Courses

Introduction

Pre-Semester Language Study and Orientation

• Goethe Institut

• German Compact Program

Special Activities During the Semester(s)

• Antioch Meeting

• Studies in Science

• Internationale Sprachprogramme (ISP)

• "Studium Generale"

• Music and Art at the University

• Second Semester Options

Faculties and Disciplines
Co-op Jobs and Internships
Credit and Evaluation

Introduction

Program participants enroll directly into the university and have hundreds of courses from which to choose in virtually all academic areas. Students are taught by Tübingen University faculty. The vast majority of courses are taught in German, although some may be taught in English. Prerequisites and other common enrollment restrictions will apply. General and departmental academic requirements from students' home institutions can be accommodated in most cases.

Information on specific Fakultäten (departments) is available online, as well as representative course listings in summary and detailed form.    Students can also enroll in courses for foreign students offered by the Internationale Sprachprogramme (ISP) division of the university. 

Pre-Semester Language Study and Orientation

Language is the key to intellectual concepts and cultural understanding. Antioch will help students bring their present knowledge of German to a level of proficiency and ease.  The program fee covers 8-13 weeks of language study and orientation (depending on whether the student enrolls in the one or two semester program) prior to beginning classes at the university. Most students with intermediate-level German and two to three months of intensive, in-country study are soon able to handle university classes with relative ease. 

Goethe Institut

The program begins with intensive language study at one of several Goethe Instituten located throughout Germany.  Four and eight-week options are available at multiple locations for students to choose from. Seven proficiency levels are offered.   Students are assessed upon arrival and placed in the course best suited to their needs. 

Language instruction is supplemented by cultural activities and optional excursions.  The Goethe Institut program allows time for students to become accustomed to the language and culture in order to enter the university confident in their language abilities.  It is also a good opportunity to live in another area of Germany. 

German Compact Program

After the Goethe Institut progam, all students convene in Tübingen, where the academic semester/year begins with an essential orientation to German university life -- the German Compact Program.  This program is sponsored by the Internationale Sprachprogramme (ISP), a division of the university that offers courses and programs of special interest to foreign students, as well as assistance in the enrollment process and academic advising.  Major elements of the German Compact Program include special preparatory training for the language proficiency exam and academic writing in German, general university and city orientation, and a cultural program of lectures, excursions and evening activities.

The language and orientation program is composed of daily intensive classes in grammar and civilization in Tübingen and at a university study center in Blaubeuren.  Students also participate in special community events while in Blaubeuren. 

Special Activities During the Semester(s)

Antioch Meeting

Students attend an informal Antioch meeting at least once a month with the Resident Director and Assistant Director. The purpose of the seminar is to advise students and to provide participants with the opportunity to share questions and experiences. This is generally the only occasion students are called together as an American group.

Studies in Science

Past participants have studied in many areas of the physical sciences in Tübingen, ranging from biology and physics to geology and mathematics. In addition to working with the finest professors and equipment, they also become fluent in German, an essential international scientific language.

Tübingen is one of three German universities that offers a special degree program in biochemistry. The city is also the location of four Max Planck Institutes (biology, bio-cybernetics, developmental biology, and the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory), whose leading scientists lecture and give seminars at the University. Students with appropriate background knowledge and skills may apply for the occasional openings at these institutes. Antioch program participants have also worked as part-time lab or research assistants.

In the German educational system mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and earth sciences are taught at universities. Applied sciences such as engineering and architecture are studied at technical universities. Special arrangements with nearby technical universities can be made for students with interests in these areas (see Nearby Universities).

Internationale Sprachprogramme (ISP)

The ISP offers a variety of courses in German language and area studies, including grammar, creative writing, stylistics and idiomatics. Also offered are seminar courses on current issues in Germany, e.g. immigration, regional politics, and the history of Baden-Württemberg. Students may enroll in Lektorat courses while also taking courses in other university departments.

"Studium Generale"

Each semester leading scholars and researchers from other universities are invited as guest speakers in an interdisciplinary lecture series. Topics from previous semesters have included:

• Feminist Literature

• Literary and Scientific Discourse
• Human Rights
• Heinrich Heine
• Multilingualism in Children and Adults
• Cancer Treatments in Today's Society
• Classical Mythology and It's Impact on the Contemporary World

Music and Art at Tübingen University

While the University has an accredited program in art history and musicology, music and the creative arts are taught in separate academies due to the structure of the German system of higher education. However, substantial opportunities for extracurricular instruction and performance exist in Tübingen. There is an impressive range of semi-professional orchestras, chamber groups and choirs listed with the University's Cultural Affairs Office. A new studio art institute offers extracurricular classes in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and printmaking. In the case of performance music majors, Antioch will help find and pay for private lessons.

Second Semester Options

Once established in Germany, single-semester participants may chose to extend to the one-year program at Tübingen University. The Resident Director and Assistant Director will provide logistical support to any student who chooses this option.

Volkshochschule                                                                                                                                           The Volkshochschule  is a type of community college that offers a wide variety of different courses, such as foreign language classes, crafts, and cooking. The Volkshochschule is open and free to anyone who wants to take courses. Each course costs a small fee, depending on the number of contact hours and the amount of material used. Participants in Antioch in Germany can consider taking a course for credit at the Volkshochschule. Before registering for a course, it is necessary to get approval from the Assistant Resident Director or the Resident Director. If approved, Antioch will cover the course fees and grant Antioch credit for the course.

Faculties and Disciplines

Sozial- und Verhaltenswissenschaften (Social and Behavioral Sciences):

• Education
• Political Science
• Empirical Cultural Studies
• Psychology
• Physical Education
• Sociology

Neuphilologie (Modern Languages and Communications):

• American Studies
• Media Studies
• Comparative Literature
• Nordic Languages and Lit.
• English Language and Lit.
• Rhetoric
• German Language and Lit.
• Romance Languages and Lit.
• Linguistics
• Languages and Lit.

Geschichte (History)

Philosophie (Philosophy)

Kulturwissenschaften (Cultural Studies):

• Archeology
• Far East Studies
• Art History
• History of Music
• Classics (Greek and Latin)
• Indology
• Comparative Linguistics
• Islamic & Iranian Studies
• Egyptology
• Musicology
• Ethnology
• Religious Studies

Mathematik (Mathematics)

Informatik (Computer Sciences)

Physik (Physics):

• Astronomy

Chemie und Pharmazie (Chemistry and Pharmacy):

• Biochemistry
• Pharmacy
• Chemistry

Biologie (Biology)

Geowissenschaften (Earth Sciences):

• Geography
• Mineralogy
• Geology
• Paleontology

Evangelische Theologie (Protestant Theology)

Katholische Theologie (Catholic Theology)

Jura (Law)

Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Economics):

• Business Administration
• Economics
• Economic and Social History

Medizin (Medicine):

• Medicine
• Dentistry

Co-op Jobs and Internships

Experiential learning, cooperative education, is an invaluable opportunity to become involved in the world of everyday life and work in Germany, meet Germans outside the university environment, and improve language skills.

The periods between and after university semesters are often used for internships or travel. Unpaid internships or those which offer room and board may be possible to arrange. Student visas allow paid employment for 90 days a year. Therefore, students may be able to take part-time work during semesters, or paid internships or jobs during breaks.

All jobs are arranged individually and should be discussed early in the first Tübingen semester. A minimum six - eight week commitment is usually required. Although Antioch Education Abroad can make no guarantees, students who are patient, creative and flexible have often been able to find a variety of wonderful learning experiences.

Examples of past activities:

• Fieldwork and ornithological observation on an island in the North Sea
• Working and teaching in a home for children with disabilities near Weimar
• Planting, tending, and marketing organic vegetables on a farm near Stuttgar.
• Archeological dig in the Lake Constance area.
• Lab assistant in the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen.
• Researcher and translator for a Social-Democratic member of the European Parliament, Brussels

Short-term opportunities have included international work camp projects, summer camp counseling, music camps and monastery stays at a nearby Benedictine monastery.

Credit and Evaluation

Antioch's Resident Directors help students choose the proper combination of lectures, seminars and laboratory work to meet home institution requirements because credits are not part of the German educational system. As the basis for awarding credits, students collect graded Scheine from each of their professors, which verify and assess their completion of course requirements. These are supplemented by Antioch course evaluations - narratives prepared by the students that document both individual learning and course content.

Students at the university normally take four courses for credit per semester. A typical course earns four Antioch semester credits. Additional credit is earned for the pre-semester language programs:

• Goethe Institute (4 or 8 semester credits)
• German Compact Program (4 semester credits)

All earned credits are summarized and translated on an official Antioch University transcript and forwarded to students' home institutions.