Undergraduate study

Studying German at the University of Exeter gives you the opportunity to learn about the culture, literature and society of the German-speaking countries, in particular Germany and Austria. These countries have a rich cultural past and play a vital role at the heart of today’s Europe, where the old European Union meets the new EU accession states. The German language is a passport to a rich and diverse community of 120 million speakers, to a treasure house of European culture and to a major economy whose influence reaches out across the world.

We’ll train you to a high level of proficiency in reading, writing and speaking German, which you can put to good use in your year abroad, living in a German-speaking country, where you are in charge of your own linguistic and cultural learning process. Our programme is also designed to help you develop personal and transferable skills such as analysis, communication, oral presentation, teamwork and independent learning.

Our teaching staff have specialist research interests covering a wide area of German language, literature and culture. These research interests feed directly into your undergraduate degree programme, ensuring that you have access to the latest knowledge and ideas, taught by experts in their fields.

We aim to create a relaxed and informal atmosphere in our staff-student relations. Much of the teaching, especially in oral classes, is done in small groups. We enjoy the support of highly qualified native speakers (Lektoren) in our language teaching. Social activities, plays and film-shows are organised by the student-run German Society, which also produces its own magazine. In addition to the resources of the University Library (which include the latest research on German language and culture and an extensive DVD collection) many of our modules are supported by online material and there is a wide range of electronic learning materials in German in the Foreign Language Centre.