The German CLIP Program

Usually offered in the 1st summer session, the German CLIP program is a five-week, 6 credit hour intensive language class. Students who finished Ger 201 or equivalent earn 3 credits for Ger 202 and 3 for Ger 310, students who finished Ger 202 or higher receive 6 credits for Ger 310.

View or downloand brochure (pdf)

2013 at Aachen, Germany

Historically, Aachen is one of the older cities of the region, was the seat of government of Charlemagne (whose remains are interred in the Aachen Cathedral), was the location where most kings of Germany were crowned, and played a role during and after the Napoleonic Wars. Today, Aachen is a mid-sized city with a university and a rich modern German culture. It is conveniently located for individual or group explorations to other sights in the region (Dreiländereck), just over one hour from Brussels, Belgium, and 3 hours from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The class meets five days a week for about 2.5 hours in the morning for formal instructions. After lunch, the group will explore the city through short excursions and interaction with a native German assistant who will provide students with a personal experience and insights into various aspects of life in a German city like Aachen. This CLIP experience includes but is not limited to arts, food, entertainment, transportation, as well as business and politics.

Weekend and full-day excusions will provide opportunities to explore the nearby cities such as Düsseldorf, Köln, and Bonn. A longer trip to Leipzig (tentatively) will enable the group to experience a different region of German.

Places of interest in Köln are the Dom, Schokoladenmuseum, and the Römisch-Germanisches Museum as well as the Altstadt. Düsseldorf features the Königsalle, Landtag, and the longest “Theke der Welt”. In Bonn we will have the chance to visit Beethoven’s birth house, Das Haus der Geschichte, and learn about the political system since 1945.

Students may not speak English at any time and must pledge to use German exclusively during the course. This is what makes the CLIP program so valuable and unique. Students get the most intensive German immersion experience possible in the US. After completing CLIP, students are encouraged to go to a German-speaking country. As a matter of fact, CLIP was originally designed to prepare students to go abroad. Yet, the program has morphed into more than that: it is a preparation for any kind of advanced use of the German language, abroad, upper-level literature and culture courses, job and internship preparation, preparation for teaching German, advancing communication skills, etc.

Finally, the German section offers limited financial support (need-based) for CLIP participants. Students need to register early to be eligible for a scholarship, and need to send an informal letter to Lee Ferrell or Johannes Schmidt (see below).

Contact:

German section:
Lee Ferrell (ferrell(at)clemson.edu) or
Johannes Schmidt (schmidj(at)clemson.edu)

CLIP Program Director:
Toshiko Kishimoto
Program Director Clemson Language Immersion Program
Department of Languages
705 Strode Tower
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0535
Phone: (864) 656-5393
Fax: (864) 656-0258
Email: ktoshik(at)clemson.edu
Language Department CLIP Web Page

 

CLIP images:

CLIP group 2012

CLIP group in Leibzip 2012

Kautex CLIP Scholarship Recipients, Colleen Raymonda (left) and Adrielle Shafer
with Lee Ferrell and Kautex Chief Engineer, Andreas Weller (right)

Picnic at the South Carolina Botanical Garden (July 2008)

A "Stammtisch" during the 2008 CLIP class

2008 Participants in Charleston, SC