Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German StudiesApplication Process
The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German has a single admissions process that ensures that incoming students matriculate fully at both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at Duke University. The following instructions will be very helpful as you put together your application.
Admissions
We seek applicants who demonstrate academic excellence, and we welcome applicants from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. A Bachelor's degree or the equivalent is required, generally in German Studies or a related field. We encourage applications from those interested in literary, philosophical, and/or cultural German studies across all periods, genres, and media. Interdisciplinary interests and approaches are welcome. Please be aware that language pedagogy is not among the areas of dissertation research we support. In order to start the application process, please visit UNC-Chapel Hill's Graduate School.
Application deadline
Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete their applications by December 10, 2024.
Application process
Please read UNC’s Admissions Instructions for detailed information about the application process and requirements. Questions regarding translation issues and foreign degrees and transcripts should be directed to german@unc.edu.
Please pay careful attention to the list of required application materials, and to the following instructions.
Recommendations
Please arrange for letters from three recommenders who are familiar with your intellectual and academic abilities and work. In most cases these will be your university professors in humanities courses. If you have been employed in a related field such as teaching, a letter from a supervisor or a colleague may also be appropriate. You will submit the email address of each recommender when you submit your online application.
Statement of Purpose
In order to help the Admissions Committee assess how well your interests and goals fit with our graduate program, please provide a statement of purpose of approximately 650 to 2000 words. At the top of your statement please insert a brief description (20 keywords or fewer) of your specific research interests. In addition, please discuss your goals in pursuing the Carolina-Duke German Studies Ph.D your previous study abroad experience(s) and the trajectory of your academic career thus far.
Substantial Writing Sample
Please upload a single writing sample of approximately 7,000 to 8,000 words that represents your very best academic writing. Typically, this is an essay previously submitted as an academic requirement in a humanities course of relevance to German Studies. It should make an interpretive argument supported by evidence from one or more literary texts or other cultural media. You may submit a sample in either English or German; however, we strongly encourage you to submit a paper in your native language. If neither is your native language, choose either of these two languages over which you exercise the greatest mastery. The goal of the writing sample is to demonstrate your intellectual capabilities, not merely your English or German language proficiency.
*Only in unusual circumstances and after consultation with the program are other admission terms considered.
**Preference will be given to applications that have been submitted to the UNC Graduate School by December 10, 2024.
Please submit your application (and pay the application fee) by this priority date if at all possible, even if there are delays with your transcripts, recommendation letters, or other materials.
For further information, contact Professor Sarah Pourciau and Professor Tobias Wilke.
Standardized Tests
The Carolina-Duke Graduate Program no longer requires applicants to take the GRE (which is administered at the Educational Testing Service).
Non-native speakers of English will need to take the TOEFL or IELTS to demonstrate language proficiency. Information on the requirement and the few exceptions to it can be found at this link.
Please designate “Institution #5816” when requesting that your official score reports be sent to the Carolina-Duke program.