The German Studies Minor will appeal to students who are interested in gaining cultural proficiency in German beyond a language ability in order to enhance their majors in such areas as Theology, History and Global and International Studies, and their global career opportunities in international and domestic business, marketing, law, translation, government service, news services, or the publishing industry. Students may be interested in acquiring German as a tool for graduate study in History, Political Science, Library Science, and/or other areas.

Students completing the German Studies Minor will:

• Achieve amid-intermediate level of German language proficiency in speaking, reading, writing and listening according to the Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages;
• Possess general knowledge of the development of the cultural history of the German-speaking world based on the GERM 250/251 course sequence;
• Have more specific knowledge of the cultural history of the German-speaking world based on the elective courses taken;
• Expand their horizons by virtue of having studied a foreign language and culture, and will bring those perspectives to bear on a more critical view of their own culture.

Students may wish to satisfy some of the requirements through study abroad in a German-speaking country.

The final component of the program is a one-credit hour capstone project and paper, done in consultation with a German faculty member. It may also involve an internship at the DANK Haus in Chicago.