The following constitutes introductory information regarding the graduate degree program. For a complete outline of degree requirements, see Program Requirements for UCLA Graduate Degrees available in the program office and accessible from the Graduate Division homepage at http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu.
A bachelor's degree in German, Germanic linguistics, or Linguistics with a minor in German and a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 from an accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent is required for admission to the Master of Art degree in Germanic Languages. Applicants with deficiencies in undergraduate preparation may be admitted but are required to take remedial courses, as recommended by the graduate adviser. Three letters of recommendation are required. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required from applicants from the U.S. and other English-speaking countries.
There are four M.A. plans that differ with respect to course requirements and comprehensive examinations. Plan A is for students who plan to terminate their studies with the M.A. and an instructional credential. Plan B is for students whose main interests are literary and linguistic rather than pedagogical and for students who plan to proceed toward the Ph.D. Plan C is for students with main interests in German studies who plan to terminate their studies with the M.A. Plan D is for students whose main interests are in Germanic linguistics who plan to proceed toward the Ph.D.
Plan A requires a minimum of nine upper division and graduate courses, of which at least six courses must be graduate level (200 or 500 series). In addition, German 128, 129 (or equivalent), and 370 are required. Undergraduate credit for these courses is applicable in satisfaction of these requirements.
Plan B requires a minimum of nine upper division and graduate courses, of which at least six courses must be graduate level (200 or 500 series). One seminar must be included.
Plan C requires a minimum of nine upper division and graduate courses (at least six must be graduate courses), with six in the major field (German) and three in a related field such as history, musicology, philosophy, or political science. All related field courses must be in the 200 series. One major field and one related field seminar must be included.
Plan D requires a minimum of nine upper division and graduate courses beyond the language requirements, of which at least six courses must be graduate level (200 or 500 series) and of which up to four courses may be from other departments in a relevant area (e.g., linguistics, applied linguistics, Indo-European linguistics, Romance linguistics). German 217, C238, and one seminar must be included. Half of the coursework should be in synchronic linguistics and half in diachronic linguistics. All coursework must be approved in advance by the graduate adviser.
German 596, 597, and 598 are graded S/U. Course 596 may be taken only twice during graduate study (M.A. and Ph.D. programs.). Course 597 may be taken once before the M.A. degree; course 598 may be taken once. A maximum of two 500-series courses may be applied to the course requirements. However, if course 596 is taken twice before the M.A., it may not be applied to the eight graduate courses required after completion of the M.A. Graduate students are expected to attend and participate in departmental lectures and colloquia.
Examinations are offered each quarter, beginning with the written part during the fifth week of each quarter. Under exceptional circumstances, the chair of the department will receive petitions for M.A. examinations during the summer recess.
One examination committee is appointed for each quarter. The members of the committee administer the written and oral examinations.
For Plans A and B there are three examinations with the following structures:
One four-hour written examination. Three areas of study are required. A two-hour examination is required for the primary area. Two additional areas of study are chosen from those listed below. A one-hour examination is required for each of the two areas.
For Plan A, students must choose history and structure of Germanic languages as one area of study. Students who choose German literature after 1600 are advised to choose the German literature before 1600 and history and structure of Germanic languages area as well. Students who choose only the areas of history and structure of Germanic languages and German literature after 1600 must take German 202A and 202B.
(1) German literature before 1600
(2) History and structure of Germanic languages
(3) German literature after 1600
(4) Dutch and Afrikaans
(5) Old Norse studies
(6) Yiddish
(7) Folklore
(8) Hungarian
Bibliography Question. On the Monday following the completion of the written examinations, a bibliography take-home question is given out that is based on the primary concentration. The question is to be completed and returned no later than the following Monday.
A one-hour oral examination. A one-hour oral examination follows in the week in which the bibliography question is returned.
For Plan C, students submit two essays of approximately 10,000 words in the major field of German Studies, and 7,500 words in the extra-departmental related field, written under the guidance of a three-member faculty committee, one of whose members must be from another department. After satisfactorily completing the essays, students must pass a one-hour oral examination that has a comprehensive component as well as testing the student in the fields represented by both essays.
For Plan D, the M.A. examination consists of three written examinations of two hours each, followed by a one-hour oral examination. Students are examined in the following areas: one examination on the history of Germanic languages, theory, and historical linguistics; one examination on the structure of Germanic languages, theory, and synchronic linguistics; one examination on languages and dialects. Students may select one modern language, one philological language, and a third language of their choice. This examination includes translation and parsing. To continue toward the Ph.D., the student must receive a pass with the recommendation to continue.
After the written examinations have been taken, the M.A. committee decides whether the student may proceed to the oral examination. If the student fails the oral examination, the M.A. committee decides whether the entire examination must be repeated or only the oral portion. The examination may be repeated only once without petition.
If the student applies for the M.A. under Plan B (to proceed toward the Ph.D.) and is awarded a terminal M.A., the examinations may be repeated if the student chooses not to have the M.A. degree officially awarded before the reexamination.
In lieu of the written examination requirement for Plans A, B, and D, students may submit a thesis to the department. Students in Plan B who elect to submit a thesis must, however, complete a two-hour oral examination in the area of their thesis as well as in two other areas of concentration in order to be approved for further doctoral study. Students in Plan D who elect the thesis option are required to take one two-hour written examination in addition to the thesis.
The following additional rules apply to the thesis option:
(1) The thesis committee must consist of three members, one of whom serves as director. The student selects the director, and the other two members are appointed by the chair in consultation with the student.
(2) No committee member from outside the department is required, except in the case of Plan C. For this plan, one member must be from the related field.
(3) The thesis committee should be established no later than the end of the fourth quarter of the candidate's graduate studies. At that time, the thesis committee must approve the plan for the thesis in writing and submit a copy to the graduate adviser.
(4) No 598 course is required, although students may take one such course in preparation for the degree.
(5) Candidates who fail the examination may repeat it once without petitioning the department. The examination must be repeated no later than one quarter following the quarter in which the first examination was failed.
(6) The Schedule of Classes specifies the date for filing of the final draft of a thesis with the student's committee and the date on which revised and completed theses may be filed with the University. The examinations must be taken prior to date on which revised and completed theses may be filed with the University.
An M.A. degree in German or a Germanic language from an accredited U.S. institution or equivalent (e.g., Staatsexamen in German) is required. In case of significant deficiencies in prior training, the graduate advisers make appropriate study or course recommendations. All deficiencies must be removed prior to application for admission to candidacy for the qualifying examinations. Applicants with an M.A. in fields other than German (e.g., in Comparative Literature or in Linguistics) are required to pass the written part of the M.A. comprehensive examination within three quarters after admission to the department. Three letters of recommendation are also required.
Not applicable.
Students must have completed eight graduate courses (at least four in the Department of Germanic Languages) beyond the M.A. degree, three of which must be seminars. If students have already taken a seminar in preparation for their M.A. degree, only two of these eight courses must be seminars.
Students must (1) pass the graduate reading examination in French; (2) pass a departmental reading examination either in a modern Scandinavian language or in Dutch-Flemish, Afrikaans, Latin, or in Yiddish (or an approved substitute language); (3) successfully complete three seminars; (4) pass the qualifying examinations. Written examination may be repeated in case of failure. The faculty must decide whether students who fail the examination twice may be permitted another repeat.
The written examinations may be taken any time after admission to the doctoral program and fulfillment of all prerequisite requirements. The written qualifying examinations consist of six hours of total examination time. Students in literature are expected to cover six different areas: one author, one genre, one period, one theoretical or historical problem, and two special topics of their choosing. Students in linguistics complete a three-hour examination in five target languages, and a second three-hour examination in linguistic theory. Students in Old Norse are examined for two hours in language, two hours in theoretical problems of interpretation, and two hours on issues concerning social and historical context.
After the student has completed the written examinations successfully, the chair of the guidance committee schedules the University Oral Qualifying Examination to be administered by the doctoral committee as soon as possible after completion of the written examinations.