Our degree programme in German studies differs from that offered by many other universities in that the three traditional sub-disciplines (German medieval studies, modern German literature, German linguistics) are studied in equal measure as independent sub-disciplines. Our complete degree programme in German Language and Literature thus offers the opportunity of studying the subject in all its facets. In addition to these subject areas, German Studies in Düsseldorf is focussed on the processes of oral and written communication, to which a separate subject area is devoted in the Master’s programme.

With 36 Erasmus partner universities, the pursuit of German Studies in Düsseldorf offers numerous opportunities to gain valuable international experience with the aid of an Erasmus scholarship, opening up new perspectives on your own topic of interest and acquiring intercultural skills that will not only enrich you personally but enhance your CV as well. There are also DAAD partnerships with the University of Juiz de Fora (Brazil) and the University of Gdansk (Poland).

The ULB (University and State Library) offers our students a variety of relevant specialist databases. In addition to the specialist databases, a number of specialist databases for research into spoken language are available, some specifically set up for this purpose. The ‘FrameNet & Konstruktikon des Deutschen’ project is developing two repositories at our institute: The ‘FrameNet’ as a frame-based digital lexicon for words and fixed multi-word units of the German language, and the ‘Konstruktikon’ as a structured, digital resource for grammaticographically identified constructions.

Be it the ‘FrameNet-Projekt’, ‘Literarische Alter(n)sforschung’ or ‘Fragmentarität (in) mittelalterlicher Literatur’, we have a lot of exciting research projects for you to choose from. We also offer the following affiliated areas: Women culture archive; Max-Herrmann-Neiße institute; Modernity in the Rhineland.

CEDUS (Center for Entrepreneurship Düsseldorf) is the university’s internal point of contact for all questions about self-employment and business start-ups. It helps guide our students on their way to starting up their own company, imparting start-up-relevant knowledge for a successful transition into an independent career, advising and offering support in the acquisition and application for funding, and providing tailor-made support for the start-up project from the CEDUS network of experts.

Established as an interdisciplinary writing workshop, Nocthene offers a creative platform to all those who not only deal with existing literature but also want to compose literary texts themselves. For nine years, students and lecturers have been meeting here to discuss texts that participants themselves have written and to experiment with different text components, genres or writing styles. Interested students and lecturers meet in the audio book group ‘Audiadiction’ for small-group discussions of literature to which they have listened.