Munich water fountain and park in Germany
Main content start

German Studies

The Department of German Studies offers a variety of programs in German language and linguistics, literature, culture, and thought. Courses are open to majors and all interested students. Candidates are accepted for the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Philosophy.

By carefully planning their programs, students may fulfill the B.A. requirements for a double major in German Studies and another subject. An extended undergraduate major in English and German literature is available, as are coterminal programs for the B.A. and M.A. degrees in German Studies, and joint programs for the Ph.D. degree with Comparative Literature, Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, Linguistics, and Modern Thought and Literature.

Special collections and facilities at Stanford offer possibilities for extensive research in German studies and related fields pertaining to Central Europe. Facilities include the Stanford University Libraries and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Special collections include the Hildebrand Collection (texts and early editions from the 16th to the 19th century), the Austrian Collection (with emphasis on source material of the time of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, the Napoleonic wars, and the Revolution of 1848), and the Stanford Collection of German, Austrian, and Swiss Culture. New collections emphasize culture and cultural politics in the former German Democratic Republic. The Hoover Institution has a unique collection of historical and political documents pertaining to Germany and Central Europe from 1870 to the present. The department also has its own reference library.

Upcoming Events

November
18
Date
Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Location:
Building 260, Pigott Hall
450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 260, Stanford, CA 94305
Rm 216

Please join the German Studies Lecture Series talk entitled, "Being Born: Towards a Phenomonology of Natality" by Gill Zimmermann (Zeppelin University).

December
2
Date
Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Location:
Building 260, Pigott Hall
450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 260, Stanford, CA 94305
Rm 216

Please join the German Studies Lecture Series talk entitled, "The Blurred Line: Speculation and Gambling in Germany and Britain around 1900" by Cornelius Torp (Gerda Henkel Visiting Professor).

February
17
Date
Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Location:
Building 260, Pigott Hall
450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 260, Stanford, CA 94305
Rm 216

Please join the German Studies Lecture Series talk entitled, Homeless and Lovesick: Loss in Tristan-Romances of the 12th and 13th Centuries by Professor Monika Schausten (University of…

News

The Department of German Studies at Stanford University is pleased to announce the Gerda Henkel Visiting Professorship for 2026-27 and to request applications, due by December 1, 2025. The Gerda Henkel Visiting Professorship is open to professors…
Monika Greenleaf, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures and of Comparative Literature, Emerita, delivered the 2025 Commencement Address on Sunday, June 15, 2025 at the DLCL Diploma Ceremony in Dinkelspiel Auditorium with the…

Image by freepik

Below is the form link to submit papers for the DLCL Undergraduate Academic Prizes / Department Awards. Before you begin, please make sure the student author's name is removed from the essay document to ensure fair judging. Sign into your...