German (MScR)

A Masters by Research (MScR) programme is ideal if you would like to complete a short piece of independent research in German Studies. The programme is a good stepping stone to a PhD, but is equally of value as a stand-alone qualification.

As a Masters by Research student, you will be part of a wider masters community while specialising in what most interests you right from the beginning of the programme. This is how it is different to a taught Masters (MSc).

German was one of the first European languages to be offered at the University of Edinburgh. Since 1894, our subject area has grown into one of the University’s largest in Modern Languages and a significant centre for research.

We support a broad range of cultural and literary research themes, from the medieval period to the present.

Research excellence

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), our research in German was submitted in Modern Languages and Linguistics (Panel D - Arts and Humanities; Unit of Assessment 26).

The results reaffirm Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities - third in the UK.

As published in Times Higher Education's REF power ratings, this result is based on the quality and breadth of our research in the unit of assessment.

Join our interdisciplinary community and undertake a project comprising research assignments and a 15,000-word dissertation under the guidance of an experienced and well-published supervisor.

Our research expertise includes:

* Bertolt Brecht

* censorship studies

* contemporary German literature

* cultural and political studies and literary theory

* Film Studies

* Gender Studies

* identity studies

* LGBTQI+ representation

* literature and culture of the Weimar Republic and the National Socialist era

* transnational (incl. migration) writing in German

* post-Holocaust literature

* post-war West and East German literary and cultural studies

* Theatre and Performance Studies

* Translation Studies

* travel writing

* Turkish-German literature

* working-class representation on film and television

Go beyond the books

Beyond the Books is a podcast from the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures (LLC) that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at research and the people who make it happen.

Listen to a mix of PhD, early career and established researchers talk about their journey to and through academia and about their current and recent research.

Guests include Peter Davies (Series 2 - Episode 7), Professor of Modern German Studies, talking about his Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship on the role of translators and interpreters in a holocaust trial.