German Studies

Welcome to German Studies at Trinity College! We are a small team of dedicated teachers and scholars ready to help you develop your German language skills.  Together we explore German literature — in original German and in translation — and study a broad array of subjects in which the influences and contributions of German-speaking peoples are evident: history, philosophy, religion, art history, performing arts, music, politics, and economics.  German Studies at Trinity is truly interdisciplinary.

But you may ask: why learn German? Of course, learning a language opens the mind, but German will also help you in your future career: teaching, translation, publication, business, international law, diplomacy, foreign service, and tourism.  Also, knowledge of German will be helpful for graduate study in a number of disciplines in the humanities, the sciences, music, and art history.

At Trinity, you have several options to study German: you may take just a few courses, do a German language minor, sign up for the interdisciplinary minor in German studies, or declare a German Studies major.  There are great study away options in German and Austria, for students who are already taking German but also for novices.

More than 60% of students at Trinity study abroad for at least one semester. German Studies offers two excellent programs to choose from: each year, students take part in the Baden-Württemberg Exchange to study at universities such as Heidelberg, Freiburg, Tübingen or Stuttgart. The Trinity-in-Vienna Program attracts a number of students each year to study a semester in Austria’s capital and to take advantage of its many offerings in music, philosophy, psychology, and language.  And soon, our Trinity-in-Berlin Summer Program will once again be recruiting students to explore Germany’s capital, one of Europe’s most exciting cities.

Questions? Contact Professors Julia Assaiante or Jason Doerre.