Students spend their first year at the University of Bonn and their second at the University of St Andrews, devoting an equal amount of time to German and comparative literature and becoming intimately acquainted with two academic cultures, two countries and two languages. After four semesters, they then obtain two degrees: a Master of Arts from the University of Bonn and a Master of Letters from the University of St Andrews. The DAAD awards up to six scholarships a year as part of the program.
“The joint degree program enables our students to do much more than simply spend time abroad,” says Dr. Katharina Fuchs-Bodde, Director of the International Office at the University of Bonn. “Over two years, they become part of an international academic community and develop a keen comparative eye for different research and academic cultures. The continued funding from the DAAD reaffirms the quality of the program and its long-term nature.”
A key pillar for a close partnership
The joint master’s degree program was one of the starting points for closer links between Bonn and St Andrews. The two institutions, both of whom boast a venerable tradition, became sister universities as long ago as 1911 and have cooperated as strategic partners since 2018.
Their partnership in the field of German and comparative literature has produced a raft of other joint projects such as supervising doctoral students on a joint doctoral program and appointing Professor Christian Moser and Professor Seán Allan as the first-ever joint research professors at both universities. Together with researchers from Osnabrück University and the University of Birmingham, the pair are now leading a research project funded by the German Research Foundation and the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK on the epistolary and journalistic networks of Heinrich von Kleist.
“The master’s degree program is a perfect example of how dedicated cooperation in teaching can produce a partnership that’s expanding all the time,” says Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice Rector for International Affairs at the University of Bonn. “Nowadays, Bonn and St Andrews are linked by a tight-knit network that encompasses teaching, learning, research and administration. Securing continued funding from the DAAD will strengthen a program that has done much to bring this about.”
Working together on all levels
Students in numerous subjects can now spend time studying at the respective partner university thanks to the Global Exchange Program in Bonn and the UK government’s Turing Scheme at St Andrews, while several faculties are involved in jointly training doctoral students. The two universities are funding new research and teaching projects, including via Collaborative Research Grants and the Education Seed Fund. And, in the Joint Academic Appointments Scheme, they have created a model for joint professorships that is the only one of its kind in Germany. Finally, the partnership is rounded out by exchange programs for technical and administrative staff.
Thus many years of staying in contact has given rise to a broad-based strategic partnership that connects members of both universities at virtually every level.
More information on the degree program: