Reception of Goethe Institut Certificates by Universities?

[cadences]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just have a quick question I wanted to throw out: can anyone share what their experience of how Goethe Institut qualifications have been received by their university/seminary? I'm asking because I am aware that cetain Goethe branches offer German for Scholarly Reading courses, which are cheaper than their university equivalents, and I was wondering whether most religion departments/seminaries would accept a Goethe German reading certificate as proof of reading proficiency.

 

Thanks!

[sacklunch]

I doubt it. Most departments require that you either take their own exam or pass their school's reading course. These things vary so much though you should just contact the department of interest. 

[marXian]

sacklunch is right. It's usually up to the department to decide what counts as proficiency. Some departments will accept some number of terms of coursework in a language. Some have their own exam and some make you take another university's exam.

 

But any language prep you do can be helpful later on for demonstrating as strongly as possible that you're proficient in the language for the purposes of grant applications--assuming you would want to try and win a grant during your PhD to go study in Germany for a year. To get a Fulbright or a DAAD research grant to go to Germany, you have to demonstrate that you know the language well enough (speaking and reading) to pull off what you're proposing to do. I've heard that just passing your reading proficiency exam is sometimes seen as a little thin. If you have coursework or other credentials to back that up, you have a better chance of winning a year long research grant. 

[cadences]

Ok, noted. Thanks (to both of you) for the advice!