Graduate Student Opportunities

PhD Netzwerk

The Harvard German Department is a founding member of the PhD-Net “Das Wissen der Literatur“ established at Humboldt University Berlin. The network offers graduate students the possibility to study for one or two semesters at one of the partner institutions and regularly brings together faculty and students from the participating institutions for workshops on the relationship between knowledge, literature, and media.

BTWH Network

The Berkeley-Tübingen-Harvard (BTWH) working group is an international cooperation of graduate students focusing on the emergence of modernity. The network communicates through regular meetings of the individual groups and an annual international conference on a topic chosen in cooperation.

Bi-Annual Interdepartmental Conference with the German Departments of Brown, Harvard, NYU, and Yale

Each year, faculty members and graduate students from the German departments at Brown, Harvard, NYU, and Yale universities come together for an interdepartmental conference. Topics to date have included “Inheriting,” “Citation," and “Form and Person.”

GLL Colloquium 

The GLL Colloquium, also known as the Sherry Hour, is a monthly meeting of graduate students and faculty to discuss a short literary text chosen by graduate students. Its focus lies on contemporary literature and the joy of discovering new literature together.

GSAS Germanic Forum

The mission of the GSAS Germanic Forum (GGF) is to provide opportunities for participants to present their work in a supportive environment and to engage in scholarly exchange with a diverse community of academics. The GGF is run by graduate students and hosts three public lectures per academic year on a topic related to German Studies.

GLL Schreibwerkstatt

The GLL Schreibwerkstatt is the department’s writers’ colloquium. It offers graduate students a forum for the presentation and discussion of dissertation chapters, journal articles, and other work in progress.

Professional Development Workshops

The department conducts regular professional development workshops designed to help graduate students prepare to apply for positions, polish their interviewing skills, practice giving a talk in connection with a job application, publish articles, and produce other materials needed for the academic job search.

Fellowships and Writing Support

Graduate students in the department are eligible to apply for competitive GSAS fellowships that support research, travel, language study, dissertation writing, and other necessities of their academic career at Harvard. The Fellowships & Writing Center provides tailored services to students who are preparing fellowships proposals, who need support with their papers and dissertations, or who are looking to improve their oral communication skills