About Master’s Program,
The MA program is an ideal foundation for advanced graduate studies. It is also well suited for those teaching in the K-12 system as part of their continuing education. Outreach and co-curricular aspects of the program often lead to opportunities for positions in academic or professional contexts. MA students may choose between a comprehensive exam, thesis, or project to complete their degree requirements. See our graduate student page for details on recent projects and theses.
Master’s Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
Collaboration is central to the intellectual community of our program, and we strive to provide our graduate students with unique opportunities to work together with faculty in research, teaching, outreach, and other professional activities. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the following collaborative opportunities:
The Graphic Narratives Network, an interdisciplinary research group co-founded by German faculty members, gives students the chance to collaborate with faculty in exploring the MSU Libraries’ world-renowned Comic Art Collection, and to work on long-range research projects, both digital and otherwise, in the broader field of text-image studies.
With careful guidance from faculty mentors, students are encouraged to pursue innovative, non-traditional forms of scholarship, including hybrid dissertation projects, that are best suited for their intended career paths, whether in or beyond academia.
Max Kade Fellows shadow faculty mentors in upper-level German courses, or related courses outside the department, to gain a deeper understanding of and hands-on experience with a wider range of types of teaching and pedagogies.
Students acquire professional experience in study abroad program leadership, co-teaching a popular summer program in Germany.
The Center for Language Teaching Advancement gives students the chance to reach beyond the university and teach diverse ages of language learners in the Greater Lansing community.
Digital Humanities at MSU provides further opportunities for collaboration as well as strong research support.
Master’s Funding Coverage,
Graduate students in our programs are fully funded for 2 years (MA) or 5 years (PhD). Funding is comprised of a combination of teaching assistantship, research assistantship, and fellowship. The German program is committed to supporting its graduate students financially through the summer months, with a variety of funding sources that include online teaching, study abroad program leadership, and research fellowships. Generous travel funding for conferences, archival work, and other scholarly or professional activities is also available.
All funding packages include a tuition waiver for 9 credits per semester (fall and spring), health insurance, and other benefits. Students are encouraged to participate actively in the professional arena, with generous travel funding to present at scholarly conferences. In the dissertation phase, students are encouraged to apply for external grants to further support their studies (Fulbright, DAAD, etc.).
The average MA student completes the degree in two years (often graduating in the summer term after Year 2). The average PhD student defends and graduates after 5-6 years, with the trend moving in the downward direction toward 4-5 years, following our focused attention to streamlining degree requirements and securing year-round funding.
More information about Teaching Assistantships and graduate student funding can be found on the Departments resources for graduate student page.
Application Requirement,
All application materials are submitted through MSU Graduate School’s online application portal. A complete application consists of:
- A 500-word statement of purpose and summary of academic background.
- Three letters of recommendation (submitted through the application portal).
- A C.V.
- An official transcript of all academic work on the collegiate level. (The transcripts must be sent in a sealed envelope with the name of the institution on it. The envelope and transcripts are reviewed by the Office of Admissions at MSU.)
- A portfolio of the applicant’s representative work in German.
Application Deadline,
Dec 01, 2025
Application Fee,
Graduate Domestic $65.00
Graduate International $75.00
