Student Research

Spring Semester Junior Year

• Discuss honors thesis project with German Studies faculty member(s)

• Arrange an honors thesis advisor

• Discuss Fulbright plans after graduation (either research project or teaching English)

• Register for GRE

• Consider applying for a SIRE Independent Research Grant to support summer travel/work on the thesis

Summer between Junior and Senior Years

• Read select works under the direction of honors thesis advisor

• Conduct preliminary research supported by a SIRE Independent Research Grant

• Prepare and apply for Fulbright (August)

• Study for and take GRE

Fall Semester Senior Year

• Enroll in 400-level German topics course

• Enroll in German 495, 3-credit honors thesis directed reading course

• Prepare Graduate School application for PhD in German Studies

• Apply for Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry Humanities Honors Fellowship (November)

• Apply for Graduate School for PhD in German Studies (December/January)

  Spring Semester Senior Year

• Enroll in German 495, 3-credit honors thesis directed reading course

• Apply for German Studies undergraduate conference (January/February)

• Apply for SIRE conference travel grant (Feb. 1)

• Attend German Studies undergraduate conference (March/April)

• Submit seminar paper/thesis chapter to Berkeley Prize for Undergraduate Essays in German Studies (March)

• Defend thesis (early April)

Post-Graduation

• Submit seminar paper/thesis chapter for publication with andererseits: Yearbook of Transatlantic German Studies (July)

Deadline for application in spring semester of junior year

Students writing an honors thesis are encouraged to present their work as a poster presentation at the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in April each year.

The Bill and Carol Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry Humanities Honors Fellowship
The Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, with the Emory College Honors Program, will offer up to four undergraduate fellowships to support work on completing honors theses projects for one semester.

Past Recipient: Abigail Weisberger (’14) [See blog entry]

Deadline for application in November of senior year

Undergraduate Research Travel Grant 
The Office of Undergraduate Research provides support for undergraduates who are presenting their research at professional conferences in their field. Applications for up to $500 in funds to cover travel costs. Three different funding cycles (fall, spring, summer) available.

SIRE Research Partner Program
Through the SIRE program students can serve as research assistants to German Studies faculty. Such faculty-student partnerships offer students the opportunity to be involved in research before they undertake their own independent research, and provide faculty with valuable research support for their own research. Rising first-, second- and third-year students should contact German Studies faculty to arrange a partnership and apply to the program by the July 1 deadline. Research partners typically work 5-15 hours each week and also attend a mandatory one-hour workshop each week on research practices. Student researchers receive academic credit or, if they qualify for work study, an hourly wage for their work.

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is a ten-week summer program for conducting independent research under the direction of a faculty member.

The Berkeley Prize for Undergraduate Essays in German Studies
The winning essays carry a cash award of $500 each and will be considered for publication in the department’s electronic journal TRANSIT. The paper has to have been written in the 16 months prior to the essay deadline. [Paper can be written in German or English.]

Deadline for submission in March

David R. Blumenthal Award (Emory Jewish Studies)
Recognizes students who write excellent papers that link Jewish Studies to broader human concerns. All Emory University students are eligible to submit an entry, and papers may be in any discipline or for any class taken from the previous three semesters. Awards will be given for the best graduate student project(s) and for the best undergraduate project(s). [Paper must be written in English.]

Deadline for submission in March

andererseits: Yearbook of Transatlantic German Studies
A journal that focuses on all facets of German Studies, including, but not limited to, scholarly articles, projects, creative endeavors, undergraduate work, and reviews.

Deadline for submission in July

Verges: Germanic & Slavic Studies in Review
A peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by the graduate students in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Victoria. Recognizing the benefits of both interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary contributions made by students outside Germanic and Slavic studies, we extend our call to all students including upper-level undergraduate students. [Paper must be written in English.]

Deadline: rolling submissions throughout year

The Kennesaw Tower Online Undergraduate Foreign Language Research Journal
Mission is to publish quality, scholarly work of advanced undergraduate students in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Submissions are read in a double-blind format. Access to current issue and archived issues is free of charge. [Paper must be written in German.]

Deadline for submission in February

Annual German Undergraduate Research Conference
Illinois Wesleyan University
The purpose of this conference is to provide an outlet for students from any field of research engaging with any area of German Studies to present their research to their peers and to receive feedback in an academic setting. This conference is open to all advanced-level undergraduate students. Presenting at this conference will provide students with valuable communication experience that will be relevant to any field of post-graduation work or study being considered. There are two possible presentation formats at GURC: participation in a poster session or a 15-minute oral paper presentation. The language of this conference is German; the abstract should be submitted in German and papers and posters will be presented in German.

Past Attendee: Abigail Weisberger (’14)
Conference in April
Deadline for application in February

Annual Undergraduate Research Conference in German Studies
Moravian College
Lafayette College
This conference will give students the opportunity to present their research in all German-related fields, including but not limited to the study of German literature, film and culture, art history, music, philosophy, history and politics. Format: we consider proposals for research papers and posters. Papers and posters can be presented in either German or English.

Conference in April
Deadline for application in December

Northwest Undergraduate Conference on Literature
University of Portland
NUCL gives undergraduate and advanced high school students an opportunity to present their own scholarly papers or creative works in organized panels of their peers. Students are able to share and discuss their knowledge through these presentations, and are encouraged to participate in the discussion of fellow NUCL papers. Aside from presenting their papers, and listening to papers written by their peers, students are invited to attend NUCL’s keynote speakers, who are noted academics and writers in the field of literature.

Conference in March
Deadline for application in January

Uriel Weinreich Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture
Offers peerless instruction in the Yiddish language and an in-depth exploration of the literature and culture of Ashkenazi Jews. Core program offers intensive, 4-credit language courses at four levels: Elementary, Intermediate I and II, or Advanced. Classes meet Monday through Friday, with Sunday excursions and special events. Students will develop proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and cultural literacy.

Program is June-August
Deadline for application in March

Steiner Summer Yiddish Program
The Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA
A seven-week intensive course in Yiddish language & culture for college students. Free tuition; housing subsidized.

Program in June/July
Deadline for application in February

Undergraduate Conference on Slavic and East/Central European Studies
University Of California
This conference gives students the opportunity to integrate their language skills with research on some aspect of Slavic or East/Central European studies and to present their work in a collegially critical and at the same time friendly and supportive environment. Presenting a conference paper is an ideal way to strengthen graduate school applications or add an academic component to your résumé. In addition, those interested have the opportunity to submit their papers for peer-reviewed publication in the on-line UCLA Journal of Slavic and East/Central European Studies.

Conference in April
Deadline for application in March

The Yiddish Book Center’s Fellowship Program
Yiddish Book Center Fellows spend a year as full-time staff learning valuable professional skills and contributing to the Center’s major projects. Applicants should be recent college graduates with strong backgrounds in Jewish studies or related disciplines, a working knowledge of Yiddish, a commitment to Yiddish language and culture, and a demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Each Fellow receives a stipend of $28,000 plus health insurance.

Deadline for application in January

• Office of Undergraduate Research
• Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry
• Halle Institute
• Elizabeth Long Atwood Undergraduate Research Award