Attain a high level of proficiency in German, and develop knowledge and understanding of the culture and society. You may also choose from a diverse and comprehensive choice of English modules. The degree is based in central London and includes a year in a German-speaking country.
KEY BENEFITS
German- Highest-rated Department in German within London and nationally on the strength of its world-leading and internationally excellent research.
- Teaching informed and delivered by staff who carry out that research.
- Exceptionally wide range of modules covering literature, language, film, and history.
- Central location offers students access to a variety of libraries and resources, including the Goethe-Insitut and the Austrian Cultural Forum.
- Opportunity to study in a German-speaking country offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in culture and society and achieve language fluency.
English- One of the oldest English departments in the country, with an international reputation for the quality of its teaching and research.
- Personal attention given to each student, creating a vibrant intellectual atmosphere and a network of support.
- Offers a wide range of modules, and diverse approaches.
- Central location offers access to Shakespeare’s Globe, and countless other sites and buildings with literary associations.
- Graduates develop transferable analytical and communications skills making them highly desirable to employers across a range of sectors.
UCAS code
R2Q3
Programme type
Major/minor honours
Duration
Four years FT (with third year abroad in a German-speaking country)
Location
Strand Campus
Year of entry 2014
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of English
Department of German
Closing date
Please refer to the
UCAS website for application deadline dates, or contact the relevant Admissions Office for further advice
Fees & funding
For information on fees and funding for undergraduate programmes at King's go to
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ug/funding/ CONTACTS
Address
Department of German
King's College London
Strand Campus
Strand
London WC2R 2LS
Email
Tel
020 7848 2350/2374
Fax
020 7848 7200
PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION
The third year of this programme will be spent in Germany, Austria or German-speaking Switzerland, normally as an exchange student or as a teaching assistant in a school. We have exchange links with universities in Munich, Frankfurt (Main), Berlin and Vienna (under the European Socrates-Erasmus scheme).
Our exceptionally wide range of modules in the Department of German covers literature of all periods, German film, German history, and German philosophical thought and political and social theory.
The Department of English prides itself not only on the range and diversity of the modules it offers, from medieval literature to modern poetry and women's writing, but also on the diversity of the approaches it employs, from contemporary literary theory to close textual examination and historical scholarship.
For more information about the departments of German and English Language & Literature, follow the departmental contact links.
ABOUT THE Department of English
CAREERS
English is a flexible and adaptable subject that equips you with a wide range of transferable skills appropriate to many different occupations. Graduates in English possess skills in written and spoken communication, independent thought and judgement, critical thinking and research, all of which are highly valued by employers. Applicants may be interested in a career in journalism, publishing and the creative industries, or in education and research. Many graduates also go into general management, consultancy and the public services.
Recent graduates have found employment as….
• Lecturer, King’s College London
• Librarian, London Borough of Barnet
• Marketing Executive, Ensphere
• Charity Fundraiser, Gogen
• Content Editor, Thomson Reuters UK Professional
• Corporate Affairs Intern, Cadbury Plc
• English Teacher, St Giles College
• Graduate Management Trainee, Sotheby’s
• Junior Script Reader, Altered Image
• National Events Executive, Fundraising & Marketing, cancer research uK
• Recruitment Consultant, Michael Page International
• Website Administrator, Walkopedia.ne
TEACHING STYLE
The department attaches great importance to the personal attention it gives to each student. All modules involve seminars, and on a typical module your time is equally divided between these and more formal lectures. We have an effective personal tutor system and a staff-student committee. The department has an international reputation for the quality of its scholarship and all members of staff are actively involved in research. Tutors aim to connect research and teaching, both in the classroom and at the many extra research seminars, poetry readings and literary events held in the department. Individual staff members are frequently called upon to contribute their specialist knowledge to newspapers and other media.
The Arden Shakespeare is edited from King’s, and there are major recent publications on medieval literature and visual culture, early modern drama, 18th-century and Romantic cultural history, Victorian literature and culture, urbanism, 19th and 20th-century American literature, Australian literature and postcolonial literature and textual editing.
STRUCTURE OF PROGRAMMES & ASSESSMENT
Your final degree classification is determined by the marks you obtain in each of the three years of the degree. Second- and third-year modules may be chosen from a wide range of options. The department makes use of a variety of assessment methods including both essays and examinations.
LOCATION
More than any other capital, London is a city of words, and to study English at its centre is to be reminded continually of the power of language to shape our sense of history and of place. Within 20 minutes’ walk of the Department of English at King’s Strand Campus are Shakespeare’s Globe and the site of the Tabard Inn, where Chaucer’s pilgrims started out on their journey. Even closer at hand are the Inns of Court, Covent Garden, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (London’s oldest working theatre) and countless other sites and buildings with literary associations.
ABOUT THE Department of German
CAREERS
Studies of graduate employability repeatedly stress the career value of language degrees. Employers in UK and international business, the press and media, IT and technology, marketing and public relations, public administration, international development, law, finance, teaching and lecturing, interpreting, translating and others have been found repeatedly to value foreign language competence, not just as a specialist skill, but as a personal quality that fosters relationship-building, teamwork, and the capacity to move easily in international contexts. Studying German, you will also gain fluency in a language and knowledge of a country and its culture that is increasingly in demand, given Germany’s central role in European economic and political development, and German and Austrian membership of the EU. Recent graduates have found employment in sectors including media production and journalism, human relations, finance, business development, retail and marketing, the civil service, teaching and lecturing. A considerable number have continued to further study. Recent employers of King’s German graduates include Goldman Sachs, Astra Zeneca, the National Assembly of Wales, CNN, the American University in London, and the University of Oxford.
TEACHING STYLE
In 2011-12, the Department launched a new curriculum that reflects our commitment to innovative and research-led teaching. Staff across the Department contribute introductory and specialist modules that draw from their own research in German literature, culture and history. Modules are taught through a combination of lectures, small seminars or tutorials, and one-to-one supervision. This brings you into close contact with tutors, in a department that is regularly ranked among the top three research departments in the UK. Language classes involve in-depth work with different kinds of media, literary and academic texts. Teaching is in German and English, according to the subject area. Our teaching style is interactive; students participate informally in small group discussions in seminars or online discussion fora, and formally through seminar presentations and oral assessments.
STRUCTURE OF PROGRAMMES & ASSESSMENT
Following Year 1 foundation modules in culture, history and politics, more specialised modules in Years 2 and 4 reflect the rich research expertise of Department staff. The King’s German Department ranked joint second in the country in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, and the commitment of our staff to research excellence is matched by our enthusiasm for teaching. Our rigorous three-year language programme is tailored both to your own level of language competence, and to the internationally recognised Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Non-native speakers take core language modules covering the key skills of reading, writing, listening, spoken interaction and production, and translation. Native speakers currently take a separate module in Translation from and into German. Assessment is in a variety of forms including précis and oral presentation, work placement portfolios, longer academic essays in both English and German, and oral and written exams
LOCATION
Located in the heart of London, the department can draw on unparalleled print, audio-visual and online resources, including the King’s Maughan Library and Senate House Library, the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, the British Film Institute and the British Library. All are within easy walking distance of the Strand Building. The Goethe-Institut and Austrian Cultural Forum also have extensive media and library holdings, and run lively programmes of films, readings, seminars and exhibitions which complement the Department’s internal film screenings, open seminars, exhibitions, and annual departmental play. All teaching takes place at the Strand Campus.
SPECIAL NOTES
The third year of this programme is spent in Germany, Austria or German-speaking Switzerland, normally as a student at university or as a teaching assistant in a school. We have exchange links with universities in Munich, Frankfurt (Main), Heidelberg, Berlin and Vienna (under the European Union Socrates-Erasmus scheme).
Currently, students study the following core modules. If there are options available the current choices are also shown. King's reviews its optional modules on a regular basis, in order to continue to offer innovative and exciting programmes and this list is therefore subject to change. Please check here for updates, or contact the Department(s) for further advice. The third year of this programme is spent in Germany, Austria or German-speaking Switzerland, normally as a student at university or as a teaching assistant in a school. We have exchange links with universities in Munich, Frankfurt (Main), Berlin and Vienna (under the European Socrates-Erasmus scheme).
YEAR 1
You should take the core modules outlined plus two options in English and two or three options in German (depending whether you are a non-native or native German speaker).
YEAR 1 CORE
German
Texts and Contexts: an introduction to German literature and culture (compulsory)
AND
German Language Core Module I (non-native speakers only)
OR
Translation from and into German I (native speakers only)
YEAR 1 OPTIONS
GermanMilestones of German History
One Hundred Years on German Cinema
Medieval Germany: Language, Litertaure and Society
German Politics and Society
English
Aspects of Language
Classical & Biblical Contexts of English Literature
Introducing Literary Theories
Medieval Literary Culture
Reading Poetry
Renaissance Literature
Writing London
YEAR 2
You should take the core module outlined plus two options in English and four or five options in German (depending whether you are non-native or native German speaker).
YEAR 2 CORE
German
German Language Core Module II (non-native speakers)
OR
Translation from and into German II (native speakers)
YEAR 2 OPTIONS
German- The German Reformation
- Women in the early modern period: representations and responses
- German Realist fiction in the nineteenth century
- History into literature
- Modernism and the Avant-garde
- A year in the life of German-language film
- Politics and popular culture in Germany after 1870
- Germany since 1945: politics, society, economics
- 18th-century German thought: the education of humanity
English- A Mad World, My Masters: Performing Culture in Jacobean London
- Australian Literature & Film
- Creative Writing: the Novel
- Cultural Encounters: Literature & Language in Anglo-Saxon England
- Early Modern Sexualities
- Eighteenth-Century Travel Writing
- First World War Literature
- History, Politics & the Elizabethan Imagination
- Irish Literature & Culture
- Language of Dance
- Modernist Fiction
- Rise of the Novel
- Narrating the Nation
- Performance in Medieval Culture
- Romanticism, Revolution & Representation 1776-1832
- Shakespeare in London
- Subjects of Desire in Medieval Religious Writings
- The Fin de Siecle
- Theatre Capital
- Victorians & Social Change 1840-1870
YEAR 3
This is normally spent in Germany, Austria or German-speaking Switzerland, either as a student at one of our Erasmus partner institutions, as a language teaching assistant, or on an approved work placement. We have links with universities in Munich, Frankfurt (Main), Berlin and Vienna under the European Erasmus-Socrates scheme.
YEAR 4
Students should take the core modules outlined plus two options in English and up to three options in German.
YEAR 4 CORE
GermanExtended essay
AND
German Language Core Module III (non-native speakers)
OR
Translation from and into German III (native speakers)
YEAR 4 OPTIONS
German- Translation from and into German III
- Structure and usage of contemporary German
- The Nibelungenlied: from the twelfth to the twentieth century
- Religion, sex and politics: German literature of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries - Goethe's Faust
- Goethe: from Sturm und Drang to Classicism
- Heinrich Heine
- Kafka
- Aspects of post-1945 German fiction
- The Third Reich in the post-war German novel
- Modern German poetry
- Brechtian cinema and political modernism
- Power and everyday life in the GDR
- German reunification: culture and politics
- Politics and everyday life in twentieth-century Germany
- Government politics and public policy in Germany
- Constructing Europe — identities and a European demos
English- Ancient Lyric & Poetry
- Autobiography & Modern Self-Representation
- Beowulf: Heroes & Other Monsters
- British Literature & Film
- Court Cultures in the Age of Elizabeth I
- Creative Writing: Drama
- Critically Queer: Literature, Culture & Queer Theory
- Elizabethan Shakespeare
- Gender & Performance
- Imagined Worlds,
- Jacobean Shakespeare
- James Joyce & Ulysses
- Jane Austen in Context
- Literature & Impressionism
- Medieval Body in Pain,
- Medieval Romance,
- Memory & Time in the 19th Century
- Performance Philosophy
- Post Colonial Australian Literature
- Post Colonial Perspectives
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Australia
Tertiary Entrance Ranking
96+ ATAR, or an OP of band 3 for Queensland including high marks in English and German
Austria
Reifezeugnis (Matura)
Reifezeugnis with 1 including 1 in English and German
Belgium
Certificat D
Certificat D’Enseignement Secondaire Superieur/Diploma van Secundair Onderwijs with 8/10 or 17/20 including 8 or 17 in English and German
Brazil
Brazil
High School Leaving Certificate (Certificado de Ensino Médio) with 8 OR B OR Muito Bom PLUS at least one year of Bacharel/Licenciado at a Brazilian University with a GPA of at least 8.0 OR the King’s College London International Foundation Programme OR 3 A-levels with grades of AAB including A in English and B in German
Bulgaria
School Leaving Certificate
Diploma za Sredno Obrazovanie with the majority of subject marks of 5.5 including 5.5 in English and German
Canada
Secondary School Certificate/Diploma
High School Certificate/Diploma with 85% OR Ontario University Preparatory Course with 85% at five grade 12 4U subjects. The sixth subject may be at 4U or 4U/C level. OR the Quebec CEGEP Cote R with an overall R score of 31. (All require high marks in English and German.)
Chile
Chile
Licencia de Educación Media with 6 PLUS at least one year of the Licenciatura at a Chilean university with a mark of 5 OR the Kings College London International Foundation Programme OR 3 A-levels with grades of AAB including A in English and B in German
China
Gao Kao (University Entrance Examination)
University Entrance Examination with high marks in English and German, plus at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Chinese university with at least 80%.
Cyprus
Apolytirion
Apolytirion (School Leaving Certificate) with 18 including high marks in English and German, plus at least an additional foundation/Access year
Czech Republic
Maturita
Maturita with 1 including 1 in English and German
Denmark
Studentereksamen or Hjere Forberedelseseksamen
Studentereksamen or Højere Forberedelseseksamen with 10 including 10 in English and German
Estonia
Gmnaasiumi lputunnistus (Secondary School Leaving Certificate)
Gümnaasiumi lõputunnistus with majority marks of 5, (including grade 5 in English and German) and an attestation of success in the state entry examinations (Riigieksamitunnistus)
Finland
Ylioppilastutkinto/Studentexamen (National Matriculation)
Ylioppilastutkinto with 6 including 6 in English and German
France
Baccalaureat (including the option internationale baccalaureat)
The Baccalaureat with 13 including 13 in English and German
Germany
Abitur
Abitur with 1.5 overall including 1.5 in English and German
Ghana
School Leaving Certificate
the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC/WASSCE) PLUS 3 international Cambridge-board A levels at AAB including A in English and B in German
Greece
Apolytirion
Apolyterion with 18 including 18 in English and German
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE)
Three elective subjects at minimum Levels 5, 5, 5 including Literature in English plus Level 4 in each of the four core subjects. Applicants should demonstrate fluency in German.
Hungary
Erettsegi
Erettsegi with 5 including 5 in English and German
India
School Leaving Certificate
School Leaving Certificate with 85% overall OR School Leaving Certificate with 75% with at least a foundation/Access year or year of undergraduate study at an Indian university. (Both require high marks in English and German)
Iran
School Leaving Certificate
Pre-University Certificate (Peeshdaneshgahe) OR the National Entrance Exam (Kunkar) with 16 OR 3 Cambridge International A levels at AAB (All require high marks in English and German)
Ireland
Irish Leaving Certificate (Higher level unless otherwise stated)
A1 A1 A1 A2 B1 B1 with grade A in English and B in German
Italy
Esame di Stato
Esame di Stato with 90 with high marks in English and German
Japan
School Leaving Certificate
Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate (Kotogakko Sotsugyo Shomeisho) PLUS 3 Cambridge Board International A-levels at AAB OR an Associate degree or Diploma from a Junior College (Jun-Gakushi) with a GPA of 3.3 or B+ or 4 OR a foundation year. Including high marks in English and German
Latvia
Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu (Certificate of General Secondary Education)
Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu with 8 with high marks in English and German, plus at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Latvian university
Lithuania
Brandos Atestatas (Maturity Certificate)
Brandos Atestatas with 90 with high marks in English and German plus at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Lithuanian university
Luxembourg
Diplome de Fin D
Diplome de Fin D’Etudes Secondaires with Tres Bien including Tres Bien in English and Bien in German
Malta
Matriculation Certificate - Advanced level
Matriculation Certificate with AAB including A in English and B in German
Mexico
Mexico
The Bachillerato with a mark of 8 PLUS the King’s College London International Foundation Programme OR at least one year of the Licenciado study with an overall average mark of at least 8/10 OR A-levels with grades of AAB including A in English and B in German
Moldova
School Leaving Certificate
Diploma de Bacalaureat with 9 including 9 in English and German
Netherlands
Diploma Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO)
VWO with 7.5 including 7.5 in English and German
New Zealand
National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level 3 (NCEA)
the NCEA level 3 with E in the majority of standards/modules in four subjects,including Excellent in English and German
Nigeria
School Leaving Certificate
The Senior School Certificate (SSC/SSCE) OR the West African Senior School Certificate (WASSC/WASSCE) PLUS 3 Cambridge International A levels at AAB, including A in English and B in German
Norway
Vitnemal-videregaende opplaering (Upper Secondary Leaving Certificate)
Vitnemal-videregaende opplaering grade 5 including grade 5 in English and German
Pakistan
High School Certificate (HSSC)
High School Certificate with A with high marks in English and German, plus at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Pakistani university
Poland
Matura
Matura with 80% in extended level subjects including high marks in English and German
Portugal
Diploma de Ensino Secundário
Diploma de Ensino Secundário with 18 including high marks in English and German
Romania
School Leaving Certificate
Diploma de Bacalaureat with 8 including 8 in English and German
Russia
Attest o (Polnom) Srednem Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education)
Attest o (Polnom) Srednem Obshchem Obrazovanii with an average of 4.5 including 5 in English and German, plus at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Russian university
Saudi Arabia
School Leaving Certificate
College of Technology Diploma OR Higher Technical Institute Diploma OR Junior Health College Diploma OR Undergraduate Diploma with 85% OR 3 Cambridge International A levels at AAB with A in English and B in German
Singapore
Singapore A Level
AAB in three content-based H2 subjects (including Grade A English and Grade B German). Knowledge and Inquiry is not considered as part of the offer
Slovakia
Vysvedcenie Maturitnej Skuska/Maturita
Maturita with 2 overall including 2 in English and German
Slovenia
Maturitetno Spricevalo (Secondary School Leaving Certificate)
Maturitetno Spricevalo with 5 including 5 in English and German
South Africa
South African Senior Certificate/National Senior Certificate with Matriculation endorsement
The National Senior Certificate with Matriculation endorsement with AAABB Grade including A in English and B in German
Spain
Titulo de Bachiller
Titulo de Bachiller with 8 overall including 8 in English and German
Sweden
Fullständigt Slutbetyg (School Leaving Certificate)
Fullstandigt Slutbeytg with MVG including MVG in English and German
Switzerland
Federal Maturity Certificate
Federal Maturity Certificate with an overall mark of 5 including 5 in English and German
Turkey
Lise Diplomasi (High School Diploma)
Lise Diplomasi with an overall mark of 4 including high marks in English and German, with at least a foundation/Access year or one year of undergraduate study at a Turkish university
United Kingdom
A levels
AAB
Compulsory subjects
Grade A at A-level English and Grade B at A-level German
12 unit A level in vocational subjects
Considered on an individual basis
General Studies and Critical Thinking - College policy
Please note that AS/A level General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted by King's as one of your A or AS levels. However, if offered the grade achieved may be taken into account when considering whether or not to accept a candidate who has just fallen short of the conditions of their offer
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities (or similar) Diploma including study of English and German at Level 3 with 33 Level 3 credits from units awarded at Distinction, with the remaining credits at Merit. Supplementary information and achievement e.g marks for certain credits/subjects may be required depending on course content.
Cambridge Pre-U
3 Pre-U Principal Subjects with grades of D3 D3 M2 including D3 in English and M2 in German
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma
Considered on an individual basis
Scottish Highers & Advanced Highers
AAABB at Higher and AB at Advanced Higher with grade A in English and B in German
International Baccalaureate
35 points and HL 665 including HL6 in English and HL5 in German
European Baccalaureate
80% overall including 8.5 in English and 8 in German
USA
Advanced Placement Tests and/or SAT/ACT (SAT/ACT acceptable only where stipulated)
Three AP subjects with 554 including English at grade 5 and 4 in German. Or SAT with a total score of 1800 with at least 600 in each section or the ACT with a score of 27 plus 3 SAT-S with a score of 600 in each plus an AP in English with 5 and an AP in German with 4 or evidence of fluency
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Aptitude testing
No test required
If you are interested in coming to King’s, you should apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and apply online via the UCAS website (click on 'apply'). If you are applying through a school or college, you will need to obtain a 'buzzword' from the centre you are applying through. Alternatively, you can apply as an individual, independent of a school or college. Please see the UCAS website for instructions. The UCAS institution code name for King’s is KCL, and the institution code is K60.
There are a few programmes which require direct application to King's, this will be stated above
Most applicants are considered between November and March. Admission requirements are flexible, but evidence of study in German to an appropriate level is always required. A detailed list of the additional credentials and musical skills required for the BA German & Music can be found on the web page of the Department of Music.