Major Requirements

Major Requirements – 66 Total Credits

German 210-219 Courses – Required 12 credits

German 150-159 Courses – Required 6 credits

Methods Course – Required 6 credits

Best taken during the junior year. Students who have done advanced work in a different field may petition to substitute a comparable methods course in another department. Approval of the advisor and permission of the instructor is required.

  • CCST 245: Meaning and Power: Introduction to Analytical Approaches in the Humanities

300-Level Courses – Required 12 credits

12 credits of courses in German numbered 300 or higher.

Elective Courses – Required 24 credits

24 elective credits of courses in German or courses in English related to German culture (these may include GERM 204: Intermediate German or 205, 150-159, 220-250, CCST 245: Meaning and Power: Introduction to Analytical Approaches in the Humanities, and courses in related fields outside the German Department)

  • CCST 233: The Art of Translation in the Age of the Machine
  • GERM 265: German Studies in Austria Program: The Nation through Art: East-Central European Music, Literature, and Visual Arts
  • HIST 250: Modern Germany
  • HIST 346: The Holocaust (not offered 2025-26)

Senior Integrative Exercise – Required 6 credits

Additional Departmental Notes

Courses 101, 102, and 103 do not count toward the major. AP, IB or other pre-matriculation credits do not count toward the major.

The sections for GERM 101: Elementary German, GERM 102: Elementary German and GERM 103: Intermediate German are flexible for you to enroll in. If you have a conflict between your MWF / TTH classes and a 5-day language class schedule, you can talk with the professor of the course to cross-enroll in 2 sections at the same time. Eventually, you will have to fill out a change request form to enroll in both courses (course conflict). After you speak with the instructor, you can fill out the change request form. The form will require the approval of your German professor, the professor of the course with which your German course conflicts, and your adviser. For Minors and Majors: can’t fit a certain course into your schedule? Is a certain course not offered in the term you need it? Chat with us to find a substitute.

Programs Abroad: Participation in our OCS Program “German Studies in Austria” or in another approved abroad study program is highly recommended for students majoring in German. Students interested in a program abroad that is not affiliated with Carleton should consult with a faculty member in German and with the Director of Off-Campus Studies as well as the Registrar.

Students wishing to declare a double major must obtain the approval of the chairs of the two departments concerned and petition the Academic Standing Committee (ASC), showing the plan for the two majors. There is no deadline to declare a second major but students should be aware that Comps have to be finished before Spring term of senior year, so plan with us accordingly.

Interested in a German Major? Contact the German Major Coordinator Professor Juliane Schicker.

Carleton’s Major Field Requirements and substitutions are found here.