Bulletin

Interested in attending Stanford?
Visit Undergraduate Admissions opens in a new tab or Graduate Admissions opens in a new tab.

Resources

  • About Stanford
  • About Bulletin
  • Academic Calendar opens in a new tab
  • Bulletin Archive
  • Enrollment Overview opens in a new tab
  • Enrollment Deadlines opens in a new tab
  • Degrees at a Glance

Schools

  • Doerr School of Sustainability opens in a new tab
  • Graduate School of Business opens in a new tab
  • Graduate School of Education opens in a new tab
  • School of Engineering opens in a new tab
  • School of Humanities and Science opens in a new tab
  • School of Law opens in a new tab
  • School of Medicine opens in a new tab
Give Feedback

Stanford University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges opens in a new tab.

Give Feedback
Stanford
University
  • Stanford Home
  • Maps & Directions
  • Search Stanford
  • Emergency Info
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Trademarks
  • Non-Discrimination
  • Accessibility
© Stanford University.  Stanford, California 94305.
Skip to main content
Stanford University
Bulletin
German Studies
School of Humanities & Sciences
  • Major
  • Minor
Program Info
  • About the Program
  • Major: Bachelor of Arts
    • Preparing for the Major
    • Policies
    • Learning Outcomes
  • Minor
  • Courses
  • Contact Us
Undergrad Info
  • Admissions
  • Advising
  • General Education
Loading program
  1. Home
  2. Programs
  3. Undergraduate
  4. German Studies
  5. Major: Bachelor of Arts

Major: Bachelor of Arts

Major
  • German Studies opens in a new tab
Program Minimum Units
60 Units
University Minimum Units
180 Units
Interests
Languages, Literature & Culture, Studying the Past, Art: Visual & Performing, International Relations
Academic Areas
Humanities & Arts, Social Sciences

Overview

The undergraduate program in German Studies aims to provide students with German language skills, the ability to interpret literature and other cultural material, and the capacity to analyze the societies of the German-speaking countries of Central Europe. In addition, its interdisciplinary component prepares students to understand different cultures from the perspectives of multiple disciplines. The program prepares students for careers in business, social service, government, teaching, and for graduate work in German Studies.

Requirements

Core Program Requirements

Core Courses

Complete all of the following course(s):
GERMAN 116

Writing About Germany: New Topics, New Genres

3-5 Units
GERMAN 191

German Capstone Project

1 Units

Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)

Students must take the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) two quarters prior to degree conferral. Students should contact the Stanford Language Center to arrange assessment.

Electives

Required Coursework

  • Coursework within the department. Additional GERMAN courses at the 100- or 200- level. 

  • Language coursework. All GERLANG courses from the Language Center may be counted.

  • Bing Overseas Program. Courses taken at the Bing Overseas Studies in Berlin program with prior approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. 

  • Education as Self-Fashioning (ESF), Structured Liberal Education (SLE), relevant IntroSems or COLLEGE courses may contribute a maximum of ten units. 

  • Subject to approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies, courses from other fields may count if they contribute to the student’s language skills, the ability to interpret literature and other cultural material, or the capacity to analyze societies.

Writing in the Major (WIM)

Courses

This course introduces students to writing as a process and is designed to combine students’ specific disciplinary interest with a focus on German and the German-speaking world.

Complete all of the following course(s):
GERMAN 116

Writing About Germany: New Topics, New Genres

3-5 Units

Capstone Experience

German Studies Capstone Experience

Complete all of the following course(s):
GERMAN 191

German Capstone Project

1 Units

German and Philosophy Subplan Capstone Experience

Complete any of the following requirements:
Philosophy and Literature Capstone Seminar

Students must take one course designated as a philosophy and literature capstone with the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Faculty Advisor for Philosophy.

or
Honors Thesis

Students majoring in any DLCL department (i.e., Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German Studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures) who have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above and who maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in their major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL’s honors program.

See the Honors webpage opens in a new tab for more information. 

Program Requirements

To earn honors, students must complete a minimum of 9 units (3 units per quarter), submit a thesis, and present at the Honors Colloquium at the end of their senior year.

Earn at least 9 units in the following course(s):
DLCL 189H

Honors Thesis Writing

3 Units

Application required for this option.

or
5,000-word Topic Paper

The student will write a 5,000-word paper on a topic of their choosing, serving as the culmination of their work in the field.

To write the paper, students must enroll in a 3-unit, letter-grade independent study with a faculty member (or affiliate) in the Philosophy and Literature Focal Group. The paper must involve philosophy and literature, and the faculty member must approve the topic by the add/drop deadline.

Subplans

Optional
Students have the option to complete a subplan as part of this program. A subplan is an officially declared and defined set of requirements that allows students to go deeper into a discipline or focus within a program.

German and Philosophy Subplan

German and Philosophy Subplan Policies:

  • The German and Philosophy subplan requires 65 units. Students interested in this option should review the Philosophy and Literature website opens in a new tab. 

  • Up to 10 units taken in the Philosophy Department may be taken CR/NC or S/NC; the remainder must be taken for a letter grade.

  • Substitutions, including transfer credit, are generally not permitted.

  • Units devoted to meeting the department’s language requirement are not counted toward the 65-unit requirement.

Philosophy and Literature Gateway Course

Complete all of the following course(s):
GERMAN 181

Philosophy and Literature

3-5 Units

Philosophy Literature Requirement

Complete all of the following course(s):
PHIL 80

Mind, Matter, and Meaning

5 Units

Aesthetics, Ethics, Political Philosophy

Substitutions and transfer credits are generally not permitted for the PHIL 170 series class.

Complete at least 1 of the following courses:
PHIL 170

Ethical Theory

4 Units
PHIL 170B

Metaphor

4 Units
PHIL 171

Justice

4-5 Units
PHIL 171P

Liberalism and its Critics

5 Units
PHIL 172

History of Modern Moral Philosophy

4 Units
PHIL 172B

The History of Early Modern Political Philosophy: Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke

4 Units
PHIL 174

Ethics Beyond Consequences

4 Units
PHIL 174L

Justice Across Borders

4 Units
PHIL 175

Philosophy of Law

4 Units
PHIL 175A

Ethics and Politics of Public Service

3-5 Units
PHIL 175W

Philosophy of Law: Protest, Punishment, and Racial Justice

4 Units
PHIL 176

Political Philosophy: The Social Contract Tradition

4 Units
PHIL 176A

Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought

3-5 Units
PHIL 176J

Democracy Ancient and Modern: From Politics to Political Theory

3-5 Units
PHIL 176L

That Mortal God: Deifying the Political in Early Modern Politics

4 Units
PHIL 176M

Meritocracy

4 Units
PHIL 176P

Democratic Theory

5 Units
PHIL 176T

Moral Responsibility & Free Will

4 Units

Language, Mind Metaphysics, and Epistemology

Substitutions and transfer credits are generally not permitted for the PHIL 180 series classes.

Complete at least 1 of the following courses:
PHIL 180

Metaphysics

4 Units
PHIL 181

Philosophy of Language

4 Units
PHIL 181A

Philosophy of Language

4 Units
PHIL 181B

Topics in Philosophy of Language

4 Units
PHIL 181C

Linguistic Justice

4 Units
PHIL 181E

External World Skepticism

4 Units
PHIL 182D

Ethical Anti-theory

4 Units
PHIL 182H

Truth

4 Units
PHIL 182J

Theories of Consciousness

3 Units
PHIL 184

Epistemology

4 Units
PHIL 184B

Formal Epistemology

4 Units
PHIL 184D

Collective Epistemology and Shared Inquiry

4 Units
PHIL 184P

Philosophy of Probability

4 Units
PHIL 185J

The Philosophy and Science of Perception

3 Units
PHIL 186

Philosophy of Mind

4 Units
PHIL 187

Philosophy of Action

4 Units
PHIL 187B

Responsibility and the Criminal Law

4 Units
PHIL 188A

Explanation

4 Units
PHIL 188B

Undergrad Seminar: Striving and the Nature of Belief

4 Units
PHIL 189

Reduction and Grounding

4 Units

History of Philosophy

At least one course in the history of philosophy, numbered above PHIL 100.

Elective Courses

Two additional elective courses of special relevance to the study of philosophy and literature. Students must consult with the Chair of Undergraduate Studies in German Studies.

Honors

Optional
Students may choose to pursue department honors by completing a program of special advanced work, such as an honors thesis, in addition to their major requirements.

Honors

Courses

Students majoring in any DLCL department (i.e., Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German Studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, and Slavic Languages and Literatures) who have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above and maintain a 3.5 (GPA) in their major courses, are eligible to participate in the DLCL’s honors program.

See the Honors webpage opens in a new tab for more information.

Program Requirements

To earn honors, students must complete a minimum of 9 units (3 units per quarter), submit a thesis, and present at the Honors Colloquium at the end of their senior year.

Earn at least 9 units in the following course(s):
DLCL 189H

Honors Thesis Writing

3 Units