Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies
Modern Languages Building, Room 220
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 42428
Welcome to Waterloo's Master of Arts in Intercultural German Studies! This section of the department's website exists to provide graduate students in this joint degree program some basic information and advice. A complete program handbook is available upon request.
This joint international MA program will award you one degree from two universities, the University of Waterloo and the Universität Mannheim. This international accreditation means you will have equal degree recognition in Europe and North America. More integrated than an exchange term, this MA is the first joint transatlantic humanities degree available in Canada. Your studies will help you develop the linguistic, research and intercultural skills and understanding necessary for succeeding in today’s knowledge-based global society.
Program timelines
After one term at the University of Waterloo (September-December) all students move to Mannheim in order to stay there for two semesters (January-June and August-December). The remaining two terms are spent back at UW. During this time, you will write and defend your MA thesis. Here is an overview of when you will be where. Please note that “Term” denotes a study term spent at UWaterloo, while “Semester” refers to program time spent at UMannheim.
| Term 1 | Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Term 2 | Term 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September-December | January-June | August-December | January-April | May-August |
| Waterloo | Mannheim | Mannheim | Waterloo | Waterloo |
As the program is tightly integrated between the two universities, it is best not to deviate from this model. Please note that any changes to this study sequence must be formally approved by the Joint Program Committee. Please contact the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies for further information.
Program of study
| Course/Milestone | ECTS* | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 |
Seminar: Methods of Research | 10 | 20 |
| Seminar: Literature/Media Studies OR Applied Linguistics | 10 | ||
| Semester 1 | Seminar: Applied Linguistics | 7 | 31 |
| Seminar: Literature/Media Studies | 7 | ||
| Seminar: Literature/Media Studies OR Applied Linguistics | 7 | ||
| Research or teaching assistantship | 10 | ||
| Semester 2 | Lecture: Applied Linguistics | 4 | 25 |
| Lecture: Literature/Media Studies | 4 | ||
| Lecture: Literature/Media Studies OR Applied Linguistics | 7 | ||
| Seminar: Intercultural Communication | 7 | ||
| Assignment: Intercultural Reflection | 3 | ||
| Terms 2 + 3 | Seminar: Literature/Media Studies OR Applied Linguistics | 10 | 44 |
| Thesis prospectus | 4 | ||
| Research milestone | 3 | ||
| Master's Kolloquium | 4 | ||
| Thesis defense | 3 | ||
| Thesis | 20 | ||
| 120 | |||
*ECTS = European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. One credit point equals 30 hours of work.
Experiential learning component
As part of your experiential learning, you will have a job at the Philosophical Faculty in Mannheim of ca. 3 hours per week. You will get paid € 100.-/month for your work. Your Hi-Wi (Hilfswissenschaftler)-Job can be used for your Graduate Studies Internship if you complete the necessary requirements as outlined on the info sheet for the Graduate Studies Internship.
Additional information
- MA thesis guidelines
- Current and upcoming German graduate seminars
- Listing of all German graduate courses in the Graduate Studies calenda
With the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union