Program Overview

German and Comparative Literature (MLitt) 2025 entry

Overview

The MLitt in German and Comparative Literature offers a unique opportunity to gain a comparative perspective on German literature through a joint qualification from the University of St Andrews (MLitt) and the University of Bonn in Germany (MA).

Entry Requirements

• A 2.1 Honours undergraduate degree in German Studies, English Studies or a related subject. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
• Proficiency in written and spoken German and English (Level C1, TOEFL, IELTS or equivalent). See English language tests and qualifications for the University of St Andrews and the University of Bonn website for German language tests and qualifications.
• Basic knowledge (B2) of another modern language.

Application Requirements

• CV
• Academic transcripts and degree certificates
• Certificates showing appropriate competence in English and German
• Letter of intent in German or English to the German coordinators

English Language Proficiency

If English is not your first language, you may need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. See approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Course Details

The MLitt in German and Comparative Literature is a two-year taught programme run jointly by the School of Modern Languages at St Andrews and the University of Bonn.

• Students spend their first year in Germany and the second year in Scotland.
• The programme will deepen your knowledge of the latest thinking in literary and comparative studies and give you the research, communication and writing skills needed to embark on a PhD or top-level graduate career.

Highlights

• Students become truly bilingual and intercultural by studying at two world-renowned and historic universities.
• The course combines a theoretical grounding in comparative literature with the practical experience of a transnational degree.
• The programme is taught by a group of internationally renowned experts in all major areas of German and comparative studies from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.

Modules

• Comparative Methodologies and Research Skills 1: You will problematise established approaches and explore new and emerging directions to conceptualise how you think texts might best be analysed and compared.
• German Literary and Cultural Contexts: Turning Points: enables you to acquire advanced knowledge of contexts that have shaped literature and culture in the German-speaking lands from the Middle Ages to the present day.
• Literary and Cultural Introspection: invites you to look inward and consider areas of critical importance such as sex, gender, race, psychoanalysis, and the medical humanities in relation to the self.

Teaching

• Teaching format: Students spend their first year at the University of Bonn in Germany where they will take two compulsory modules on Comparative Literature and have a choice of optional modules covering a wide range of topics from medieval texts to current trends in German literature.
• Students will spend their second year at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where one semester will be devoted to studying two modules, and the second semester will be spent focused on writing an 18,000-word dissertation.

Fees

• Home: £6,930 for 2024 entrants at Bonn who will be starting their second year at St Andrews in 2024.
• Overseas: £25,880 for 2024 entrants at Bonn who will be starting their second year at St Andrews in 2025.

Funding and Scholarships

• The University of St Andrews is committed to attracting the very best students, regardless of financial circumstances.
• All Home-funded students benefit from a tuition fee scholarship that covers almost 75% of the tuition fees.
• Applicants with a degree from a UK university may be eligible to apply for the Malcolm Humble Scholarship.

After Your Degree

Careers

• Modern Language postgraduates go on to careers in the academic field or in other areas, for example as cultural advisors, translators, publishers or in the public or civil service.
• Recent graduates have secured posts such as adviser to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), postgraduate recruitment officer at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), professional translator, research assistants, television subtitler, and university teachers in the UK and Germany.

Further Study

• Many graduates continue their education by enrolling in PhD programmes at St Andrews.