Education

Harvard University: Arts & Sciences: Germanic Languages and Literatures

Category Art and Social Sciences, Doctoral, English Literature, Harvard University, USA
Tags Arts, Germanic, Harvard University, Languages, Literatures, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Prerequisites for Admission — Permission to proceed, granted by the department on the basis of course work, performance in the AM examination, and scholarly potential as judged by the department. Alternatively, an AM degree or equivalent from another university.

Academic Residence — A minimum of three years of full-time study. Credit for graduate work done elsewhere may be granted in accordance with procedures detailed in The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

For financial residence requirements, see the GSAS Guide to Admission and Financial Aid or The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook.

Program of Study — The satisfactory completion of an approved program of eight half-courses beyond the AM degree. All graduate students, except those in the Older Germanic Languages track, are required to take German 226r, the Proseminar (an introduction to literary research and theory). PhD students must also take at least two half-courses in Germanic philology, normally German 200 (Middle High German) and German 225 (History of the German Language). Linguistics 168 (Introduction to Germanic Linguistics) or Linguistics 247 (Topics in Germanic Linguistics) may be substituted for German 225. Not more than two half-courses from the group “For Undergraduates and Graduates” may be counted, including courses taken for the AM degree, unless the student arranges with the instructor to upgrade the course; all others must be “Primarily for Graduates.” Permission may be obtained from the director of graduate studies to take a course in some other department, such as Comparative Literature, History, Philosophy, or Music. Such courses are expected to be relevant to the main study program in German and should serve to enrich and broaden the program.

The teaching methods course (Germanic Philology 280) and courses taken to fulfill language requirements are not included in the minimum requirement. The student must generally be a member of a seminar taught by a member of the German Department for at least three terms and earn a grade of A- in at least one of the seminars.

Students enrolled in the department’s PhD program may achieve formal recognition for completing a secondary field in Film and Visual Studies by fulfilling the following requirements: Completion of four graduate-level courses in Film and Visual Studies, two of which must be VES 270 (Proseminar in Film and Visual Studies: History) and VES 271 (Proseminar in Film and Visual Studies: Theory), with grades of B+ or above, and successful completion of an examination or alternative means of demonstrating mastery in the field of Film and Visual Studies as agreed upon by the directors of graduate studies in Film and Visual Studies and in German. Students interested in declaring this secondary field should consult with the director of graduate studies as early as possible in their studies.

Languages — All students, except those in the Older Germanic Languages track, are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in French, normally achieved by passing French Ax (Reading French), offered by Harvard’s Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, with a grade of A or A-, or by passing a French Ax final examination, administered by the instructor of the course, with a grade of A or A-.

Those students wishing to specialize (i.e., to write their dissertations) in philology (historical linguistics) or in the literature of the earlier periods (medieval, sixteenth century, the Baroque) must also demonstrate considerable reading ability in Latin. This requirement may be fulfilled by a departmental examination. The texts to be translated or summarized will be taken from Latin works of literary merit written by German authors, mainly during the medieval period. The requirement may also be fulfilled by an honor grade (B- or higher) in any course in medieval Latin or in any intermediate course of readings of classical authors given by the Harvard Classics Department.

All students in the Older Germanic Languages track are required to demonstrate reading proficiency in at least two of the older Germanic dialects. Reading proficiency in German, English, and one or more of the modern Scandinavian languages is also required, with native or near-native fluency in either German or one of the modern Scandinavian languages.

Applicants are strongly urged to prepare themselves in French (and Latin where applicable) before entrance. Graduate students have to satisfy the requirement in French and, where applicable, in Latin before they can be admitted to the PhD general examination.

Satisfactory Progress — Students must have a grade record showing more A’s than B’s, and no grade lower than B-.

General Examination — After completing course work and meeting the language requirement, students must present themselves for the general examination. Students entering the program with an AM degree or equivalent from another university present themselves for the examination at the end of their second year; students taking the AM degree at Harvard will present themselves for the examination at the end of their third year of residence.

The written examination consists of two four-hour sessions, a week apart. The first covers any one of the following periods: (i) medieval literature, (ii) 1500-1750, (iii) 1750-1830, (iv) 1830-1910, (v) 1890-1945, (vi) 1945-present. The students will be responsible both for the principal literary texts in their chosen period and for the pertinent scholarship. The second examination will cover any one of the following fields: (i) lyric poetry, (ii) drama, (iii) narrative fiction, (iv) a special topic defined by the student in consultation with the examination committee, (v) Germanic philology (linguistics).

A two-hour oral examination generally follows within two weeks.

Dissertation — After passing the general examination, the candidate must present
a dissertation on a subject that has been approved by the department and one that will normally fall within the area where the special period and special field converge. The object of the dissertation is to show the candidate’s ability to pursue independent research and to present the results of this research in a readable and convincing form.

Dissertation Defense — No dissertation defense is required unless the student wishes it or there is some doubt in the department about the dissertation.

Teaching Experience — Some time before receiving the PhD, all students are required to acquire some teaching experience at Harvard or elsewhere.

Admissions

Inquiries about admission and financial aid should be addressed to the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Byerly Hall, 2nd floor, 8 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-6531. We encourage online submission of the application. See https://apply.embark.com/grad/Harvard/GSAS. Applicants wishing information regarding courses and programs not included in the materials accompanying application forms may write to the Chair, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Barker Center 365, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3879. Or you may visit the department’s Website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~german/.

Financial Aid

Graduate students in the department have for some time benefitted from the need-based financial aid plan of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. During their first two years and their dissertation year, eligible students receive financial support adequate to meet both tuition and partial or full living costs. During the other years of graduate study, students supplement tuition grants by working as teaching fellows (see below). The department has set the median length of graduate study for the doctorate (excluding leaves) at five years. Eligible students are guaranteed adequate financial support (grants, teaching fellowships) for this period.

Substantial additional benefits derive from three endowed competitive prizes reserved primarily for graduate students in the department:

1. The Bernhard Blume Awards for Excellence in the Study of German. Established in 1969 by an anonymous donor in honor of the late Bernhard Blume, Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture, Emeritus. Two prizes award approximately $1,500 each to graduate students who have attained the best record in course work in the first three terms and the second three terms.
2. The Jack M. Stein Teaching Fellow Prize in German. An award of $1,000, sponsored annually by the Graduate School Fund and named in honor of the late Professor Jack M. Stein, who was instrumental in raising the quality of language instruction in the department. The prize is awarded each year to a teaching fellow who, in the judgment of a faculty committee visiting classes, conducts undergraduate sections with the highest measure of pedagogical skills, linguistic proficiency, enthusiasm, and commitment to students’ learning and
   welfare.
3. The Esther Sellholm Walz Prize, established in 1977 by Hans G. Walz, class of 1924, in memory of his mother. A prize of approximately $1,000 is “awarded annually to a graduate student pursuing studies in German or Scandinavian language with the intention of entering the teaching field for the best paper or essay” as determined by a faculty committee.

Teaching

Graduate students may hold annual appointments as a teaching fellow, normally beginning with their third year of study. Opportunities are provided to teach -elementary and intermediate language classes, to tutor undergraduates in literature, and to assist in courses in literature given by members of the department. Teaching fellows in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures may also participate in the Core Curriculum of Harvard College, usually as leaders of discussion sections.

Prerequisites for a teaching fellowship in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures are a good command of spoken German and Germanic Philology 280.

The coordinator of language instruction tests the proficiency in German of incoming students at the beginning of their first term. If deficiencies are evidenced, the student is required to remedy them before beginning teaching. A variety of options are available for improving language skills.