Welcome to the German Program at UA

German is the native language of over 100 million people. It is one of the ten major languages of the world. It is spoken not only in Germany and Austria, but in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, and parts of northern Italy, eastern Belgium and eastern France. German speakers have made major and lasting contributions to commerce, science, technology, religion, psychology, music, literature, and many other fields.

The German Program at the University of Alabama has an active German Club, a German House Living/Learning community, and numerous study abroad opportunities. The German Program offers small classes and individual attention, a range of scholarships, several of which are generously funded by Mercedes Benz US International, and the only German graduate program in the state. The University Scholars Program allows students to obtain BA and MA degrees in five years instead of the usual six.

German majors obtain jobs not only in teaching and translating, but also in many other fields of business and government. There are over 1200 German companies in the Southeastern United States, and many actively recruit German speakers. Recent and ongoing German investment in Alabama alone totals more than four billion dollars. Our German majors also can and do attend law school, business school, and medical school.

We invite you to follow the links on this page for more information on the German Program at The University of Alabama.

Posted in: News

Former Students – Where Are They Now?

Are you a former student of The University of Alabama and took German? We would like to hear from you! We are currently compiling a list of our former students, maybe share some of their stories here. Incoming students ask us from time to time what our former students are doing now. So let us know! Maybe you have even a story to share how German has helped you along the way. Keep in touch throug our blog and send us an e-mail.

Posted in: Uncategorized

Comments and Updates from Former Students

Thank you so much for sharing!

Posted on August 14, 2009:

Schöne Grüße aus Vancouver! Lydia Jones MA ’07 here. I loved my UA experience, and have found myself well-prepared for my current PhD program and associated teaching duties at the University of British Columbia. As you might imagine, studying German in Canada wasn’t where I expected to end up when I began. The path I began as a German undergrad at UA has been full of surprises (mostly the good kind). Prospective students: if small classes with great professors and a large campus with lots of opportunities sounds appealing, take a closer look. Former/current students and professors: hi and thanks ;) !
Posted on December 11, 2008:

Hi: I’m the real voice of history here. I got my BA in German back in 1981 and had a fabulous education from now retired and departed faculty: Terry Pickett, Gene Dobson, Mary Porter, and Bob Bell. Just know that with a German BA from the U of A you can go off and do lots of good things: I’m Distinguished Professor and Chair of the English Department at West Virginia University (I chaired Foreign Languages here for one year in transition) and am about to publish my tenth book. Hallo to all students, faculty and alumni! Donald E. Hall
Posted on August 3, 2008:

Hi! I’m Naomi. I studied at UA 2000-2002 (BA ENG-GN)and again 2004-2006 (MA GN). Grad school was a great experience, and I have fond memories of the faculty and students. But I want to remind all of you that getting a degree has a purpose, namely to do well in the profession of your choice. I just had a contract renewal for a job I am very satisfied with in a place I enjoy. When I started the job two years ago, contract renewals were out of the question, so I feel rather fortunate. Just to encourage anyone who reads this: there’s life after school – and it’s great, too!
Posted on April 22, 2007:

Hi Everyone!
Hope all have survived comps thus far. I’m living in Germany teaching English at the Department of American Studies in Regensburg. Last May I graduated with an MA in German studies. Grad school was fun. Best wishes to all of you!
-Naomi

Posted on April 18, 2007:

Hello all!! This is Lauren Clink Lucas. I graduated in 06 with my MA in German Studies and in 03 with my BA in Art History and German, all from UA. I am married and living in New York City. I live in midtown by the park if anyone is ever up here visiting. I am working as an international art dealer for a private collection. It is only my boss (who is German!!) and I in charge of the gallery. I am excited to be working internationally with the buying, selling and loaning of major works of art. Though everything has to be done in English for documentation purposes for the owner and accountants, my boss said she would be more than happy to use German in the office to continue my practice. Everything is going great. I know I wouldn’t have this job if it wasn’t for the many times I studied abroad and for my background in foreign languages. Thanks everyone in MLC and Good Luck to all of my friends graduating this year!!

Posted on February 16, 2007:

Hallo, ich bin Tiani und komme aus Deutschland. Ich war 2003 und 2004 an der UA und habe meinen MA in German Linguistics gemacht.
Es hat mir SEHR gut an der UA und im German Department gefallen und ich würde sofort noch einmal an der UA studieren.
Ich arbeite jetzt als Lehrerin für Englisch und Geschichte an einem Gymnasium in Deutschland. Natürlich vermisse ich Alabama sehr.
Ich freue mich, dass German Day wieder ein Erfolg war.

Viele Grüße aus dem momentan frühlingshaften Deutschland!

Posted on December 8, 2006:

Hallo. Ich heiße Peter Zimmerer und komme aus Deutschland. Ich muss sagen mir gefällt es hier an der Universität von Alabama super und ich kann die Uni nur empfehlen.

Genauso rate ich euch, amerikanischen Studenten, geht ins Ausland! Diese Erfahrung muss man gemacht haben! Für mich hat es sich schon jetzt gelohnt!
CIAO
Posted on November 22, 2006:

I guess I’ll start then. This is Rachel Wehner, and I’m doing fine. I’m at UTDallas getting my MS in Communication Disorders. I originally started in the PhD program and thought about doing something with second language acquisition, but there’s no one here that really does that (at least with German), so I went in a different direction. Now I’m not even going for the doctorate, so I guess it doesn’t matter. So that’s what I’m doing.

Posted in: Blog