A master's student studies with her friend.

Build language skills and cultural awareness in preparation for a future in business, government, academia, public health, and dozens of other fields.

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In 1915, Middlebury founded the German School, the first of its foreign language immersion programs, and in 1959 students from Middlebury first ventured to study abroad in Mainz. Through the decades, Middlebury has committed itself to giving its graduate students the richest possible immersion experience in German language and culture, as well as one of the most rigorous and rewarding courses of study available anywhere.

Graduate Degree Options

All master’s students must successfully complete an initial 6-week graduate summer session on the Vermont campus before establishing their candidacy for the German master’s degree. The master’s degree requires successful completion of 12 course units. Middlebury awards one unit of graduate credit (equivalent to three semester hours) for each graduate course. The normal course load is 3 course units per summer.

Please see a list of master’s courses in Vermont and courses in Germany.

Curriculum

The Master in German options offer the flexibility you need to earn a graduate degree in German while pursuing your academic and career goals. Learn from world-class faculty who are experts in graduate-level language teaching. To meet the challenges of the classroom, you will be supported by the Language Pledge®—an agreement to communicate only in German for the duration of your program. This helps create a total immersion environment, enabling you to make remarkable gains in fluency and cultural understanding.

Eligibility

Graduate degrees are for students who have already acquired graduate-level proficiency in their language and have generally studied their language for four years or longer, unless they are native speakers. Applicants who will not hold a BA, or who plan to attend for one summer only for professional development, should select the 6-week non-degree program. The GRE is not required. See additional German application instructions.

Funding

Thanks to the support of generous donors (including many Language Schools alumni) and Middlebury’s commitment to provide an opportunity for as many students as possible, we are pleased to offer significant need-based financial aid and merit-based fellowships and scholarships for graduate students.

Career Outcomes

Students who earn a graduate degree in German pursue rewarding careers and opportunities in a range of fields:

  • Doctoral programs
  • Teaching or academic administration
  • Social work
  • Speech and language pathology
  • Government
  • Nonprofit organizations

Talk to a graduate of our Master in German, and you’ll likely hear them describe the remarkable language acquisition and academic achievement that has dramatically broadened their perspective and helped them to realize their career goals.