Apply now for the 2022-23 graduate program

Apply now for the 2022-23 graduate program

The Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures at the University of Toronto is currently soliciting applications to our Graduate Program in German and Yiddish Literature, Culture, and Theory. Research areas pursued by our faculty span the medieval era to the 21st-century, with several professors cross-appointed to such units as the Cinema Studies Institute, the Centre for Comparative Literature, the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, the Centre for Medieval Studies, and the Philosophy Department. Our program also offers exciting possibilities to pursue an interdisciplinary graduate degree in collaboration with the Book History and Print Culture Program, the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, the Anne Tanenbaum Center for Jewish Studies, or the Women & Gender Studies Institute.

Funding

We have fully funded PhD slots available for Canadian students. Our funding package is guaranteed for five years. Students in their sixth year are eligible for a doctoral completion grant. In addition, all students are encouraged to apply for an array of competitive scholarships, including the Ontario Graduate Fellowship, the Doctoral Scholarship of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and research grants available through the DAAD-funded Joint Initiative in German and European Studies affiliated with the Munk School of Global Affairs. We are also able to provide funding to many students in our one-year M.A. program through a combination of teaching opportunities and internal fellowships.

Resources

The University of Toronto library system ranks among the top three across North America, next to Harvard and Yale. The Greater Toronto Area also boasts a wide array of world-class cultural institutions, including film festivals such as TIFF, HotDocs, and Images, and an ongoing retinue of guest artists, writers, and scholars recruited for lectures and workshops on campus and throughout the city. Our program benefits from further support and collaboration with the German Consulate and the Goethe-Institut Toronto. T.A. training in foreign language pedagogy is provided by our faculty and through additional workshops regularly hosted with other language and literature departments on campus as well as in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut. Funds are also available for our graduate students to organize conferences in collaboration with graduate programs in German at other Ontario universities.

Graduate Faculty & Instructors

In addition to the faculty listed below, our associate faculty also hail from disciplines including Art, Drama, History, Music, Religion, and Slavic Languages & Literatures… Read more

Angelica Fenner: Film Theory and History, Feminist and Queer Theory, Affect, Autobiography, Critical Race Theory, Globalization, Migration, and Postcolonial Studies.

Willi Goetschel: Modern German Literature and Philosophy from the 18th century to the present. Theories of Enlightenment, German Jewish Culture and Thought, Critical Theory.

Hang-Sun Kim: Second Language Acquisition, German and Austrian modernism, contemporary German literature by authors of colour.

Christine Lehleiter: German literature and thought from the 18th to the 21st century, Literature and Science Studies, Gender Studies, Aesthetic Theory, Neurohumanities.

John Noyes: Goethe, Herder, and 18th century philosophy; Literary Theory, Postcolonial Theory, Critical Theory; Imperialism and German culture.

Anna Shternshis: Yiddish Literature; Soviet and post-Soviet Culture and Literature; popular culture; Diaspora studies.

Stefan Soldovieri: 20th century German literature and culture, German cinemas, cultural studies, environmental humanities.

Markus Stock: Medieval German language, literature, and culture; early modern German literature and culture; theories of space and place; Minnesang.

John Zilcosky: Comparative literature, psychoanalysis, philosophy, postcolonialism, travel writing, trauma theory, the culture of sports; Kafka, Freud, Sebald, E. T. A. Hoffmann.

Apply Now

Applications to the Graduate Program in German Literature, Culture and Theory must be submitted through the School of Graduate Studies online application website:

    1. If you are a first-time applicant, click the link to Create an Account to begin your application. You will receive a verification code via email as part of the account creation process. After entering your verification code, you will create a password for your account.
    2. You may save and return to the application at any point in the process.
    3. You will be required to enter information for your referees. Your referees will automatically receive a notification email that they have been requested to complete a reference for your application, along with instructions to submit their reference letter in the application system.
    4. If you need to change your referees, please get in touch with the graduate administrator.
    5. If you need to send a reminder email to your existing referees, you can do so through your applicant portal after submitting your application.
    6. To view the status of your application, including outstanding requirements, please log in to your account to view your applicant status portal.
    7. You can upload application materials, including unofficial transcripts, statements of intent, writing samples, and more, through your applicant status portal after submitting your application.
The complete application includes:

  • the online form
  • submission of transcripts (please submit electronic transcripts, originals are only required after admission)
  • letters of recommendation (MA:2, PhD:3)
  • a brief resume
  • a sample of written work
  • a statement of up to 700 words outlining your research interests and reasons for embarking on graduate study

Please consult the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Calendar and the departmental Graduate Handbook for details on eligibility criteria. Additional information may be obtained from the SGS Admissions Guide, the SGS Degree Progams Quick Facts (MA) and Degree Programs Quick Facts (PhD), and the SGS application FAQ I and FAQ II.

The deadline for online application and payment of application fee is 15 January 2022. The deadline for receipt of documents is 31 January 2022.

For further inquiries please contact
Prof. John Noyes
Acting Associate Chair, Germanic Languages & Literatures
german.grad@utoronto.ca