The German department provides language instruction in all five skills—listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural understanding—from the elementary through the advanced levels. GERM 101-102, 103, 104, and the 200-level courses provide language instruction with increasing emphasis on cultural content. For highly committed beginning students, GERM 120 is an intensive communicative one-semester version of Elementary German. Our thematically focused 300-level courses allow students to experience academic reading, discussion, and writing at a level akin to that found in a German-speaking university. Courses on the culture of German-speaking countries are sometimes offered in English translation. We strongly urge students to study abroad in a German-speaking country, either through direct enrollment or through one of several approved study-abroad programs. The department offers both a 10-course major and a 7-course certificate in German. Entering students should take the placement test, and also contact a faculty member, to determine how to plot their path through the program. More information can be found on the German site.