Rhodes College offers beginning to advanced German courses, as well as study abroad programs in German-speaking countries. Students can major or minor in German Studies, enrolling in courses that foreground critical and timely themes from climate change and migration to professional life and medical cultures. Students of German not only gain proficiency in Europe’s most widely spoken language, but also develop analytical skills with which to articulate ideas and communicate across geographical boundaries and academic disciplines.
For more information on the German major/minor and course offerings, visit the College Catalogue.
What can I do with a major or minor in German Studies?
Graduates from the German program have entered successful careers in law, education, government, healthcare, and museum curation. From 2021 to 2023 three graduates with German majors or minors from Rhodes have been granted Fulbright teaching assistantships in German-speaking countries after graduation. Some German majors have even chosen to pursue graduate school in the U.S., Germany, and Austria, in fields such as German studies, psychology, museum studies, environmental studies, transcultural communications, and gender studies.
For more information, see German Studies Alumni in the Spotlight.
German Studies on Campus
Outside of class, students of German can participate in countless activities related to German language and culture. Brush up on your speaking skills at the German coffee hour, hosted by Rhodes students of German on a weekly basis in the Language Learning Center. Get help with homework by attending bi-weekly German tutor office hours in the Language Learning Center. Join the student-run German club on campus, which hosts club meetings and helps organize marquee German events, including the Fall Oktoberfest celebration, a spooky Halloween film screening, the winter gingerbread house contest, and the Spring Karneval festival. German courses also include excursions to Overton Park, the Memphis Zoo, and the Brooks Museum.
Our German Senior Majors are eligible for induction into the honors society Delta Phi Alpha.
For questions, comments, or more information on German Studies, contact us at germanstudies@rhodes.edu.
Rhodes requires every graduate to have developed intermediate proficiency in a second language, and we want to place you in the appropriate level if you have already studied German before.
