Professional Development

With support from the Division of the Humanities, the Department, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in German Literature and Culture, students are able to travel to and participate in conferences and workshops at other universities and professional meetings in North America and Europe. Our students regularly present papers at the meetings of the German Studies Association, the Modern Language Association, and other organizations; they actively participate in the conferences in the context of our partnership with the Schlegel Schule at the Freie Universität Berlin and Cambridge University; they give papers at individual conferences dealing with the topics of their research; they engage in archival research in North America and Europe.  Visit this link to see a list of activity in which our students have been involved. 

The Department understands its mission to be the training of students to do high-level critical, interpretive work with complex literary and non-literary material in the context of an intensive engagement with the culture and history of the German-speaking world. The skills and expertise developed over the course of the program, which include, beyond analytical and interpretive acumen, excellence in written and oral communication along with advanced research skills, are highly transportable to careers beyond that of teaching. Our alumni have become not just professors but also editors of major journals; theater producers; executives in study abroad programs; officers of scientific institutes and foundations (in German: Wissenschaftsmangagement); development officers; curators; translators;  psychotherapists; social workers; lawyers. 

Visit this link to see Job Placements of our Graduates.

Throughout their time in the program, graduate students develop their pedagogical expertise and approach by attending the workshops and seminars offered by the Chicago Center for Teaching and the Chicago Language Center.

Visit here for more information on teaching opportunities for graduate students. 

UChicagoGRAD is a dedicated resource for graduate students and postdocs to receive personalized, flexible training to complement their academic pursuits—from fellowship and writing support, to career preparation and internships, to training in public speaking and networking.