*Please note that students are not admitted into a terminal-M.A. program in Germanic Studies, but may earn the M.A. on the way to earning the Ph.D. For complete information, please contact the field.

The concentration in German area studies combines relevant courses in history, international relations, and comparative economics with courses in German literature, culture, and language.

The concentration in German intellectual history draws on faculty members of other fields such as philosophy, history, government, anthropology, psychology, music, etc. Students may concentrate on a theme or in a historical period from the Middle Ages to the present. The focus of the major is generally on the history of ideas as reflected in German written documents. Students may also concentrate in German cinema studies.

The concentration in Germanic linguistics aims to ensure familiarity with the basic tools of research in linguistics and philology and to provide the student with a thorough knowledge of selected areas of specialization. Students may focus on one or more of the following: the structure of modern German; the history of German; comparative Germanic linguistics; and the older Germanic languages.

The concentration in Germanic literature is uniquely flexible: in general, requirements are defined in terms of competence, not in terms of credits or specific courses. Students are expected to acquire a general knowledge of German literature and to become familiar with the tools and methods necessary for research and analysis. In addition, students are expected to acquire a more detailed knowledge of one of the following areas: medieval; Renaissance, Reformation, Baroque; enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, Schiller, Goethe; romanticism, Biedermeier, Restoration through Vormärz; realism, naturalism; or twentieth century.

The university's collection of Old Norse materials (the Fiske Icelandic Collection) is probably the best of its kind outside Scandinavia.