German Major/Minor

Welcome to German

German is one of the major world languages and has the largest number of native speakers in the European Union. It is also one of the ten most commonly spoken languages in the world and the second most commonly used scientific language. German books make up a fifth of the world’s published books. Germany is an economic powerhouse. It is the world’s second largest exporter, and ranks number one in Europe and number four globally. Germany hosts numerous international corporations and the economic relationship between German and the United States thrives with over ten billion dollars of direct investment by Germany in the US.

Enhance your chances on the international job market by adding German language and cultural literacy to your skills. German will open doors of German companies in the US. You will be well positioned for the job market in Charlotte since it is home to more than 230 German companies. The CEOs are looking for employees who have functional use of the German language and more importantly are culturally literate. To support the development of a future workforce, the German-American companies in the Charlotte region generously support the German Language and Culture Foundation (GLCF). The GLCF provides approximately $60,000 in scholarships for German Majors to study abroad in Germany.

Enjoy learning this rich language, often called the language of thinkers: many of the world’s most important works of literature, art history, theology, psychology, physics, chemistry, engineering, medicine and philosophy were written in German. Come meet Beethoven, Freud, Marx, Mozart, Nietzsche, Goethe and many of the other Great Germans. German is also fun to learn. The language is very similar to English. Consider that “Haus” is “house,” “Finger” is “finger,” and “Hand” is “hand.” Learning German will make travel to Germany so much more rewarding. Germany is one of the top travel destinations of the world, and you will enjoy ordering your beer and pretzel at Oktoberfest or eating blackforest cake in a small cafe on the streets of Freiburg. Take advantage of our study abroad opportunities in Germany and other German speaking countries such as Austria and Switzerland.

The German Program offers you the following opportunities:

Explore Past News and Events about the German Program