German

German at Oxford is far more than an intensive language course: it is an extensive engagement with German literature, thought, and culture from the medieval period to the present day, combined with the practical development of fluency in one of the most significant languages in European intellectual, economic, and cultural life. German is the most widely spoken first language in Europe, the language of Goethe and Schiller, Kant and Hegel, Kafka and Mann, and of a cultural tradition that has shaped philosophy, music, science, and literature across the world.

At the University of Oxford, this four-year full-time programme combines rigorous practical training in written and spoken German with an extensive introduction to the literary and intellectual traditions of the German-speaking world. You will be able to study German literature across any period from the medieval to the contemporary, and you can also choose from a wide range of options including linguistics, philology, film, gender studies, and advanced translation, allowing you to shape your degree in the direction that most engages you. Oxford's tutorial system gives you intensive individual supervision from leading scholars, developing both your analytical rigour and your ability to construct and defend complex arguments.

The third year spent abroad in a German-speaking country is transformative for your linguistic fluency and your cultural understanding.

German graduates from Oxford go on to careers in law, the civil service, journalism, business, finance, publishing, translation and interpreting, academia, teaching, international organisations, and cultural diplomacy. German proficiency combined with an Oxford education is a powerful combination that opens doors in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and in any international context where German matters. Postgraduate study in German, European studies, comparative literature, translation, or linguistics is a natural route for those who wish to develop their expertise further.