Welcome to German Studies at USC!

In today’s world of global interconnectivity you have to be able and willing to look beyond your own community and step outside your comfort zone to be successful.

No matter whether you find yourself working in business, politics, humanitarian work, education, the arts, science, technology or any other field, it is impossible to be a “citizen” of one culture while ignoring the rest of the world. Part and parcel of the new paradigm of the 21- century work environment are not only skills such as multitasking and adaptability to constantly changing technologies or personality trades such as flexibility. One of the key elements of a successful life and career is also the ability to navigate in a multicultural society, in a global economy and in a world in which all countries and its citizens are growing increasingly dependent on each other.

Germany has long been a tremendously influential "player" in cultural history, economics and sciences.

You may think:"Why should I study German? Most Germans speak English . . ."

English may be the "lingua franca" and you may be able to function on a superficial level in German speaking countries by speaking English only.

However studying the German language is key to truly becoming culturally proficient,

and of course, English is a Germanic language, so you already know some German as a native speaker of English.

There are a multitude of reasons why you will not regret your choice of German as a foreign language and German Studies as a window into the culture of German speaking countries.

Click on any of the pictures below or the German Minor tab to get more information on how German can be useful in your future:


He who does not know foreign languages does not know anything about his own.	Every revolutionary movement also liberates language.	Nothing exists except through language.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe	Christa Wolf	Hans Georg Gadamer

German language speaks Being, while all the others merely speak of Being.	History does not merely touch on language, but takes place in it.	The limits of language mean the limit of my world.
Martin Heidegger	Theodor Adorno	Ludwig Wittgenstein

What is the rationale for taking German Studies at USC?

The German Studies Program at USC offers a complete language program (including business German) and a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum with the option to minor in German Studies. We offer classes in German and in English.

Our goal is twofold:

1) to provide students with a linguistic skill set and the cultural competence to communicate in a meaningful way when they travel, study, live or work in a German speaking country.

2) to enable students to follow and interpret current events, and to explore the cultural tradition and intellectual history of German speaking countries while they start to develop and hone their research skills.

We offer a stimulating and challenging learning environment - our program provides ample opportunity for students to discover the culture, current affairs and everyday life in German speaking countries.

Our courses are based on a student-centered approach and conducted in an interactive format.

One of the advantages of a small program is the faculty student ratio - the classes are small and each student gets a lot of individual attention. The maximum number of students in the language classes is 19 and upper-division classes are even smaller.

Students are encouraged to pursue interdisciplinary studies of German culture, politics, history and other fields.

A wide variety of special collections and facilities on campus and in the L.A. area offer excellent opportunities for students to get involved in research on German Studies topics. The facilities include the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, the Max Kade Institute, the Shoah Foundation, Villa Aurora and the Wende Museum (For more information scroll further down and look under "Research and Special Collections at USC and under "German Institutions in L.A.")

Study Abroad programs in Berlin and Dresden with the opportunity for overseas studies after two or four semesters of German.

The faculty makes it a priority to create an atmosphere of a “small-town” community in a megalopolis research institution. We know our students by name and our small classes also make it easier for you as a student to get to know your classmates. Each semester every German Studies professor takes each of his/her classes to dinner at a restaurant.

We offer a range of extracurricular activities such as film screenings,dinners with your professors, seasonal parties and Stammtisch (the opportunity to practice your German outside of the classroom once a week).

The program has a German Club that organizes events throughout the semester.

USC is a testing site for the internationally recognized Goethe Institut tests "Start Deutsch 2," "Zertifikat Deutsch B1" and "Goethe Zertifikat C1." After one year of German, most students can pass "Start Deutsch 2," and after 2 years the "Zertifikat Deutsch B1" - We suggest you take these tests for the internationally recognized certificates - it will be a great asset on your resume! For more information about the Goethe examinations talk to Dr. Bothe (THH 353) or visit the Goethe Institut website.

Research and Special Collections at USC

Arnold Schönberg Institute

Feuchtwanger Archive

Feuchtwanger Memorial Library

German Films at Leavey Library

German Lang. and Lit. Materials at Doheny Library

Holocaust Studies Collection

Language Center

Max Kade Institute

Silent Films at Leavey Library

Shoah Foundation

German Institutions and German Studies Archives in the Los Angeles Area

German Consulate

Welcome to the website of the German Consulate General in Los Angeles. Here you will find information on Germany, the consular services we provide in our Visa, Passport, Legal section and German-related news and events in our area.

6222 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500

Los Angeles, CA 90048-5193

Phone: (323) 930 2703

Fax: (323) 930 2805

Getty Research Institute

The Getty Research Institute is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts. Its Research Library with special collections of rare materials and digital resources serves an international community of scholars and the interested public.

The Getty Research Institute offers a special guide to Holocaust-Era research.

Goethe Institut

The Goethe-Institut is the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institution operational worldwide.
We promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange. We also foster knowledge about Germany by providing information on its culture, society and politics.

Los Angeles Berlin Sister City Committee

On June 27, 1967, Berlin became Los Angeles` 6th sister city with the Committee`s mission to advance the relationship in every possible way between the two prominent cities: culturally, intellectually, commercially and socially. Among the primary activities are fundraisers that promote social and cultural exchanges between the two cities, as well as specific exchanges in the field of the arts, music, literature and science.

Rifkind Center at LACMA

The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies is a research facility devoted to the study of the expressionist movement, which flourished in Germany during the early twentieth century.

The center houses a collection of approximately 5,000 prints and drawings and a catalogued library of more than 6,000 volumes. This collection is available by appointment only to art historians, scholars, and students.

Villa Aurora

Villa Aurora is an artists residence and historic landmark located in the former home of exiled German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. To promote and foster German-American cultural exchange and to remember the European exiles that settled in Southern California, Villa Aurora offers a variety of public lectures, screenings and performances.

Wende Museum

The collections of the Wende Museum concentrate on preservation of cultural, political artifacts and documentary materials that are at-risk or are critical to scholarly investigation, and personal artifacts and histories that capture the lived experience beneath the ideological battles and geopolitical struggles of the Cold War.

Events

Grillfest 2012

Congratulations!!!!

German Studies Student Rebecca Miller received the prestigious Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship that will allow her to study and do an internship in Germany.