German Department, University of California, Berkeley

Department of German
5319 Dwinelle Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3243

phone: 510-643-2004

fax: 510-642-3243

email: germanic@berkeley.edu

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"Von mir willst du den Weg erfahren?" "Ja", sagte ich, "da ich ihn selbst nicht finden kann." "Gib's auf, gib's auf", sagte er und wandte sich mit einem großen Schwunge ab, so wie Leute, die mit ihrem Lachen allein sein wollen.
— Franz Kafka

Welcome to Berkeley's Department of German. We offer a full language program, a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum (including a minor, major and double major in German), and a distinguished doctoral degree that has been in existence since 1908. Students in our Ph.D. program may specialize in German literature and culture or Germanic linguistics. We encourage students to explore new disciplinary combinations within and outside the Department; to this end, the German faculty also teaches courses in applied linguistics, German film, multiculturalism, and intellectual history. Students can pursue a concurrent degree in Medieval Studies or a Ph.D. minor (a "Designated Emphasis") in Film & Media, Critical Theory, or Gender Studies. We also offer courses in Dutch and Yiddish. The Department has long been recognized as one of the most innovative in the country, and our graduate program has many distinguishing features. In both its 1996 and 2010 surveys, the National Research Council ranked us at the top of the list of German doctoral programs in the United States.

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July 12th, 2025