Springe direkt zu Inhalt

Master's Program at the ZDS

In cooperation with various institutes of Peking University, in 2005 the ZDS founded the interdisciplinary joint master's degree program "German Culture and Social Change." It aims at equipping the students with expertise in their respective subjects and profound knowledge of the German culture and society. They attend seminars in their main subjects and additional lectures and language courses at the ZDS. Their mentors are ZDS members from their respective field of study.

During their studies, the students in the master's program spend one year in Berlin. There they enroll in courses at Freie Universität and Humboldt-Universität and prepare their dissertations with the support of German mentors from both universities.

The students are mainly recruited from institutes of Peking University taking part in the ZDS, however the master's degree program has been opened to graduates of Beijing Normal University (especially in the subject educational science) and University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), too.

For the successful conclusion of the master's program at least ca. 43 credit points have to be acquired. They are distributed as follows:

  • courses in the main subject: ca. 30 credits (according to the curriculum of the main subject)
  • interdisciplinary subjects at the ZDS: at least 8 credits
  • courses in Berlin: 4 credits plus credits in the main subject, according to the requirements of the curriculum
  • other courses of Peking University: at least 5 credits (in addition to the mandatory courses with 5 credits, the participation in further courses is possible)

The ZDS curriculum consists of five modules. The students choose courses which may not correspond with their respective main subjects.

Module 1: German History

  1. German History 1 (2 credits)
  2. German History 2 (2 credits)

Module 2: Interdisciplinary Courses I

  1. Germany and Europe (2 credits)
  2. Germany and China (2 credits)
  3. Germany and Globalization (2 credits)

Module 3: Interdisciplinary Courses II

  1. German Philosophy (2 credits)
  2. German Literature (2 credits)
  3. German Art (2 credits)

Module 4: Interdisciplinary Courses III

  1. German Politics and German Law (2 credits)
  2. German Economy and Society (2 credits)
  3. German Educational System (2 credits)

Module 5: Interdisciplinary courses IV

  1. Reformation (2 credits)
  2. Enlightenment (2 credits)
  3. The Welfare State (2 credits)

Students who don't have a degree in German language and literature are able to attend additional language courses:

  1. German
  2. German regional and cultural studies
  3. Writing in German
  4. Academic writing in German

Before being accepted for the Berlin year, the students have to pass Test DaF with at least 4x4 points. Especially students who have not graduated in German language and literature are supported with Test DaF training courses, usually in cooperation with students from the Berlin universities who spend a semester abroad as tutor at the ZDS.

Studies at the ZDS include are all other events organized by the Center, such as visiting lectures by German scholars. The attendance at these events is mandatory for all ZDS students.