Undergraduate study | German

• You’ll complete a four-year MA (Honours) degree. You can take German as a single honours degree, or jointly with one of a range of other subjects. 
• It doesn't matter whether you’re starting from scratch, or have some existing knowledge of German. Over the course of your four years, ​​​you’ll progress in all aspects of the language, from talking about culture, current affairs and literature in German, to essay writing, creative writing and translation.

Years 1 & 2

• The first two years will provide a solid foundation in the German language (both written and spoken), with classes streamed in the first year according to how much German you already know. Whatever your starting point, by the end of your second year you’ll also have been introduced to German literature and culture. 
• Whether you’re doing single or joint honours, you’ll do the same amount of German in these pre-honours years. You’ll gain the rest of your credits from partner subject courses, if you are doing a joint degree, and outside courses, of which single honours students take more. This choice and flexibility may enable you to change the focus of your degree going into your final two (honours) years, which is when you start to specialise.

Years 3 & 4

• Your third year will typically be spent abroad, either studying or working, turning classroom learning into living engagement with other cultures. Our graduates have told us how much the Year Abroad has benefitted their broader life experience and skills, as well as their understanding of German.
• If German is the only language you are studying, your Year Abroad will be in a German-speaking country, usually Germany or Austria. If you’re doing a joint degree with another language, you’ll divide your time and travel plans between your two languages.

• As well as developing advanced language skills in these years, you will learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation or long essay in your final year. This is your chance to focus on a topic, period or discipline that’s of particular interest to you. We have an extensive range of honours courses to choose from.

  For my year abroad, I spent my first semester in Vienna, Austria and my second in Florence, Italy. I boosted my language skills and made even more international friends.

Location

• You’ll typically be based at the heart of the University of Edinburgh in a world-leading festival city with fantastic cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.
• Our School has its own Study Resource Centre, in-house screening room and computing labs. The Main University Library is just across the square from us, and the nearby National Library of Scotland has outstanding German-language holdings.
• We contribute actively to the local cultural scene, and you will be able to attend film screenings, performances and talks organised by members of staff for the wider public.

Teaching and learning

• Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question driven to help you gain skills for life after university.
• Across your courses, you’ll typically be taught in a combination of lectures, tutorials (including language classes) and seminars. On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years.
• You will also be expected to study independently and in small groups, and to read widely.

Assessment and support

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. 
• Coursework may take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. 
• Exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.
• Depending on where you go and what you do on your Year Abroad, Year 3 may include being assessed, in part, by a host university.
• As well as the teaching and other staff you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development and Edinburgh University Students' Association.

In the 2025 to 2026 academic year, you can take German as a single honours degree, or study any of the following joint honours degree combinations...

* Please note that these degree combinations do not have the same structure as all the others, though they are still four-year degrees with a study abroad element.

There’s lots of information about our undergraduate German programmes on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder. For example, you can find out about:

• the courses you will take each year
• entrance requirements
• English language requirements
• fees and funding opportunities

Browse our German programmes on Degree Finder

If you’d like to study on any of our undergraduate programmes, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Find out more about UCAS deadlines for undergraduate study

Skills and experience

Studying one or more languages to degree level demonstrates that you're a good communicator, a resilient problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas – what employers value as Intercultural Competence.

Beyond the language skills you'll develop on our programmes, and the nuanced understanding you will gain of other cultures and societies, graduating with a four-year honours degree from the University of Edinburgh shows high-level intellectual strength and flexibility,  including the ability to understand, analyse and articulate key concepts, and to work to varied briefs to deadline, both independently and in groups.

Opportunities at home and away

More people speak German as their native language than any other in Europe. An official language of seven European countries and provinces, German also plays an important role in communications in many other countries, particularly in central and eastern Europe, and is the third most popular foreign language taught worldwide.

German speakers are highly sought after by UK employers, particularly those with links to the German economy, the fourth largest in the world. In 2019, German overtook French as the language most sought after by employers*.

You do not have to be based in a German-speaking country to make the most of your degree. Wherever you are based in the world, the ability to understand and communicate in the language will make you stand out. Within the private, public, not-for-profit, and for-benefit sectors, graduates have gone on to career pathways in:

• Business, finance and commerce
• Communications, marketing, advertising and public relations
• Education, outreach, advocacy and training
• Journalism, broadcasting and media
• Leisure, tourism and travel
• Politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law
• Publishing, culture, heritage and the arts
• Research, development and venture acceleration
• Translating and interpreting

* As reported by The Independent in April 2019, which cited jobs website Indeed. Indeed also said vacancies specifying German language skills have increased by more than a tenth over the past three years, and that there’s been a slight increase in overall demand for linguists.

Further study

The enhanced research skills you will develop on a German programme, particularly in your honours years, are a valuable asset if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level. At the University of Edinburgh, for example, you can study a Masters by Research degree in German, or take an interdisciplinary taught Masters programme such as Comparative Literature, Intermediality, or Translation Studies.

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures