Current curriculum
German course listing
Summer 2008
Spring 2008 300/400
Fall 2007 300/400
Creative Inquiry
Exit exam
Questions-answers
Q: When will the new curriculum be implemented?
A: In the Fall of 2005.
Q: Will I be able to graduate under the old curriculum?
A: Yes, it may make sense to switch to the new, though.
Q: What do you find the most interesting part of this program? Is there anything special about this program that you would like to tell me about?
A: There are many answers to this questions! Read on ...
Q: What makes this program different than just, let's say, a Tourism program or a German degree?
A: It basically combines a business/ tourism major with ...
Q: Can I combine L&IT with a minor or another major (double major)?
A:
Q: How many German courses can I transfer from a German university? Is there a limit?
A: Currently, you can transfer 15 credit hours for 2 semesters or a maximum of 9 credits for 1 semester ...
Q: How can I keep up with my German during the Summer (or whole not taking German)?
A: There are many pleasant ways to practise your German ...
Q: Where have students with this degree found work in the past?
A: There is no real pattern. Students have found work ...
Q: Is there a big tourism program in South Carolina that works with German touring companies? I was looking at the state government page and noticed that they kept talking about services in German and Spanish. I was wondering if this meant German tourists are a lagre part of foreign tourists in South Carolina?
A: We are noy aware of any large tourism program in South Carolina, but ...
Q: Would you recomend the tourism option for L&IT German majors?
A: In general, we don't recommend your going into the tourism concentration of L&IT unless ...
Q: If I want to work in the tourism field what concentration should I chose?
A:You will still be able to work in the tourism industry with the Economics or the International Trade concentration. As a matter of fact, ...
Q: How important is German and what role do Germna companies play in south Carolina (and the Upstate)?
A: Because there are ca. 130 German firms ...
Q: Will knowledge in German language get me a job with a German company? Will German help me getting accepted into ICAR?
A: Excellent knowledge of German should be a big plus, but ...
Q: What companies do German majors in tourism do their internship with?
A: ... We cannot assure your receiving an internship in the tourism area with an American company located in SC, but ...
We could not answer your question? Please send us an e-mail!
Q: What do you find the most interesting part of this program? Is there anything special about this program that you would like to tell me about?
A: There are many answers to this questions! Read on ...
1.) The requirement to go abroad. As other departments at the university, our Language Department is also in the process of a curriculum overhaul. The German Section will be requiring a one-year stay abroad of all its majors. Though we recommend an entire year of study at a German university (we have several different program possibilities), students could choose a model combining study and an internship. The one-year requirement abroad will provide you with a true understanding of anything international and will give you a great experience. This will also be your ticket for a good job later on! (Even for landing excellent internships, study abroad is essential.)
2.) The combination of business, German culture and literature classes. This will give you an insight not only in the economic workings of German speaking countries but also in the culture, essential for being a successful job candidate in an international setting. In addition, the degree requires two courses in German business language and German business culture (generally, universities combining the study of business with German offer only one course and that one often excludes emphasis on business culture).
3.) Your fellow students (and of course your teachers!). We simply have a great program! Actually, we mean this! We have a wonderful mix of students and we try to create a sense of community (German Club, hiking trips, CLIP--an intensive program of ca. 8 hours of German a day during second summer session, opportunities to meet graduate students from Germany and Germans living in the area, an annual German play written and performed by the students). And, we spend a lot of time advising students on scholarship opportunities and help them with the application processes (we've had a really high number of award winners). In the process of trying to teach a lot, we do not neglect the importance of fun.
On a final note: The curriculum revision mentioned above will make our major even stronger than it currently is. We're excited about it!
Q: What makes this program different than just, let's say, a Tourism program or a German degree?
A: See above. It basically combines a business/ tourism major with a German language major (culture and literature). It does however, place some emphasis on the connection of the two areas which you will not have if you do a double major. The major will give you a competitive edge because there are fewer students studying L&IT. Also, companies generally give you the opportunity to describe your L&IT major (with other majors, they assume knowledge of what the major is and often dismiss what students would like to say about how their major has prepared them for the specific jobs that are open).
Q: Where have students with this degree found work in the past?
A: There is no real pattern. Students have found work in many different types of businesses, not necessarily in internationally oriented ones. A small number of our graduates is working at BMW. Others are working at Bosch or at one of the other ca. 31 German supplier firms of BMW located in SC. One recently received a position with a medical supplier firm (he became the European salesperson).
Several students went on to law school (a couple of recent ones are focusing on international business law) or to MBA-studies with an international focus. One was hired at Michelin. Then there were ca. four idealists in the past three years who decided to teach German on the secondary level after they completed their L&IT degrees. In short, the degree enables students to apply for a wide variety of positions. (Even those who always intended to study law voluntarily chose this major.)
Compared to many undergraduate German degree programs on the national level, we have healthy enrollments in upper level German courses. Approximately one half (or even more) of the students enrolled in upper level courses are not majoring in German or in L&IT. We have, for instance, a large number of minors and engineering students studying German literature and culture--in part because they care about receiving the broader kind of humanities education that still matters for upper echelon positions in German firms. (Our engineering students generally have no difficulty at all receiving employment in one of the German engineering firms in SC.)
Last year, on the basis of the case we made for our program, BMW funded the position of "BMW Lecturer of German" (the funding was for three years, with possibility of renewal). BMW decided to help out in our faculty shortage--i.e., BMW just couldn't believe that we were having to turn people away from beginning German and that even some upper level literature courses were closed out. Now we are able to offer four courses per semester on the upper level.
Q: How many German courses can I transfer from a German university? Is there a limit?
A: Currently, you can transfer 15 credit hours for 2 semesters or a maximum of 9 credits for 1 semester (this is going to change beginning Fall 2005). However, you need to be enrolled in a Clemson approved program (or ISEP) and be a full-time student at Clemson during the time you are taking these classes.
Also, we do require some courses to be take here at Clemson, currently this appies to Ger 316 and 416 for L&IT majors.
We are encouraging to take as many non-German related classes as possible! You should transfer a minimun of 12 credits per semester. We recommend to take classes in areas you are familiar with/ good in.
You advisors (Dr. Sinka, Modern Language, and Prof Ferrell and Dr. Schmidt, L&IT) will be happy to help you with selecting the courses and transfering them later. Please get the majority of the courses approved before you go abroad.
Q: Is there a big tourism program in South Carolina that works with German touring companies? I was looking at the state government page and noticed that they kept talking about services in German and Spanish. I was wondering if this meant German tourists are a lagre part of foreign tourists in South Carolina?
A: We are noy aware of any large tourism program in South Carolina. In general, SC is still in the process of expanding its international tourist business and plans to do more advertising globally. As of now, there are very, very few organized German tourist groups coming to SC. Germans traveling as private tourists in the South do often stop in SC--generally in Charleston. Or, they spend a week at the beach!
The reason the state government site kept mentioning services in German is different from the reason it mentions them for Spanish. Translation services are particularly important for Spanish, since many of the newly arrived Hispanic workers do not speak English well (services in Spanish are particularly needed in hospitals, etc.). Most of the Germans in SC are here because they were brought here by the German firms, and most of them already speak English well. The services in German provide a polite gesture. They often act as a welcome signal.
Q: Would you recomend the tourism option for L&IT German majors?
A: In general, we don't recommend your going into the tourism concentration of L&IT unless you have some very specific professional plans related to tourism. Yes, we do offer the tourism option, but very few students have ever chosen that route.
There is, however, a new program being developed in "Restoration". Global L&IT/ tourism could become part of this program or at least play a role in it, even if not necessarily a major role.
A:You will still be able to work in the tourism industry with the Economics or the International Trade concentration. As a matter of fact, your chances of success in this area are probably the best with an Economics concentration.
Q: How important is German and what role do Germna companies play in south Carolina (and the Upstate)?
A: Because there are ca. 130 German firms with a branch in SC (50 of these are BMW supplier firms), the role of German in the state is an important one, and it will become even more important (even now, 30% of all international firms in SC are German). In June 2004, for instance, the President of Clemson University and the SC Upstate Alliance, the regional economic development organization, is leaving for a one-week, high-profile trip to Germany in order to bring even more German industry to SC. With Clemsons ICAR (International Center for Automobile Research, which will offer the first U.S. Ph.D. in international automotive engineering--BMW donated 10 million for professorships), SC will be an even more attractive location for German firms. Also contributing to the attraction: the projected research park, where ICAR will be located, will also have a center for information technologies (this too is financially heavily supported by BMW, as well as by other firms such as Michelin). In terms of international business--German, in particular--these are exciting times for SC.
Q: Will knowledge in German language get me a job with a German company? Will German help me getting accepted into ICAR?
A: Excellent knowledge of German should be a big plus for employment possibilities in the firms of the research park. However, you have to be an expert in your field (other than Germna) to be successful both in finding a job and being accepted into ICAR.
Q: What companies do German majors in tourism do their internship with?
A: Since we have rarely had students with this concentration, we cannot really answer this question (the very few students who did this concentration generally had connections that enabled them to receive internships in the tourism area). We cannot assure your receiving an internship in the tourism area with an American company located in SC. And, by the way, tourism here often means that you are going to sell cruises to Alaska! But we may be able to help you find an internship with a German travel agent/ broker (like TUI). Still, given the business situation in Germany right now, we cannot promise you anything. You may end up with an internship that is not necessarily related to tourism. But that should not be a problem for job prospects in the tourism industry.
Q: How can I keep up with my German during the Summer (or whole not taking German)?
A: There are many pleasant ways to practise your German on your own during the Summer and at other vacation times or when you are not enrolled in German classes.
There are a couple of fun things you could do--e.g., get on the BBC website. It has beginning and intermediate German courses with pictures, video clips, and audio--the spoken German is at a fast pace, but you get to see the written versions too and can repeat viewings of the spoken vignettes to your heart's content.
Also, Deutsche Welle (the German BBC) has several German courses on its site. I think the BBC courses are more fun, but I haven't looked at the DW-ones lately (still, the DW is always solid). <www.dwelle.de>
If you're in Clemson: in our language lab, we have ca. 24 l5-minute episodes in the video series "Alles Gute." The lab should have the book that accompanies the series. You can't take these videos out, but I'm pretty sure there is space to watch them in the lab in the afternoons. They have a lot of useful vocab., even the simple, beginning ones. And they repeat it a lot. And, there is a video program titled "Gabi und Frank" (a couple that lives together!)--it too has a lot of useful vocab. and episodes, but--despite the basic situation--I find it a bit stodgy.
Also, do check out the website: www.germanvideo.com <http://www.germanvideo.com/>. They have LOTS of German videos, some of them inexpensive. They often have sales.
Mainly classics of German cinema can be found at <http://www.kino.com>.
Also mainly artistically recognized German films (video and DVD): <http://www.facets.com/>.
It's more problematic with DVDs. American DVDs rarely have a German option, though the German ones have an English option. Many American films dubbed in German are available in Germany, but the German DVDs need a special DVD player. The German video addresses above have everything on the American system. For a fee, it can also convert German things into the American system.
For starters on the DVD angle: Go to the foreign movie section of a BLOCKBUSTERS and ask for "Mostly Martha." It's in German but does have an Engl. subtitle option. This film is in most Blockbusters. There are generally other German films in Blockbusters, but they're mainly "Problemfilme" that need a lot of thinking.
You may also check out the main Goethe Institute website. They have links to all the Goethe Institutes in the world. Many of them have neat language exercises, sometimes with video or at least audio practice. Viel Spaß dabei!
The following site has many, many useful links for practicing German. You should definitely refer to it frequently: <http://www.german.about.com/>.
And, remember that the value of reading, reading, reading can't be overestimated. Relatively easy news reading: <http://www.focus.de/>
<http://www.stern.de/>
<http://www.welt.de/>You may wnat to subscribe to a weekly or daily (free) news letter such as GermanNews (Deutsche Ausgabe: www.germnews.de/gn).
Many of the German newspapers also have key articles translated into English (you can read the English article before turning to the German one).
Reading German literature (many of these are classics that have been translated into English; Engl. versions are available in many libraries and in good books stores and, of course, through www.amazon.com ) <http://www.gutenberg.de>.
Also recommended:
<http://www.deutschland.de/>
<http://www.jetzt.de/>
<http://www.oskar.de/>
Und, und, und....
