Ph.D. Program in Germanic Studies

The Ph.D. Program in Germanic Studies is fully integrated within the robustly interdisciplinary culture of the University of Chicago. Special emphases include: literature and art; philosophy and aesthetics; gender studies; theater and performance studies; theology and religious studies; systems theory; theory of form; science studies and history of culture; psychoanalysis.

​​​​​​​Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen, "Young Girl Reading" (1868). Courtesy of the Smart Museum of Art.
​​​​​​​Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen, "Young Girl Reading" (1868). Courtesy of the Smart Museum of Art.

Seminars and Workshops

Seminars cover German literary and cultural history from the early modern period to the present. Faculty and Students are involved in a variety of interdisciplinary workshops. Workshops include the Literature and Philosophy Workshop, Theatre and Performance Study Workshop, Renaissance Workshop, Affect and Emotions Workshop, German Philosophy Workshop, Jewish Studies Workshop, and many more. The Council on Advanced Studies provides a number of workshops available for students and faculty to attend according to their interests.

Strong Outcomes

Special emphasis is placed on graduate training for a diverse employment environment. Our record of job placement both nationally and internationally is very strong. Participation at scholarly conferences in the United States and Europe is outstanding and travel support is available to students for conference participation. Chicago graduate students continue to achieve a high level of publication in important venues. The Department is committed to sustained mentorship.

Diverse Perspectives

The Department of Germanic Studies has formal exchanges with the University of Konstanz, the Free University of Berlin, and the University of Leipzig. These cooperative relationships include joint seminars taught by faculty from the partner institutions. Chicago has also become a target institution for doctoral and post-doctoral scholars from Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Switzerland, adding diverse perspectives to our culture of intellectual exchange.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Graduate students carve out their intellectual agendas with the advice and support of departmental faculty. Dissertation advisement is often cross-departmental. Especially productive relations exist with the following departments:

In addition, graduate students often attend courses in the Committee on Social Thought and the Divinity School. Chicago has just introduced an innovative joint Ph.D. graduate program in Theater and Performance Studies under the leadership of Germanic Studies faculty.

Community Outreach

As a part of  Community Outreach, the University of Chicago's chapter of SPARK for German connects undergraduate and graduate students with local public-school students.

Program Requirements

Please follow this link for details on Graduate-level program requirements.