Program Overview

German is the most widely spoken language in Europe, with around 100 million native speakers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The languages listed below count toward the Bachelor of Arts third semester language requirement:

• Majors in French, German, and Spanish
• Minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish
• Three years of language and culture courses in Japanese
• Two years of language in Italian

Why Study Modern Languages and Literatures at Grand Valley?

• Study of the German language prepares students for multicultural career settings in the U.S. and abroad.
• German complements majors in many other fields, such as international relations, international business, history, political science, as well as the sciences and fine arts.
• The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures works closely with the Padnos International Center to make many opportunities for study abroad available.
• The study of the language and people of Germany broadens a student's knowledge and understanding of cross cultural communication, intercultural competence, interpersonal skills, and analytical skills.
• German is the second most commonly used scientific language. Germany is the third largest contributor to research and development and offers research fellowships to scientists from abroad.