Before You Apply

Admission to the Department of Germanic Studies is monitored and determined at the departmental level, but it is processed centrally by the Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC). If at any point you have questions about the admissions process, please first visit the admission website. Contact information for GIAC can be found on the Contact Admissions page.

The admissions process is entirely electronic. Please do not send paper copies.

For other general information about applying to The University of Texas at Austin, read about becoming a Longhorn.

Departmental Requirements

The Graduate Program in the Department of Germanic Studies offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Our M.A. is integrated into the Ph.D. program, and we do not usually admit graduate students who are interested in the M.A. only. A student may enter the program at either level. In addition to the General Requirements for General Admission, the minimum departmental requirements for admission are:

B.A. or equivalent
- The degree is ordinarily in German or in an appropriate Germanic language. The Graduate and International Admissions Center (GIAC) determines degree equivalency to a B.A. for international students. For students from Germany, the Department requires the Zwischenprüfung and an additional year of study at a German university, or 30 credit hours at an American university. The year's additional work must include 15 hours at the upper-division level in the student's intended major area of study, and 9 hours at the upper-division level in other areas. No more than 6 hours may be taken at the lower-division level.
- For students with a bachelor's or master's degree in a field other than German, the Department uses as a guideline its own requirements for a B.A. in German, which include, in part, twenty-four hours (eight courses) of third- or fourth-year German with a concentration in literature, language, and/or culture. For a complete listing of these requirements, see the Undergraduate Catalog. Other courses of study may also satisfy these requirements; contact the Graduate Advisor or Graduate Coordinator in case of doubt.
A 3.0 grade-point average in any previous work in a graduate school, if applicable.

Students who do not meet these requirements may be admitted to the Graduate School with conditions. Students admitted with conditions cannot be appointed to assistantships without petitions to the Graduate School or until conditions are removed.