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German Studies (5 yrs)

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B

For First Year Entry a minimum of 3 A Levels at BBB. For Second Year Entry a minimum of an A in the subject selected for Single Honours plus BB, or AB in the subjects selected for Joint Honours plus a further B. GCSE in English or English Language is also required.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

For entry into First Year, a minimum of 32 points required, including at least 5,5,5 at HL. For entry into Second Year, a minimum of 36 points, including at 6, 6, 6 at Higher level in subject(s) selected. English at a minimum of Standard level required.

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H2,H2,H2,H3,H3

A minimum of 5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3 OR AAABB, obtained in a single sitting. (The grading within band B must be at B2 or above). Also required: O in English or English Language

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDM

Minimum entry requirement: DDM in related subjects.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B,B

Second year entry may be possible in most school based subjects. A minimum of ABB overall in Adv Higher is required. Adv Higher at A in the subject selected for Single Honours or AB in the subject selected for Joint Honours.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B

Applicants who achieve AABB or better over S4 and S5 are likely to be made an offer of admission. This may be unconditional or it may be conditional, dependent upon academic profile. Good performance in additional Highers / Advanced Highers may be required. Note: we do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B at Adv Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher. National 5 English at minimum grade C

UCAS Tariff

120-152

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

5years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

German studies

German at Aberdeen has an outstanding reputation, top-rated for teaching, with broad, flexible and diverse programmes covering language, literature, history and culture, with five or four-year options, study periods abroad, and many subject combinations for which a major European language adds huge advantage in today's world.

**German at Aberdeen has an outstanding reputation and the highest possible rating of ‘Excellent’ in the last national Teaching Quality Assessment.** You’ll gain a solid grounding in the German language whatever your level, taught by native speakers from German and Austria, and a broad understanding of culture in the German-speaking world.

You’ll take courses in social, historical and cultural aspects of these countries, and encounter the world of German artistic expression in the form of literature, film and art, together with a deeper understanding of Germany’s complex history. You'll also enjoy many informal opportunities to practise your growing language skills and cultural familiarity through German-themed societies, events and the student drama group.

Single Honours in German Studies, and most Joint Honours with German are available either as Mode A degrees (5 years) including a full academic year spent in a German-speaking country, or as Mode B degrees (4 years) including half a year spent in a German-speaking country. For both, the programme for first and second year is identical, so you don't need to decide until the December of second year. We strongly recommend that you apply for the Mode A option.

On graduation you have many choices. Our German graduates secure a wide range of challenging jobs in the UK and abroad and recent graduates are working in industry, politics, EU administration, local government, and teaching, while others have gone on to further study in the UK or abroad. In Aberdeen you'll thrive in our friendly and dynamic international community, on our beautiful campus with great facilities for learning, sports and leisure, and the many opportunities to develop extra skills and interests, and to gain the competitive advantage for whichever career path you choose.

Modules

At Aberdeen, you will have the opportunity to study the political, social and cultural matters of German-speaking countries. You will develop advanced communication skills that will help you prepare for careers in a wide variety of industries. Throughout the programme, you will study topics such as modern German culture, national socialism, film and text, and travel and tourism in German literature.

Assessment methods

Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods: Coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course; Practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course; Written examinations at the end of each course. The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.

Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£20,800
per year
International
£20,800
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

View the University of Aberdeen Online Prospectus programme page to find out about any scholarships and funding you may be able to apply for.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Aberdeen

Department:

School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture

Read full university profile

What students say


How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

German and scandinavian studies

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

84%
UK students
16%
International students
39%
Male students
61%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
3%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
D
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

German and scandinavian studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

16%
Teaching and educational professionals
12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
12%
Leisure and travel services

It's often said the UK doesn't produce enough modern language graduates, and graduates from German courses have a lot of options available to them when they complete their courses. The unemployment rates last year was lower than graduates in general. Nearly a quarter of working graduates from 2015 got jobs outside the UK — mostly as English teachers — which is much higher than for most subjects. The relative strength of the German economy means there will continue to be opportunities there in the future. But more graduates went to work in London, and those who want to stay at home to work find jobs anywhere where good communication skills are a must, particularly in education, in marketing, in the arts and in business and finance as teachers, writers, personnel officers, financial advisors, analysts, sales people and marketers.. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

German and scandinavian studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£26k

£26k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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