• Many undergraduate students of German like you consider going on to do graduate work in Germanistik but are often unsure about what it takes to reach their goals. This page outlines some steps you can take, even early in your studies, to help you reach your goals, in addition to providing information on how to cope effectively with the graduate application process.

Before You Apply

It's never too early to begin planning for graduate school!

• Identify the area or areas that most interest you. Depending on where you're doing your undergraduate degree, you will have had exposure to courses in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, literature, cultural studies, film, etc. Use this opportunity to understand not only the breadth of German studies, but also to focus on the area that holds the most interest for you and fits your skills or talents.
• Get to know your professors. Graduate school applications generally request three reference letters, and often require that at least one of these be from a professor or other faculty member who will know your academic ability and work ethic. Students often make the mistake of soliciting letters from professors with whom they have had a class that they have done well in, but they don't really know the professor. Although such professors can comment on your grade performance relative to other members of the class, they cannot give more information that will help your application. Getting to know instructors is usually not that difficult, given the size of German undergraduate programs. Small, specialized courses are good opportunities to get to know your professors better and for them to get to know you and your skill sets.
• Show some real interest in the discipline. One of the main things that departments look for in potential graduate students is genuine enthusiasm for the field. If you are quite keen on German studies and your current professors notice it, that will go a long way to the formation of a positive opinion about your prospects for graduate school (even if your grades aren't in the stratosphere). Learn about your profs, about their specialties and interests, and talk to them about these. Participate in your department's extracurricular activities, attend guest lectures, volunteer to help out at department functions. Being an active member of your department will pay dividends.
• Show you have the ability for grad school. If your program offers the opportunity to do an honours thesis (or similar independent research project), don't pass it up! The capacity to do your own independent research is an essential part of graduate school. Thus, completing an honours thesis is one of the very best ways to prepare for graduate studies. If your program does not offer an honours thesis option, you might want to think of expanding a course project or essay. Discuss possible opportunities with your professors.
• Start looking for scholarships. In Canada there are some good scholarship opportunities for graduate studies (e.g. SSHRC's Canada Graduate Scholarship Program). Start looking out for these well before you enter your final year of undergraduate study - the deadlines for these scholarships are usually in the early fall, i.e. one to three months before your actual grad school applications must be submitted! Applying for the scholarships will also help you focus your ideas and put together a solid statement of interest for the grad school application. (See "Applying for Scholarships and Grants" below for further information.)

How to Choose a Graduate Program

• Start researching programs early. Deadlines for American graduate schools are often as early as December, and Canadian schools will have deadlines in January/February, though some admit students before then. Starting early usually means beginning your graduate school search at the end of the summer or beginning of fall term the year before you wish to attend graduate school. Recognize also that successfully navigating this task will require your efforts throughout the term.

• But which graduate programs should you apply to? How do you narrow down your choices from the dozens of possibilities? Here are some tips:

• Check out their webpage. Most graduate programs now have extensive information about their programs located on their webpages. At first pass, you may want to skim these pages and jot down notes about the program, including names of faculty who you might be interested in working with or particular features of the program that seem intriguing. It is often helpful to create a spreadsheet to organize this information as well. Although it is a bit more work, it allows you to easily go back and read your notes, as well as compare features across different programs.
• Make sure that the program objectives and offerings match up with your area of interest and that there are faculty in the program with whom you want to work. Graduate school is an exciting and intense time---you want to choose the place where you will most optimally flourish.
• Get more information. If you have questions or are unclear on some things, contact the school directly for information and guidance in their application process. Most programs have a graduate coordinator who can answer any further questions you may have about the program or application process. Download any application forms and read through the materials thoroughly first before contacting the graduate coordinator or faculty of the university. And ask to be put in touch with some current students in the program so that you can have the students' perspective on the grad program in question.
• Find answers to the following questions:
  • Do the specialties of the faculty members interest you?
  • What kind of graduate courses have been offered in the past couple of years? Do the topics interest you?
  • What kinds of MA theses or PhD dissertations have been produced in the past couple of years? Do the topics interest you?
  • What kind of funding does the school offer? Is it guaranteed over a number of years?
  • Does the program offer a mentorship program for grad students? Assistance with preparing for a career (e.g. workshops on how to apply for jobs or how to prepare for the job market)?
  • Does the program offer opportunities for TA experience and training?
  • What is the climate of the department like? Do students get to know their professors?
  • How are the program's graduate students faring? Are they completing their programs in a reasonable amount of time? Are MA students going on to good PhD programs? Are PhD students getting jobs?
• Get some help from your university. If you're studying at a university with a graduate program in German, visit your department's graduate coordinator to get recommendations on how to best navigate the application process. He or she can explain the process from his/her perspective, and this can give you insight into the whole process. Ask for advice from your undergraduate advisor or other faculty mentors. They will have insights into different programs based on their knowledge of the faculty members or from their own student experience. If your professors are professional, they will give you objective advice based on your needs, skills, and best interests. They will often be able to tell you about potential faculty in your field of interest with whom you may want to work.

MA Options: Thesis, Research Paper, Courses-Only?

• If you're planning on doing an MA, you'll need to ask yourself: what kind of MA program? Most graduate programs offer three different options: the Thesis option, where you take some courses and write a full-fledged MA thesis (ca. 100 pages); the Research Paper option, where you take a couple of more courses than the Thesis option, and write a shorter Research Paper (ca. 40 pages) instead of a thesis; the Courses-Only option where you do not need to write a thesis or major research paper. In Canada the generally accepted opinion has been that, if you want to go on to do a PhD, it is best to do the Thesis MA. But that is not a hard and fast rule; most Canadian PhD programs will consider anyone with an MA, regardless of the type of MA. Doing a thesis is excellent preparation for a PhD program: it gives you the skills and the experience to tackle the larger PhD dissertation project, and one of the considerations when accepting graduate students into PhD programs is whether the student has the wherewithal to finish the PhD successfully. Having an MA thesis under your belt, in other words, gives you a certain amount of street cred. But some students like to do MAs with more course work because they feel that their undergraduate degrees didn't give the enough background in German studies. In any event, when looking at graduate schools, see what options are available to you, and which type suits your longer-range goals.

How to Apply to Graduate School

• Although some may want to play the odds by sending out applications to as many schools as possible, this can become expensive. Graduate school applications require you to craft your applications to fit each school and sending out mass quantities of applications will require a lot of work. When thinking about how to go about applying, keep the following in mind:

• Apply to a range of programs that vary in their level of competitiveness. For any number of reasons (e.g., number of students being admitted, competition level in the pool of applicants, funding) admissions to top-tier schools may vary from year to year.
• Identify faculty members with whom you'd like to work. Put time and energy into crafting your application so that it reflects how your interests and goals will fit with each particular program and/or potential supervisor.
• Get some help. You may wish to contact the department's graduate officer or specific professors with whom you might like to study; this might make you more recognizable come application time. If you do this, be sure to approach them with specific questions and requests for information.
• Write and rewrite your statement of interest, have a mentor read your application, and then rewrite it again! Your statement of interest is one of the few ways that faculty have to understand your motivation, your seriousness of purpose, and your level of commitment to the discipline. How you organize and communicate your experience and your interests are vital. Although these essays are often referred to as "personal statements," this does not mean you should reveal your most personal information. This is a professional application and the personal statement pertains to your experiences, goals, and future interests that have led you to apply to the program.
• Provide organized materials to your reference letter writers. You will want to choose letter writers who will be able to comment on your academic record as well as other experiences or relevant skill sets. To help your letter writers craft the best letter possible, you should probably provide them with a resume, a copy of your transcripts, as well as a copy of your statement of interest and other relevant application material. Further, you should provide them with a typed list of the names and addresses of the schools to which you are applying, mailing envelopes with postage addressed to these programs, any paper or electronic files that they need to complete and include with the recommendation letter, and the deadlines for each of the applications. You should not expect your letter writers to go seek out these materials. Finally, you need to give your letter writers adequate time to complete their task, and ask them as early as possible.
• Arrange to have all of your transcripts sent out early. Often students forget to do this until the last minute. University registrar offices and exam reporting facilities are extremely busy at the end of the fall term and often close for extended holidays, which can cause delays in the reporting of your scores or transcripts to the programs to which you are applying. Incomplete applications may cause delays in your application being considered by the faculty, and in some cases may cause your application to not be considered. Get these in!
• Check your application before you send it out. Most schools have an application checklist that will help you make sure that you have completed all tasks necessary. Mistakes on your application (e.g. misspellings, missing documents, poorly formatted materials) can leave a negative impression on the admissions committee (Does this student take this process seriously? etc.). Once your application is received, graduate coordinators often send a notice that your application has been received and let you know whether the application is complete or is missing particular components. If you are concerned about receipt of your application or its completeness, you may contact the graduate admissions officer of the department.
• Wait. After all of your work, this can be the toughest part of the whole process. Faculty usually begin reviewing graduate applications shortly after the admission deadline passes. The length of time for any faculty to review applications varies by school. If you have offers at other schools but have not heard from a program that still interests you, you may want to contact that program to inquire about the status of your application to their program and let them know that you have offers at other institutions.

Applying for Scholarships and Grants

• Ironically, timelines are such that you have to apply for a graduate scholarship or grant months before you actually apply to graduate school. But going through the process of applying for funding can help you prepare for the graduate application itself. If you are unsure of what scholarships you are eligible to apply for, contact your school's graduate or awards office.

• Each scholarship you apply for will have various regulations and required supporting material. But here is some general advice to keep in mind:

• Research scholarships early. Applications for scholarships such as those offered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) are often due in October. You'll want to start putting together your application earlier than that, though. These kinds of applications are very complicated; the "night before" rule (a lifesaver when an undergraduate assignment is due) won't work here - you'll have to follow the "month before" rule.
• Make a list of what you'll need. Scholarship applications can be tricky and complicated. Some will provide a checklist of what documentation you must submit with your application. If they don't, make your own list to keep track of all the material.
• Follow instructions exactly. Each scholarship application has its own rules. Follow them to the letter. For example, if they ask for 12 font, 1" margins, double-spaced, give them exactly that. Do not try to fudge the rules, don't submit a three-page statement of interest when two pages is the limit, and don't give the granting agency anything more than what it asks for - doing otherwise could see your application being immediately rejected.
• Write and rewrite your statement of interest. As with the graduate school application itself, you'll probably be expected to supply a statement of interest, plan of study, etc. Work on this carefully because it is that part of the application that you have the most control over (your grades are your grades - nothing can be done about those once they're on your transcript - and your referees have their own opinions about you). Get feedback on the statement from professors, mentors, etc.
• Choose referees carefully. Look for instructors who are well acquainted with your academic record and intellectual ability. Generally speaking, it is better to get referees who are full-time faculty members, not sessional instructors or graduate teaching assistants.
• Provide your referees with complete instructions and information. Give your referees the following:
  • the appraisal form (if there is one) with all of your information filled out;
  • an addressed envelope so that they know where to send the reference;
  • your resume and transcript (so that they can see get an overview of your other experiences and interests as well as your academic record);
  • your statement of interest (so that the referees have a clear idea of your plans);
  • information on the scholarship (so that the referees know what you're applying for).
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Do You Have Any Questions?

• We hope that this webpage has given you at least a starting point for building a career in German studies. If you have any comments or questions, please contact Prof. James M. Skidmore (skidmore AT uwaterloo.ca) or Prof. Barbara Schmenk (bschmenk AT uwaterloo.ca).

• This page was inspired by (and some parts lifted from) the University of Waterloo Psychology department page "So you want to go to grad school in psychology . . . ." by Jennifer LaGuardia. Used by permission and with thanks. Last updated October 2007.

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Department of Germanic & Slavic Studies
Modern Languages Building, Room 313
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4567 extension 32428; FAX: (519) 746-5243

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