter the competition for a DAAD scholarship
reserved for University of Illinois students.
Informal Education
The formal education of students
is regularly supplemented through lectures by departmental
faculty and other scholars sponsored by the Fruchtbringende
Gesellschaft (founded 1946 as successor to the earlier
Journal Club) and through informal presentations by graduate
students in the Deutsches Seminar. The weekly Stammtisch
provides an opportunity for students and faculty to meet informally
for conversation in German, while students of the Scandinavian
languages have a similar opportunity at the Scandinavian
Coffee Hour. Delta Phi Alpha, the national German
honorary society, has an active chapter in the Department.
Student Participation in Departmental
Decision-Making
The department bylaws provide
for wide participation by graduate students in the affairs
of the department. Each year, students enrolled in a graduate
degree program elect a representative who is invited to participate
in meetings of the advisory committee (except when personnel
or budgetary matters are discussed). The students also elect
representatives to serve on the department's Committee on
Courses and Curricula, and are appointed to other committees,
including faculty search committees, by the department head.
Graduate students are also invited to express their views
on matters affecting them at departmental meetings or through
their graduate representative.
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