German Languages and Literatures

The subject of German Studies encompasses the academic study of the German language and literature from the Middle Ages to the present day. Students familiarise themselves with the disciplinary and historical range of linguistics, literary studies and medieval studies. A practical phase is integrated into the degree programme, during which students acquire career-specific knowledge and experience. A special feature of the Bielefeld German Studies degree programme is the combination of a high-quality academic education in all three core areas (linguistics, literary studies, medieval studies) with the demand for university didactic innovation in the areas of curriculum development and digitality (including digital humanities). Graduates qualify for appointments in education and cultural management and in other communication and media-related fields as well as for Master's degree programmes (e.g. linguistics, literary studies, media studies, German as a second language and German studies).

There are also teacher training programmes in which German didactics is a central component. For the primary school teaching degree, the German literacy subject is a compulsory part of the degree programme, but the focus here is only on literary studies and literary didactics as well as linguistics and language didactics.