German Literary Studies
Abstract
The modern German literature study programme, called German Literary Studies, is ideal for students who enjoy reading and writing, and dealing analytically with language, texts and other media in particular. As a branch of German Studies, «German Literary Studies» is dedicated to German-language texts from the times of humanism and the Reformation to the present day. The programme is for those who have an interest in the historical and cultural interconnections of language. In this Bachelor programme, students acquire the skills needed to stylistically analyse texts of various genres and media and to place them in their historical context. Special features of literary studies at Fribourg are the opportunities available for comparative literature study engendered by our proximity to the language boundary, and the focus on the relationship between media and literature, and the debates on questions of poetics and literary theory.
Profile of the study programme
The modern German literature study programme, more precisely called German Literary Studies, is ideal for students who enjoy reading and writing, and dealing analytically with language, text and other media; they should also be interested in the historical and cultural interconnections of language. The German Literary Studies course covers modern German literature from the 16th century to the present day. In this Bachelor programme, students acquire the skills needed to stylistically analyse texts of various genres and media and to place them in their historical context. They also learn how to argue scientifically and develop research questions of their own.
Special features of literary studies at Fribourg are the opportunities available for comparative literature study engendered by our proximity to the language boundary, and the special focus on the representation of literature in various media, and the research in poetics and in literary theory. The programme therefore addresses literary texts and communication processes, both in general (for example, it looks at the functions of literary genres, the rhetorical structure of texts, etc.) and with regard to historical characteristics (it deals with individual literary works and work groups, their authors and readers, relationships with other literature and arts, etc.). A key target is to develop graduates own power of judgement in relation to earlier, current and future developments in literature and in scientific literary research.
Studies take place in an agreeable environment in a pleasant city in a medium-sized bilingual university (around 10,000 students, of which 250 are studying German); French is mainly spoken in the region, however the study programme is in German. Around 15% of our students do not speak German as their mother tongue. In Fribourg, students can study French and German at the same level and use both languages daily.
Learning outcomes
The German Literary Studies programme provides direct, or facilitated, access to many Master's programmes in the fields of languages, communication and literature, in particular comparative literature. However, access to the teaching profession requires enrolling in an adjustment programme in the basics of German linguistics and medieval studies.
Studies organisation
Structure of studies
60 ECTS credits as a minor study programme
Curriculum
http://studies.unifr.ch/go/rC-uD (German)
Admission
The following Swiss school-leaving certificates grant admission to Bachelor programmes at the University of Fribourg:
- Swiss academic Maturity Certificate
- Swiss vocational or specialised Baccalaureate in conjunction with the supplementary exam certificate from the Swiss Maturity Commission
- Bachelor Degree from a Swiss university, from an accredited Swiss university of applied sciences (HES/FH) or from a Swiss university of teacher education (HEP/PH)
A complete list of all further recognized Swiss school-leaving certificates is to be found on the webpages of swissuniversities (in French and German only): http://studies.unifr.ch/go/en-admission-swiss-certificates
Foreign upper secondary school-leaving certificates are recognised only if they correspond substantially to the Swiss Maturity Certificate. They must qualify as general education. Foreign school-leaving certificates are considered to be general education if the last three years of schooling include at least six general education subjects, independent from each other, in accordance with the following list:
- First language (native language)
- Second language
- Mathematics
- Natural sciences (biology, chemistry or physics)
- Humanities and social sciences (geography, history or economics/law)
- Elective (an additional language or an additional subject from category 4 or 5)
The general admission requirements to the Bachelor programmes at the University of Fribourg for holders of foreign school-leaving certificates as well as the admission requirements for individual countries are to be found on the webpages of swissuniversities: http://studies.unifr.ch/go/en-admission-countrylist
In addition, foreign candidates must present proof of sufficient language skills in French or German.
The assessment of foreign school-leaving certificates is based on the «CRUS Recommendations for the Assessment of Foreign Upper Secondary School-Leaving Certificates, 7 September 2007» (http://studies.unifr.ch/go/crus07en). The admission requirements are valid for the respective academic year. The Rectorat of the University of Fribourg reserves the right to change these requirements at any time.