Beginning in the fall of 2024, the Boston College German studies department relaxed its major and minor requirements, making the program more accessible to students of all class years.
According to Nicholas Block, chair of the German studies department, the department now allows courses starting at the elementary level to count towards the minor.
“We also have been working to have our courses taught in English on German topics to be core-approved for literature, cultural diversity, and arts,” Block said. “This means that many students can complete a German minor by being savvy in fulfilling graduation requirements—four language courses up to intermediate II, literature core [and] possibly another core.”
First-year German studies student Bridget Silverman, MCAS ’28, said the relaxed requirements will allow her to prioritize her major requirements.
“At the end of my sophomore year, I will have a minor, and I can focus entirely on my major,” Silverman said.
Ursula Mangoubi, a lecturer in German studies, said the department hopes the new requirements will attract more students to the program.
“[The new requirements] will hopefully attract more people because it will make it more accessible—maybe even to people in the sciences who are overwhelmed with their requirements,” said Mangoubi.
According to Block, most students arrive at BC with little experience in German, so they typically begin with elementary courses. Under the previous requirements, these classes did not count toward the major and minor, preventing these students from making progress until their junior year.
“Our older requirements simply reflected a different reality than the one we face now,” said Block.
In 2023, there were two German studies majors and nine minors, according to the most recently available data in the BC Fact Book.
Block said current enrollment trends in the German studies program show an increase in students pursuing a major or minor in the department since the fall of 2023. Many of these German studies new students are underclassmen, Block added.
Block believes the revised major and minor in German studies offer students valuable benefits with a lower level of commitment.
“Our curriculum develops students’ advanced language and critical‐thinking abilities and cultural competence, opening doors to international careers as well as graduate educational opportunities,” Block said.
Block emphasized that studying German opens up opportunities for summer internships in Germany and that the department boasts a strong track record of students receiving Fulbright Awards.
“Every year, a cohort of seniors receives prestigious Fulbright fellowships for the year after graduation—over 150 of them over the past several decades alone, an achievement that sets our program apart from others in the country,” he said.
Block said the goal of the revamped program is to engage more students while providing an education in global critical thinking, beyond just German vocabulary and grammar.
“Overall, I would say our goal is to help students academically and intellectually become reflective, critical-thinking citizens of the world—persons for others, and not just within the American context,” Block said.
