Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (AP) – German Studies

Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics

German Studies is an interdisciplinary program that embraces subjects ranging from language, literature and film studies to intellectual and cultural history, urban studies, political science, museum studies, art history and women’s studies. Students may opt for an Honours BA, an Honours iBA, a BA, an Honours Double Major, an Honours Double Major (Interdisciplinary), an Honours Major/Minor or an Honours Minor. The Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics also offers a Certificate of Proficiency in German Language.

Students can choose from the following degree options: German Studies: German Language, Literature and Culture Stream, German Studies: German Culture and Society Stream and iBA German studies. Each of these consists of core courses taught by our faculty.

The degree option in German Studies: German Language, Literature and Culture Stream requires an advanced knowledge of the German language and courses in German literature and culture, most of which have the German language component.

The degree in German Studies: German Culture and Society Stream requires an intermediate knowledge of the German language and courses in German culture, as well as courses with significant German content taught by other departments.

The iBA German studies has the same requirements as the Honours BA German studies and also includes an international component in which students spend at least one full term abroad in a German-speaking country as a full-time student at one of our exchange universities. Students entering this program must make an appointment with the program coordinator of German studies prior to enrolment.

For purposes of meeting program requirements, all nine-credit general education (foundation) courses will count as six credits towards the major or minor.

All approved general education courses may count for general education credits; some may count for major credits; none may count as both.

Students who are exempted from German language courses based on their knowledge of German must still successfully complete the total number of credits required for their chosen stream.

Honours BA: 120 Credits

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 course credits and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at York University.

Graduation requirement: students must successfully complete (pass) at least 120 credits which meet the Faculty's degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 5.00.

General education: a minimum of 21 general education credits as follows:

6.00 credits in natural science (NATS)
a 9.00 credit approved general education course in the social science or humanities categories
a 6.00 credit approved general education course in the opposite category to the 9.00 credit course in social science or humanities already taken

Major credits: students must complete 42 credits from one of the streams below.

German Language, Literature and Culture Stream

Students will take at least 42 credits, including the following:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3000 6.00 or AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
24 additional credits at the 3000 or 4000 level in courses with a AP/GER prefix (taught in German), including at least six credits at the 4000 level.

German Culture and Society Stream

Students will take at least 42 credits, including the following (with at least 12 credits at the 4000 level):

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
15 additional credits in courses with a GER prefix (taught either in English or German);
six credits chosen from: AP/HIST 3320 6.00, AP/HIST 4330 6.00, AP/POLS 3520 3.00, AP/POLS 4205 3.00, AP/POLS 4445 3.00, or equivalent;
nine additional credits chosen from the list of German studies courses.

Note: a maximum of 12 credits in German language courses may be taken for credit towards the German culture and society stream.

Upper-level credits: at least 36 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000 level.

Credits outside the major: at least 18 credits. (Note: students who are completing a double major or major/minor are deemed to have fulfilled this requirement.)

Honours Double Major BA

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with approved Honours Double Major degree programs in the Faculties of Environmental Studies, Health, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, or Science, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, or the Lassonde School of Engineering. For further details on requirements, refer to the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

Note: in a double major program, a course may count only once toward major credit.

Honours Double Major Interdisciplinary (Linked) BA

German Studies may be linked with any Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Students must take at least 36 credits in German Studies and 36 credits in the interdisciplinary program. Courses taken to meet German Studies requirements cannot also be used to meet the requirements of the interdisciplinary program. Students in these interdisciplinary programs must take a total of 18 credits at the 4000-level including at least 6 credits in German and 6 credits in the interdisciplinary program. For further details on requirements, see the listing for specific Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA Programs.

German Language, Literature and Culture Stream

Students will take at least 36 credits, including the following:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3000 6.00 or AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
18 additional credits at the 3000 or 4000 level in courses with a GER prefix (taught in German).

German Culture and Society Stream

Students will take at least 36 credits, including the following (with at least 6 credits at the 4000 level):

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
six credits chosen from: AP/HIST 3320 6.00, AP/HIST 4330 6.00, AP/POLS 3520 3.00, AP/POLS 4205 3.00, AP/POLS 4515 3.00, or equivalent;
18 additional credits chosen from the German Studies list of program courses.

Note: a maximum of 12 credits in German language courses may be taken for credit towards the German Culture and Society Stream.

Honours Major/Minor BA

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with approved Honours Minor degree programs in the Faculties of Environmental Studies, Health, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Science, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, or the Lassonde School of Engineering. For further details on requirements, refer to the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

Note: in a major/minor program, a course may count only once toward major credit or minor credit.

Honours Minor BA

The Honours Minor BA program described may be combined with any approved Honours BA program that offers a major/minor option in the Faculties of Environmental Studies, Health, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, or Science, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, or the Lassonde School of Engineering. For further details on requirements, refer to the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

Note: in a major/minor program, a course may count only once toward major credit or minor credit.

Minor credits: 30 credits chosen from one of the streams below.

German Language, Literature and Culture Stream

Students will take at least 30 credits, including the following:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3000 6.00 or AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
12 additional credits in courses with a AP/GER prefix (taught in German) at the 4000 level.

German Culture and Society Stream

Students will take at least 30 credits, including the following and including at least six credits at the 4000 level:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
12 credits chosen from: AP/HIST 3320 6.00, AP/HIST 4330 6.00, AP/POLS 3520 3.00, AP/POLS 4205 3.00, AP/POLS 3521 3.00, or equivalent.

Note: at least six credits in the minor must be at the 4000 level. A maximum of 12 credits in German language courses may be taken for credit towards the German culture and society stream.

BA: 90 Credits

Graduation requirement: students must successfully complete (pass) at least 90 credits that meet the Faculty's degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 4.00.

General education: a minimum of 21 general education credits as follows:

6.00 credits in natural science (NATS)
a 9.00 credit approved general education course in the social science or humanities categories
a 6.00 credit approved general education course in the opposite category to the 9.00 credit course in social science or humanities already taken

Major credits: students must complete 30 credits from one of the streams below.

German Language, Literature and Culture Stream

Students will take at least 30 credits, including the following:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3000 6.00 or AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
12 additional credits in courses with a AP/GER prefix (taught in German) at the 3000 or 4000 level.

German Culture and Society Stream

Students will take at least 30 credits, including the following:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
12 credits chosen from: AP/HIST 3320 6.00, AP/HIST 4330 6.00, AP/POLS 3520 3.00, AP/POLS 4205 3.00, AP/POLS 3521 3.00, or equivalent.

Note: a maximum of 12 credits in German language courses may be taken for credit towards the German culture and society stream. At least 12 credits in the major at the 3000 level or above.

Upper-level credits: at least 18 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level.

Credits outside the major: at least 18 credits.

Honours iBA: 120 Credits

General education: a minimum of 21 general education credits as follows:

6.00 credits in natural science (NATS)
a 9.00 credit approved general education course in the social science or humanities categories
a 6.00 credit approved general education course in the opposite category to the 9.00 credit course in social science or humanities already taken

Major credits: students will take at least 42 credits in German studies including:

AP/GER 2000 6.00 or AP/GER 2020 6.00;
AP/GER 3000 6.00 or AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00;
AP/GER 3989 6.00;
24 additional AP/GER credits at the 3000 and 4000 level in courses with a GER prefix (taught in German), including at least 12 credits at the 4000 level.

In addition, students in the Honours iBA program must fulfill the following requirements:

Required Course: AP/ANTH 2300 3.00 Intercultural Training Skills completed before the term or terms abroad. Note: This course is considered to be outside the major (even for ANTH students).

Language study credits: at least 18 credits in a modern language offered by York University, including the Advanced I university-level course in the chosen language. Up to six (6) language credits may be taken while the student is abroad. Such courses must be approved by the coordinator of the relevant language section in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics.

If a iBA student is fluent in a language, he/she will undergo an examination to test language proficiency by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. Students exempted from one or more of the language courses required for the degree must complete cultural courses related to that language.

Internationally-oriented credits: at least 9 credits of internationally-oriented courses chosen outside the major.

International exchange: at least one full term abroad as a full-time student at one of York University’s exchange partners.

For more detailed information regarding the Honours iBA program requirements, please consult the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Degree Requirements section of the Undergraduate Calendar.

Upper-level credits: at least 36 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000 level.

Credits outside the major: at least 18 credits (Note: for the Honours iBA, courses taken outside the major to satisfy the language study requirement and/or the internationally-oriented courses requirement can also be used to satisfy the outside the major requirement. Students who are completing a major/minor are deemed to have fulfilled this requirement.)

Honours Double Major iBA

The Honours iBA program described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Double Major BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies.

Note: in a double major program, a course may count only once toward major credit.

Honours Major/Minor iBA

The Honours iBA program described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies.

Note: in a major/minor program, a course may count only once toward major credit or minor credit.

Course Substitutes

Subject to course exclusions, program requirements/restrictions and residency requirements, the following courses are acceptable substitutes for the purpose of meeting German Studies program requirements:

Program Course	Course Substitute(s)
AP/GER 3000 6.00	AP/GER 3001 3.00 and AP/GER 3002 3.00

German Studies Courses

Not all of the courses listed below will necessarily be offered in any given year.

With the approval of the program coordinator, and subject to course exclusion and residency requirements, students may complete other courses for program credit in German studies.

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