Core modules
In your first year, you will follow a core German language programme at either Beginner or Advanced level, designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken German. You will also be able to focus on aspects of contemporary German culture and society, as well as German culture from the late eighteenth century to 1945. This foundational approach provides an excellent basis for studying further aspects of German history, culture and society in the later stages of your degree.
On the Economics side of your degree, you will take two core modules, ‘Economics 1’ and ‘Quantitative Techniques’, to introduce you to the core concepts and methods that will support you in your study of the subject.
In intermediate and final year, you will further develop your language skills, and your own interests beyond the language.
Our modules in German reflect the research specialisms of academics in German and cover a broad range of subjects in German culture, business, society, literature, film, history and philosophy. You can also opt to study some of our interdisciplinary cross-School modules.
In Economics, you will also be to balance core knowledge with the opportunity to explore your own interests, taking core and optional modules.
You can choose to spend your year abroad studying at a university in a German-speaking country or on a British Council Assistantship or a work placement.
Year One
Modern German Language 1
Over the year you will have four sessions in German language per week. These consist of (a) a weekly Translation class covering translation from and into German, and (b) a small language class working on Grammar. You will also have (c) one weekly Conversation and Comprehension class taught by our native-speaker LektorInnen and (d) one weekly Writing class which will introduce you to the German media, to different genres and writing styles and help you hone your own writing skills in German. In addition, you will be expected to work through exercises in the paper-based Hammer Grammar and its online version, which will be demonstrated at the first Translation Class in Week 2. You are also encouraged to explore other online and paper-based materials as directed by your tutors. In the spring term you will work in pairs on a German language topic (Media project) under the supervision of your Writing class tutor.
Read more about the Modern German Language 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
Modern German Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.
Read more about the Modern German Language for Beginners moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global Perspective
This module introduces landmarks in the history of modern Germany, which emerged as a nation out of a confederation of provinces and principalities in the 19th century. You will touch on the political turmoil, conflicts, and violence that at times made Imperial Germany, the Third Reich and the post-1945 Germanies pariah states in the eyes of the international community. You will also reflect on the developments that led to contemporary Germany's’emergence as a cultural, political and economic powerhouse, shaping global trends in film, literature, theatre and music. The module focuses on the media and representations through which many of us first encounter German-language culture: fairy-tales and their afterlives; performance, visual and screen culture; music and sound. In other words, students will sample the works and ideas that have put Germany and the German language on the world map.
We will engage with a number of key questions. How did German literature, film, art, and music transform the status of the German language? How did German-speaking artists shape the cultural genres that we consume today? How does engaging with these works give us a more differentiated understanding of the positive and negative aspects of Germany's’history and its global influence?
The module will help you develop skills that will be essential for the rest of your degree and your life after Warwick: critical reading; clear and concise argumentation; excellent written and oral communication skills; independent thinking and research.
Read more about Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global PerspectiveLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Economics 1
You'll develop an understanding of fundamental and intermediate concepts in micro- and macroeconomic analysis, equipping you with a range of appropriate analytical skills, including descriptive, graphical and mathematical methods. This will develop your ability to analyse economic trends, institutions and policies and the capacity to apply analytical techniques to real-world problems.
Read more about the Economics 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Quantitative Techniques
This module combines two modules: Mathematical Techniques and Statistical Techniques. You may study these topics at either an intermediate or advanced level, depending on your existing Maths qualifications.
You will cover topics ranging from algebra and calculus to distributions and hypothesis testing, which will provide you with key skills and knowledge that will then be applied in many other modules. In addition, you will be introduced to some advanced statistical software packages, which will help you learn about a range of techniques to analyse data and different ways in which you can present data.
Read more about these modules, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study):
Intermediate Year
Modern German Language 2
In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important language research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.
Read more about Modern German Language 2Link opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)
You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.
Read more about Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)Link opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Economics 2
In this module, you'll develop a deeper understanding of some of the key economic concepts introduced in your first year, but will also be introduced to new concepts in both micro- and macroeconomic analysis. These include material drawn from general equilibrium, welfare economics, game theory, risk and uncertainty within microeconomics and the three-equation macro model, open economy macroeconomics and the labour market within macroeconomics. It will introduce you to the analysis of public policy issues such as market failure, insurance, monetary unions and fiscal policy, and will give you a range of tools to analyse economic problems. Your analysis will be underpinned by a rigorous theoretical understanding acquired on the course.
Read more about the Economics 2 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Either:
Applied Econometrics
You'll learn important skills of both academic and vocational value, an essential part of the intellectual training of an economist and social scientist, and also useful for your future career. These skills include awareness of the empirical approach to economics and social science; reviewing and extending fundamental statistical concepts; methods of data collection and analysis; regression analysis, its extensions and applications; and use of statistical packages such as STATA. You will then be able to apply this knowledge to a research project of your own.
Read more about the Applied Econometrics moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
or
Econometrics 1
You'll be equipped with important skills of both academic and vocational value, being an essential part of the intellectual training of an economist and also useful for your future career. This includes an awareness of the empirical approach to economics; experience in analysis and use of empirical data; understanding the nature of uncertainty and methods of dealing with it; and using econometric software packages as tools of quantitative and statistical analysis. With the required necessary skills and knowledge to critically appraise work in applied economics, you'll have a good grasp of the dangers, pitfalls and problems encountered in applied modelling. You will then be able to apply this knowledge to a research project.
Read more about the Econometrics 1 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, including translation and thematic modules (30 credits)
Final Year
Modern German Language 3
In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style.
Read more about the Modern German Language 3 moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
Research in Applied Economics
You will have the opportunity to deepen and consolidate your knowledge by applying your understanding of economic theory to a research question that arouses your curiosity. You will use a combination of economic analysis and statistical and econometric techniques to formulate and pursue your research interest, supported by lectures on research methodology and supervision by a member of academic staff, who will support your research towards an independent project. The work will increase your confidence in formulating economic questions, and the scientific method of developing a suitable approach, conducting a literature review and data searches, identifying and testing hypotheses and using your findings to construct coherent, persuasive scholarly arguments, presented in both written and oral form.
Read more about the Research in Applied Economics moduleLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).
A selection of optional modules in Economics and German, including translation and thematic modules from across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
Optional modules
