what are the best uni&#x27;s for german??

Apparently Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick and Leeds are really good for German. :smile:

Reply 5

River85

17

Exeter and Durham (to add to the list)

These are amongst the top ranked departments. They aren't necessarily "the best" debartments. It's very subjective and individual, as has already been mentioned there are differences between courses at different unis.

Reply 6

River85

Exeter and Durham (to add to the list)

These are amongst the top ranked departments. They aren't necessarily "the best" debartments. It's very subjective and individual, as has already been mentioned there are differences between courses at different unis.

Oh yesh...I see Durham has moved up from 10th in the country for German to 8th :eek:

Yay!

Reply 7

Gooner

Apparently Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick and Leeds are really good for German. :smile:

*waves* How are you? Haven't seen you posting in a while. :smile:

I'm not sure about the others, but the Oxford course is mainly literature-based as far as I know, so it's maybe not ideal for someone who wants a more language-based course...

Reply 8

hobnob

*waves* How are you? Haven't seen you posting in a while. :smile:

I'm not sure about the others, but the Oxford course is mainly literature-based as far as I know, so it's maybe not ideal for someone who wants a more language-based course...

Hi! I'm alright thanks. Have one hell of a cold though. Couldn't get to sleep last night at all, because I was running up and down the stairs getting a drink to hydrate this sore throat of mine. How are you? :hugs:

Ooh, and I know...I've been a good boy this year, and revised lots! :eek:

My exams are over now though, so I can spam on TSR again! :ninja:

Yeah, Oxford's course is hugely literature-based I hear. I was reading an opinion on an article from the Times where this woman was saying that at Oxford she has to read 20 books per year in the languages she's studying for, so for somebody who doesn't like literature I suppose it wouldn't be a good idea to be considering Oxford. Durham's pretty similar too though, because for just one module you have to read 8 German books/departmental anthologies of poetry I think, and for the French module it's something like 6. So although there aren't as many books to read as there would be at Oxford, I'd certainly say it's pretty weighty, but literature can be avoided to some extent at Durham. Surely at the majority of the red-bricks there will be some degree of literature involved though, no? :smile:

Reply 9

Howells

A lot of the modules at Exeter are quite literary too, although I think it may be possible to avoid literature. I'm looking to do French and German and I'm applying to Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Warwick and Exeter (or maybe Cambridge if my AS' go well :s-smilie:

). Southampton offer a lot of film and linguistic modules which appeals to me, but I'd advise you to look for module details on each of your prospective university websites too :smile:

Reply 10

Gooner

Hi! I'm alright thanks. Have one hell of a cold though. Couldn't get to sleep last night at all, because I was running up and down the stairs getting a drink to hydrate this sore throat of mine. How are you? :hugs:

Currently struggling with my MA dissertation, but otherwise fine. :smile:

I've just started writing the first chapter (although there's still plenty of stuff I need to research) and I'm a bit stuck. But I'm sure I'll get it done somehow, and luckily my DPhil offer isn't conditional on my getting a particular grade - although obviously I'm still a bit of a perfectionist, so I wouldn't want a bad grade for it if I could possibly help it.

Yeah, Oxford's course is hugely literature-based I hear. I was reading an opinion on an article from the Times where this woman was saying that at Oxford she has to read 20 books per year in the languages she's studying for, so for somebody who doesn't like literature I suppose it wouldn't be a good idea to be considering Oxford. Durham's pretty similar too though, because for just one module you have to read 8 German books/departmental anthologies of poetry I think, and for the French module it's something like 6. So although there aren't as many books to read as there would be at Oxford, I'd certainly say it's pretty weighty, but literature can be avoided to some extent at Durham. Surely at the majority of the red-bricks there will be some degree of literature involved though, no? :smile:

Good point. I suppose it'll be hard to find a purely language-based course that isn't actually a course in comparative linguistics or so; after all, the objective of studying German at degree level isn't to learn the language... :dontknow:

Reply 11

hobnob

Currently struggling with my MA dissertation, but otherwise fine. :smile:

I've just started writing the first chapter (although there's still plenty of stuff I need to research) and I'm a bit stuck. But I'm sure I'll get it done somehow, and luckily my DPhil offer isn't conditional on my getting a particular grade - although obviously I'm still a bit of a perfectionist, so I wouldn't want a bad grade for it if I could possibly help it.

Ooh, what's the dissertation about this time? The word 'chapter' implies it has to be pretty long :afraid:

Where have you applied to do your DPhil? :smile:

hobnob

Good point. I suppose it'll be hard to find a purely language-based course that isn't actually a course in comparative linguistics or so; after all, the objective of studying German at degree level isn't to learn the language... :dontknow:

Exactly. At the Durham open day a few months back, the head of the German department made it quite clear that for the core language module she doesn't recap much grammar (apart from the subjunctive :p:

) - we're expected to have learnt a lot of grammar at school/college. So really, the main aim of the language lessons is to gain proficiency in speaking, listening and learning more complex grammar structures since you can't exactly be taught vocab.

Reply 12

Gooner

Ooh, what's the dissertation about this time? The word 'chapter' implies it has to be pretty long :afraid:

It's 15,000-20,000 words, so it isn't all *that* bad, I suppose, but it still seems like a lot at the moment. I'm writing on the influence of Renaissance-style archaeology (which is really called something else and isn't quite the same as modern archaeology) on literature. And, as I'm always eager to point out, it's not actually as dull as it sounds. :p:

Where have you applied to do your DPhil? :smile:

Exeter and Oxford. :smile:

Surprisingly I got offers from both and had a hard time deciding, because both supervisors would have been very good. In the end I accepted Oxford's offer, though, because the library facilities are much better, and that's quite an important factor, since it saves you time and money.

Reply 13

hobnob

It's 15,000-20,000 words, so it isn't all *that* bad, I suppose, but it still seems like a lot at the moment. I'm writing on the influence of Renaissance-style archaeology (which is really called something else and isn't quite the same as modern archaeology) on literature. And, as I'm always eager to point out, it's not actually as dull as it sounds. :p:

15-20,000 words isn't too bad actually. I wrote an 8,000 word essay for English back in March, and could have easily carried on :p:

Heh...that's quite a bizarre sounding topic though. I'd never have thought archaeology would have had an influence upon literature :p:

hobnob

Exeter and Oxford. :smile:

Surprisingly I got offers from both and had a hard time deciding, because both supervisors would have been very good. In the end I accepted Oxford's offer, though, because the library facilities are much better, and that's quite an important factor, since it saves you time and money.

Woo...congrats! Staying loyal to Oxford then? :p:

Reply 14

Chantalcompowder

OP

6

Thanks for all the advice guys, and yes i am aware that german at degree level will require some literature, i'm not delusional, but i just don't quite want the amount of literature that oxford offers.

Am also indecisive on whether to do german purely or to combine it with business or linguistics maybe?

anyone on a german course currently could let me know about the modules available at their uni, and if anyone doing it at KCL could give me an idea of the course there as i am falling in love with studying in london or a similar city.

Reply 15

Fleece

15

Yo,

I'm at Leeds doing German....well, I'm currently on my year abroad, returning in September for fourth year. I have nothing but praise for Leeds with regards to German...

If you want a look at our modules, go here
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/german/undergraduate.htm

Any questions, schick them my way.

Reply 16