UCC’s Department of German offers an exciting suite of courses aimed at both beginners and non-beginners. So you have the unique opportunity of learning a foreign language from scratch, or you can build on previous knowledge.

All degree programmes involve intensive language training in one of the most significant European and world languages, both culturally and economically. Our module range includes German translation, German film, literature and art, German history, society and politics, and our students go on to enjoy successful careers in a large range of professions that includes translation / interpreting, banking, sales, marketing, teaching and lecturing. In terms of career prospects, foreign languages have been found to add significantly to students’ life-time earnings, with German leading the field in this regard.

We are a small department that offers excellent staff-student ratios, allowing intensive engagement with all our students, as well as a collegiate atmosphere that puts the needs of the language-learner to the fore. 

What some of our graduates have done

• Department of Foreign Affairs
• Financial Sector
• RTÉ
• Bord Bia
• Heineken Italia
• Enterprise Ireland
• Financial Sector
• Legal profession
• Journalism
• Teaching
• Murphy’s Deutschland
• Dresdner Bank
• LIDL Ireland

Some organisations that have employed our graduates

• Numerous third level institutions in Ireland and abroad, including UCC, NUIG, IT Tralee, DCU, UL, European School of Business at Reutlingen University (Germany), Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg (Germany), Aston University Birmingham
• VECs, numerous primary and secondary schools all over Ireland
• KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCooper, C&C, Smurfit, Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland, Reuters News, Google, Paypal, Apple
• German-Irish Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Ireland
•  

Some links to why studying languages and German in particular:

• Irish Times Article March 2016 
• 2014 Report on Future Skills Needs
• Why study languages?
• THINK GERMAN An initiative by the German Embassy London, UK-German Connection, Goethe-Institut London and DAAD
• Irish Times Article April 2010 Language Gap is latest Threat to Jobs
• Irish Times Article August 2010 Ireland Shakes off 'Wild West' Reputation in Germany
• The cognitive benefits of being bilingual, by Viorica Marian, Anthony Shook (Dana Foundation 2012)
• The e-zine Higher Education World from the QS Press Office published the following report on responses to a survey regarding the value given by employers to international student experience. This arose from the QS Global Employer Survey Report 2011. Employers value Int'l or full report.
• BBC Discussion on learning foreign languages

German Graduates Stories

I spent my Erasmus year at Leipzig University, which led me to do an Erasmus Mundus Master’s programme, after which I moved to Berlin in January 2020. From then until October 2022, I worked as Policy Officer for Trade, Investment and Innovation at the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin, where my German language skills were crucial every day – from organising meetings with German government representatives to participating in political briefings and translating these into insights for the Irish government. That role led me to my current job as a digital policy researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) in Berlin – part of the Fraunhofer Society, Germany’s largest applied research organisation. I now work fully through German, writing policy papers, engaging with stakeholders across the German digital policy landscape and even speaking on a German-language podcast (https://www.oeffentliche-it.de/oefit-podcast/single-digital-gateway-verordnung/).

Studying German at UCC not only shaped me as a person, growing my confidence (especially by giving me the opportunity to spend a whole year studying abroad) but also opened doors to another world for me professionally. In particular, I continue to reap the benefits of the opportunities for daily language practice with German native speakers and academic writing classes.

 Liadán Sage, graduation from the BA programme Arts International (German and Spanish) in 2017