ADMISSION TO THE GRADUATE PROGRAM

The application for admission to the graduate program must be submitted to the Graduate College, along with transcripts and other required documents. The Graduate Dean reaches a decision based on the recommendation of the Department.

Requirements for admission to full graduate standing in the Department are as follows:

1.      A Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in German, or

equivalent hours in the major.

2.      A 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work.

3.      Three letters of recommendation.

4.      A narrative statement of intent written in German.  It must describe the applicant's accomplishments and plans for the future.

5.      A placement examination is mandatory for all students seeking admission to the graduate program.

Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree in another field and a 3.0 grade point average may be admitted to the graduate program provided they fulfill the undergraduate requirements for a B.A. in that field after enrollment.  Applicants who hold a B.A. in German but do not have the requisite 3.0 grade point average may be admitted on probation for one semester, provided they have at least a 2.75 grade point average.

Applicants who have not fulfilled the following undergraduate requirements must do so in the course of their graduate program:

-- One college level course in European History.
 

MASTER'S PROGRAM

THE MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM IN GERMAN

The M. A. degree in German is offered in both a thesis and a non-thesis program.

NON-THESIS: Students in the non-thesis program must complete thirty-two (32) hours of acceptable graduate level course work (including the courses specifically required) and receive a passing grade on the final comprehensive examination.

THESIS: Requirements for the thesis program are twenty-four (24) hours of acceptable graduate level course work, a thesis for which a maximum of six (6) credit hours is granted, and a final comprehensive examination.

A total, not to exceed nine (9) hours on the 3000- and 4000-level, is allowed as part of the major.

General requirements:

1.      A concentration consists of nine (9) hours and is optional.  4000-level courses may be counted toward the concentration, but no more than 9 hours on the 4000-level are allowed toward the Master’s Degree.  Approved concentrations are:  Language, English, European History, Linguistics, Anthropology, Philosophy, and approved graduate-level Education courses. 

2.      The following courses are required for the major in German:

- German 5003, History of the German Language OR

   German 5113, The Middle Ages

- MLLL 5073, Contemporary Literary Criticism, is required for the Master’s 

     Degree. (Offered Spring semester only.)

3.      All Graduate Teaching Assistants are required to enroll in MLLL 4813 during their first year.

4.  Students must demonstrate reading competency in a second language.  In order

     to do so, they may take the departmental graduate reading exam or complete 

     two semesters or ten hours in another language.

5.  A comprehensive examination is required for the thesis and the non-thesis

     programs.  The examination is administered during the twelfth week of each

     semester.  It is based on courses taken by the student and on the reading list.

6.  Graduate Assistants are required to enroll in a minimum of six (6) credit hours

     of graduate-level courses per semester.

THE M. A. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

Students enrolled in the thesis and non-thesis programs take the same M. A. comprehensive examination. Students are urged to take the examination no later than the fourth semester of graduate study.

The comprehensive examination is a written examination which is scheduled for the 12th and 13th week in each semester. It is based on courses taken by the student and on the reading list. The entire major field is covered; work in the minor field is excluded.

GERMAN MAJORS IN THE THESIS OPTION take a ninety-minute examination in three of the following six fields. The German faculty determines which three fields to test. GERMAN MAJORS IN THE NON-THESIS OPTION take a ninety-minute examination in each of the following six fields:

Day One

- Medieval German                              

- 16^th & 17^th Centuries

- 18^th Century                                      

Day Two

- Classicism & Romanticism     

- 19^th Century                                      

- 20^th Century                          

At the discretion of the German faculty, students may be asked to take an oral exam within one week of the written exam in case some areas are found to be deficient.

Faculty members prepare questions in their fields of specialization and grade all portions of the examination. If a portion of a student's examination is of failing or doubtful quality, at least one other faculty member reads that portion. When the entire examination is of doubtful quality, the graduate faculty of the major field makes appropriate recommendations. The student may be asked to repeat the examination or be granted a passing grade with the recommendation not to continue graduate study towards the Ph. D.  Students who fail the examination in whole or in part may repeat it (or the failed portion) only once during the regularly scheduled period.

The department notifies candidates and the Graduate College of the examination results. Candidates for the non-thesis degree who have completed all course requirements and the comprehensive examination, must file the report of the final examination with the Graduate College.  Candidates for the thesis degree must follow the guidelines listed below for the M. A. thesis.

Students are responsible for complying with Graduate College regulations concerning applications for graduation and payment of fees. When all procedures have been completed, the student's name is placed on the graduation list for the next commencement and the degree is awarded as of that date.

FILING FOR A DEGREE

During the last two weeks of the semester prior to the semester in which students plan to take the comprehensive examination, they must file an admission to candidacy form with the Graduate College.  (The exact date is listed in the class schedule.)

THE M. A. THESIS (THESIS PROGRAM ONLY)

Students in the thesis degree program should choose an area of specialization for the thesis as early as possible. After a thesis topic is chosen, students, with the approval of the graduate advisor, select three members of the graduate faculty in the major field to serve as the thesis committee. A member of the graduate faculty specializing in the student's major area acts as the thesis director and chair of the committee. The topic and thesis title are reported to the Graduate
College on the thesis subject card.

A maximum of four (6) thesis hours is allowed toward the M. A. degree. After initial enrollment in thesis credit, students must maintain continuous enrollment during each regular semester (summers excepted) in at least two hours of thesis credit (5980) until the degree is completed or the candidacy discontinued. Exceptions will be made for military service. However, enrollment in 5980 is mandatory in any semester or summer session during which the student is actually doing thesis work, regardless of the number of other hours of enrollment. An oral defense of the thesis is required.

Students must comply with departmental and Graduate College regulations concerning thesis preparation and submission of the reading copy to the Graduate College. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5^th Ed., 1999) should be followed in preparing the thesis. After completion of the thesis, the student must file the report of the final examination with the Graduate College and submit copies of the thesis to the library.

Graduate information:  mlllgradinfo@ou.edu

06/05/02