Welcome! Willkommen! Welkom! Добро пожаловать! Dobrodošli!

Our department specializes in the study of language, applied linguistics, literature, and film and visual culture.  We have active graduate and undergraduate programs in German and Russian, and we also offer courses in Croatian and Dutch.

Dynamic scholar joins department

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies (GSS) welcomes their newest colleague, Ann Marie Rasmussen, a respected scholar of medieval, gender, and literary studies - and UWaterloo’s new Diefenbaker Memorial Chair of German Literary Studies. Read the news story about her arrival.

Research in the department

Homeopathy, euthanasia, gaming, storytelling, heritage - just some of the topics that are currently being explored by graduate students and faculty in German studies at the University of Waterloo. You can read more about these projects, and also learn about the main research interests of our faculty members.

Why I chose Waterloo German for my PhD studies

A recent graduate of our graduate program, Dr. Belinda Kleinhans, has shared her reasons for studying at the University of Waterloo. Currently holding a tenure track position at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, Dr. Kleinhans originally came to Waterloo as part of our exchange program with Universität Mannheim. 

Read Dr. Kleinhans's story