MA German
About this course
MA (Hons) in German, a German degree focused on language acquisition alongside literary and cultural studies. Students spend the third year abroad studying or working in a German-speaking destination. The first year introduces the language through either German 1A for beginners or German 1B for advanced learners, alongside a range of external subject options. The second year offers optional modules such as Researching Disability in German Literature and Society, Culture, Modernity and the City in the Weimar Republic, and Introduction to European Cinema. The third year consists of an academic year abroad spent studying or working across one or two destinations. The final year focuses on advanced language proficiency with modules including spoken German, essay and précis writing, and German-to-English translation of literary and journalistic texts, alongside options such as Bertolt Brecht and Goethe and Schiller.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: from AAA to ABB (required: no specific A level subjects required) IB: 34 points with 655 at HL
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Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 55%: 12 offers from 22 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 33 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 80%
- Learning opportunities: 69%
- Assessment and feedback: 70%
- Academic support: 91%
- Organisation and management: 56%
- Learning resources: 89%
- Student voice: 67%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 30 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 6 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 60%
- Working and studying: 5%
- Further study: 20%
- Unemployed: 10%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 20 graduates, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 5%
- East of England: 5%
- London: 30%
- South East: 5%
- Scotland: 45%
- Northern Ireland: 5%
Who gets in
Based on about 35 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 90%
- Baccalaureate: 5%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
- No formal qualifications: 5%
Modules
- practise professional communication
- discover the value of languages in the workplace
- gain insights into possible career options
- linguistics and language sciences
- business, economics and informatics
- politics, social policy, social anthropology and international relations
- art and architectural history
- history, classics and archaeology
- Celtic and Scottish ethnology
- philosophy, divinity and law
- Researching Disability in German Literature and Society
- Culture, Modernity and the City in the Weimar Republic
- Reading Testimony in German
- The Contemporary Short Story in German
- Screening Sex: Gender, Sexuality, and Identity on the German Screen and Beyond
- German Colonialism: History, Memory, Controversy
- Cultural Responses to War
- Migration, Exile, Diaspora
- Crime and Detection in Literature
- Gender and Culture
- The Coming-of-Age Narrative
- Introduction to European Cinema
- Dynamics of Language and Power
- Languages Beyond University
- Berlin
- Augsburg
- Hamburg
- Heidelberg
- Tübingen
- Freiburg
- Leipzig
- Mainz
- Vienna
- study in one or two destinations
- work in one or two destinations
- study in one destination and work in another
- two semesters at a single institution
- one semester at two different institutions (in different destinations)
- arrange to work or volunteer with a private company or charity
- apply to an established placement scheme, such as the British Council’s English Language Assistants programme
- Student Wellbeing Service
- Student Counselling
- Student Disability and Learning Support
- University emergency helpline (available 24 hours a day)
- spoken German
- essay and précis writing
- German-to-English translation of literary and journalistic texts
- Bertolt Brecht
- From Girls in Uniform to Men in Drag: Gender, Sexuality and Ethnicity on the German Screen
- Goethe and Schiller
- Identity and Self in Contemporary German Literature
- The Third Reich in Literature and Testimony
- Vulnerability and the City: German Literary Cartographies of Danger and Refuge
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of MA German at University of Edinburgh earn?
The median salary is £27,000 after 3 years, £31,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £26,500 and £41,000. The £31,000 median after five years is £1,500 less than the UK median for German and Scandinavian studies.
What do graduates of MA German at University of Edinburgh do next?
80% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on MA German at University of Edinburgh?
80% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for MA German at University of Edinburgh?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 34 points in the IB. The average entrant had 170 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for MA German at University of Edinburgh?
55% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 12 offers from 22 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does MA German at University of Edinburgh include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on MA German at University of Edinburgh?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.