Master of Arts in German Studies
A flexible master’s program with an interdisciplinary approach to German studies.
We’ve designed our MA in German studies to be a meaningful professional credential in itself and a foundation for further progress toward a PhD. It provides a sound background in the field of German studies with broad opportunities for interdisciplinary work. We offer a diverse range of graduate seminars, training in language pedagogy, research support, and professional development.
Our faculty’s strengths are interdisciplinary literary and cultural studies, and their diverse specialties include Black German studies, cultural and intellectual history, gender and sexuality studies, and Turkish German studies. UMass offers language instruction in German, Yiddish, and Middle High German.
We are also home to the DEFA Film Library, an East German film research center, and our resources are enhanced by the Five Colleges, the Yiddish Book Center, and exchange programs with universities in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Austria.
Some MA students pursue an individualized concentration, while others structure their program around their coursework, drawing on faculty research strengths in the program, the university, the Five Colleges, and our international exchange partner universities.
Benefits list
DEFA Film Library
The DEFA Film Library is the only archive and research center outside of Germany devoted to a broad spectrum of filmmaking from and related to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). It houses an extensive collection of 35mm and 16mm prints, DVDs, books, periodicals, and articles.
Featured faculty
Sara Jackson
Program Director, German Studies
Associate Professor, German Studies
Sara Jackson is an associate professor, the program director, and the graduate program director of German studies.
German Studies
Study the language, culture, society, film, literature, history, and politics of Germany through its past and present.