Program description
The German program offers language courses on all levels; introductory literature and culture courses for University 1 students in English translation, upper level culture, literature, and second language acquisition courses that are mostly taught in German. If students have taken German or speak the language, they will be given advanced standing. For those with little or no German, an intensive language-training program is available in which conversation groups and up-to-date language lab methods are used in addition to the usual language study. Knowledge of German is an invaluable tool in today's globalized world, and for the study of European history in philosophy, art & comparative literature.
Program options
Degree options
B.A. Bachelor of Arts (General) - 3 years
B.A. (Hons.) Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - 4 years (Single and Double Honours options)
Interesting courses and unique opportunities
Interesting courses
- Language courses on all levels
- Business German
- Representations of War
- Representations of the Holocaust
- Comparative German-Slavic Studies
- Sex and Gender
- Love in German Culture
- Contemporary German Film
Honours courses
- Senior seminar
- Literary & Cultural Theory
- Second Language Acquisition
- German Language Structure
Exchange and travel opportunities
The University of Manitoba arranges up to two semester exchanges for students of all disciplines with Greifswald and Trier Annual summer work program in Germany.
Scholarship opportunities
Scholarships and grants are available on a competitive basis (e.g. fulltime scholarships with the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst = DAAD).
Additional programs
The University of Manitoba offers several summer school programs in German language, literature, culture and a PAD program (foreign language teacher of English at a German high school).
Professional opportunities
- Communications
- Translation
- Government / immigration
- Business
- Education
- Higher education
- The arts and culture
- Journalism
- Publishing
Note
Language and culture training have proven particularly valuable for those students who, by linking their linguistic ability to another skill, have found jobs in the expanding market for those with knowledge of Eastern Europe. Such jobs are available from the secretarial to the senior executive level. Students become from immersion in another culture more effective communicators.
Admission requirements & prerequisites
Direct entry option
Direct entry is not an option for this program. Please review the advanced entry option section for more information.
Advanced entry option
24 credit hours in U1 (or approved bachelors program)
This entry option is open to students who have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours of university level study. Specific program requirements will vary; details of these requirements are available on each program’s application page.
High school prerequisites
High school prerequisites: None
Many programs will require or recommend specific high school courses over and above their admission requirements. These high school prerequisites are not always required to enter the program, but they must be completed to enrol in certain university courses within it. If a student does not have a particular prerequisite when they enter the program, they may complete an equivalent upgrading course at university that will satisfy the prerequisite requirement.
More details on admission requirements, application dates and how to apply is available on the Faculty of Arts apply for admission page.
What is unique about this program at the U of M?
The German section of the University of Manitoba offers the only Honours and M.A. degrees in German in the Prairies. Its interdisciplinary and intercultural curriculum is one of the most advanced Cultural Studies programs in German in Canada. Besides the strong academic focus on the fourth year (Honours Thesis, Senior Seminar), this includes a communicative language curriculum, and courses such as Representations of War and Love in German Culture. The Department also introduced a new course, unique in Canada, for "Comparative German and Slavic Studies". The program offers several specific courses in Second Language Acquisition and teaching methodology in German, taught in German, that prepare students in their discipline for entering an Education program and/or for being a Teaching Assistant as a graduate student.
As a relatively small program all degree undergraduate and graduate students receive close mentorship and meet on a regular basis with their advisor. Students have been very successful in recent years in receiving internal and external grants and scholarships. The program organizes a number of exchange and work abroad programs. Of particular value is the new Manitoba-Greifswald exchange (which comes with two 500 Euro a month scholarships for every academic year as part of the program, which differentiates it from many programs in Canada).
Representations of history and society in today’s Germany and Austria in literature and film are great strengths within this program. The expertise of the faculty members rivals any other German program in the country.
Important links
Faculty of Arts
German Studies
Graduate Studies in German (M.A., PreM.A.)
