We strongly recommend if you want to major or minor in German to begin thinking early of spending some time away in a German-speaking country. There are a number of exciting opportunities available, including semester-long study away programs, intensive summer language courses, and internship opportunities.
Semester-long Study Away
We strongly encourage you to consider programs that immerse you in the German language and culture, such as the student exchange offered by the states of Connecticut and Baden-Württemberg. The BW Exchange offers you the opportunity to study at any one of the nine universities in Baden-Württemberg, including some of Germany’s oldest universities in Heidelberg, Tübingen, Freiburg, and Konstanz. For more information about the BW-exchange, please visit the program’s website.
In addition to the BW Exchange, there are also study away opportunities in other regions available, including the city of Berlin.
On the Study Away website, you will find a number of external scholarship opportunities available for the funding of semester-long study away.
Summer Study and Internships
Another option open to you is summer study in Germany. The German Studies Department makes available a limited number of awards for intensive summer language courses through the John S. King Scholarship. A wonderful other option is to apply for international internships in a German-speaking country. In recent years, our students have interned at the U.S. Consulate in Düsseldorf, the Literaturhaus Berlin, with refugee organizations and schools in Lübeck/Northern Germany, at the Deutsche Bank, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Tübingen, and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.
On the website of the Walter Commons, you will find a number of fellowships and scholarships supporting language study and international internships.
For international internships and research experiences, you may also use the flexible career funding available to you through the Hale Center for Career Development.
Postgraduate Opportunities: Fulbrights, DAAD, and other Fellowships
In addition to well-known programs such as the Fulbright, German studies students have access to a variety of scholarships and programs covering every conceivable field of study in Germany. Many of these are open to advanced students, including graduating seniors. You can find more information at the DAAD Website for North America. More comprehensive information may be found through the scholarship database maintained on the DAAD Web site in Germany which includes other agencies’ scholarship programs as well as the DAAD’s own scholarships.