Internships and Careers

Kafka's CV
Franz Kafka's curriculum vitae enclosed with this employment application to the insurance company Assicurazioni Generali, (1907). Courtesy of Assicurazioni Generali Historical Archive."

Postgraduate Fellowships and Opportunities

  • DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Study Scholarships for Graduating Seniors

Provides an opportunity to study or research in Germany after graduation from college. The DAAD Study Scholarship provides funding for a full Master's degree program at a German university or for study at a German university as part of a postgraduate or Master's degree program completed in the home country.

For more information, contact: Arthur Salvo aksalvo@uchicago.edu, and visit: College Center for Research and Fellowships

  • Fulbright Program for U.S. Students

The largest U.S. exchange program, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program sponsors 9 to 11 month experiences abroad including teaching, research, and study. Grants cover tuition, fees and travel and include a stipend. Graduating seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students are eligible to apply.

Interested students please visit: Fullbright US Student Program

  • US Teaching Assistantships at Austrian Secondary Schools

For more information, please consult: US Teaching Assistantships

  • More University of Chicago Programs:

You can learn more about University of Chicago programs around the world as well as fellowships and scholarships here: Global Uchicago and here: CCRF Uchicago

Community Outreach

The University of Chicago's chapter of SPARK for German connects undergraduate students with local public-school students. Last year, undergraduate students led after-school sessions at Bret Hart Elementary School. This year, we plan to work with Bret Harte Elementary as well as Kenwood Academy, a middle and high school.

Undergraduate students with a minimum of two years of university level German instruction or equivalent immersive experience are welcome to join our team. We are currently working to create short video tutorials that introduce basic German through topics such as music, movies, and sustainability. We use lesson plans developed by the Goethe-Institut to create these videos and lead follow-up live sessions with students.

College students may contact the supervisor of this program, Prof. Nicole G. Burgoyne, to inquire as to the availability of micro Metcalf internships for the winter or spring quarters. We also hope to welcome all students with work-study eligibility through a partnership with the Neighborhood Schools Program in the winter and spring.

Metcalf Program

The larger Metcalf program provides paid internship opportunities for students.

The Micro-Metcalf program funds students to work with university faculty on projects such as 

  • Qualitative/Quantitative Research
  • Website Development/Graphic Design
  • Teaching Assistance
  • Translation
  • Data Analytics
  • Administrative/IT Support

Federal Work-study

Many students may be eligible for Work-study Opportunities. Please see the University of Chicago Financial Aid site for more details and to see if you qualify. 

What Do Germanic Majors Do after Graduation?

Below is a list of job placements for recent graduates in Germanic Studies:

  • Serena Strecker’20, Ph.D. Student, Department of History, Yale University
  • Sarah Eikenberry’20, Teach for America, NYC
  • Lexie Holden’20, Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow for the Congressional Hunger Center
  • Conor Bulkeley-Krane’20, Fulbright Combined Award to teach and research in Vienna Austria, USTA program Vienna
  • Grace Clemens’20, Masters Student, NELC, University of Chicago
  • Anna Bakwin’20, 
  • Jhanelle Smith’19, Membership Development Coordinator, mHUB Chicago
  • Helen Kessler’19, English Teaching Assistant in Austria / Fulbright Austria, and applying to Medical School
  • Andy Xu’19, Education consultant, Shanghai, China
  • Jorge Clavo Abbass’19, Ph.D. Student, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Ohio State University
  • Maggie Marusek’18, English Teaching Assistant in Austria / Fulbright Austria
  • Maria Alvarez’18, Program Associate for Literacy Volunteers of Illinois, VOCAL Americorp; currently, applying to graduate programs and for a DAAD fellowship
  • Brendan Kahn’18, English Teaching Assistant in Austria / Fulbright Austria
  • Mark Angus Meyer’18, Management at McMaster-Carr (logistics company)
  • Frederic Atwood’17, Project Manager, Goethe Institute, Washington D.C.
  • Lukas Hager’17, Data Scientist in the University of Michigan's Department of Pathology
  • Tim Hofmockel’17, Business Intelligence Analyst: Ntrepid Corp (software, hardware, and cyber security company)
  • Lindsey Adams’17, Business Analyst, M&T Bank
  • Jackson Bierfeldt’17, Web Developer, Audio MakerEnglish Teaching Assistant in Austria / Fulbright Austria
  • Caressa Franklin’16, Primary English Teacher, Peace Corps, Lesotho/South Africa
  • Juchi Pratt’16, Native English Teacher at EPIK English Program in Korea
  • Julius Pak’16, Georgetown Law School
  • Toni Kuziela’16, Business Analyst, Lazard Middle Market (financial advisory firm)
  • Adam Kahn’16, Data Analyst, Apex Systems at Apple, Inc.
  • Alex Meyer’10, University of Chicago Law School
  • Aaron Vanides’10, Universitätsassistent, Universität Graz, Austria; (Ph.D. Yale in History)
  • Nicole Burgoyne’08, Assistant Instructional Professor, Germanic Studies, University of Chicago; (Ph.D. Harvard in German)
  • Margaret Strair, Ph.D. Student, Germanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pennsylvania
  • Sonia Gollance, Visiting Assistant Professor and Director of Yiddish Studies, Ohio State University; (Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania in Germanic Languages and Literatures)
  • Tanvi Solanki, Assistant Professor of German and Comparative Literature, Yonsei University, Korea; (Ph.D. Princeton in German)
  • Sarah Eldridge, Associate Professor, Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tennessee Knoxville; (Ph.D. Princeton in German)