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Degree programmes of the department

Our fields of study Indology, Celtic Studies, Classical Philology and Historical Indo-EuropeanLinguistics offer the following degree programs:

Teaching degree at grammar schools

Greek (first state examination and extension examination)

The study of the subject Greek in the teaching degree course for grammar schools is oriented towards the practical requirements of teaching Latin at grammar schools. The practical linguistic, academic and didactic foundations required for the teaching profession at grammar schools are taught and initial experience of teaching practice in schools is gained under academic guidance. University education in the subject of Greek is a basic science for European self-understanding; the subject matter is texts from Greek antiquity and late antiquity, which have shaped European intellectual history in a special way. The knowledge and skills acquired should enable students to carry out academic work and exercise the teaching profession responsibly.
Latin (first state examination and extension examination)

The study of the subject Latin in the teaching degree program for grammar schools is oriented towards the practical requirements of teaching Latin at grammar schools.
The practical linguistic, academic and didactic foundations required for the teaching profession at grammar schools are taught and initial experience of teaching practice in schools is gained under academic guidance.
University education in the subject of Latin is a basic science for the European self-image; the subject matter is texts from Roman-Latin antiquity and late antiquity as well as from the Latinity of the Middle Ages and modern times, which have shaped European intellectual history in a special way.
The knowledge and skills acquired should enable students to carry out academic work and practice the teaching profession responsibly.

B.A. and M.A. degree programs

The fields of Indology, Celtic Studies, Classical Philology and Indo-European Linguistics offer the following B.A. and M.A. degree programs:

Celtic Studies (major and minor subject in a combined bachelor's degree)

Since the winter semester 2022/23, it has been possible to study Celtic Studies as a major or minor subject as part of the Marburg Combination Bachelor's degree. These two sub-degree programs deal with the medieval languages and literatures of Wales and Ireland. Students learn the Old Irish and Middle Cymric languages, which were important cultural languages in the Middle Ages. Courses on the medieval literatures of Ireland and Wales, the history of Celtic-speaking peoples, archaeology and modern Celtic reception round off the program.

The major subject sub-course provides for more intensive linguistic training and the acquisition of both languages, while one of the two languages can be chosen in the minor subject sub-course.
Greek and Latin as part of the combined Bachelor's degree program

Since the winter semester 2022/23, you can study Greek or Latin language and culture as part of a combined Bachelor's degree course in which our subjects can be chosen as major or minor subjects. This combined degree course over six or eight semesters offers you the greatest flexibility in terms of subject choice. You can find out more about the individual subjects on the course pages:

Study program page of the sub-degree program Ancient Greek Language and Literature as a major subject and as a minor subject

Study program page of the sub-degree program Latin Studies (major subject)

Study program page of the sub-degree program Latin Language and Culture (minor subject)
Historical and Comparative Linguistics (major and minor subject in a combined bachelor's degree)

Since the winter semester 2022/23, it has been possible to study Historical-Comparative Linguistics as a major or minor subject as part of the Marburg Combination Bachelor's degree. In these two sub-degree courses, the focus is on the oldest language stages of the Indo-European language family and their textual evidence. In addition to ancient languages such as Sanskrit, Hittite or Latin, students can also expect to study the phenomena of language change and development and the reconstruction of the unattested common “basic language”, Proto-Indo-European.

The major sub-degree course provides for more intensive linguistic training and the acquisition of several Indo-European languages (compulsory: Sanskrit, Latin, Hittite), which form the basis for dealing with language comparison and reconstruction. Various options are available for specialization, e.g. in the Marburg specialization “Anatolian Languages”.

In the minor sub-discipline, a basic linguistic education is provided and students choose only one Indo-European basic language (Old Indic, Latin, Hittite, Ancient Greek), on the basis of which the methods of language comparison and reconstruction are learned. In the profile area, for example, a further Indo-European language can be chosen.
Hittitology (minor subject in a combined bachelor's degree)

Since the winter semester 2023/24, it has been possible to study Hittitology as a minor subject as part of the Marburg Combination Bachelor's degree. This minor focuses on the study of the Hittite language, literature and culture.

Hittite is a language that was spoken and written down in what is now Turkey in the 2nd millennium BC. On the one hand, it is related to European languages (e.g. German, French, Greek, Latin) and Indo-Iranian (e.g. Hindi, Sanskrit, Farsi); on the other hand, it was written using the ancient oriental cuneiform script. The textual evidence and its study are also characterized by this combination of different traditions. Students study the language, the written heritage and the culture of one of the most important ancient states.

A basic linguistic education is provided in the minor study program. Students then choose in the profile area whether they want to focus primarily on the development of Hittite culture and learn the associated methods or alternatively whether they want to study the history of the language and the texts and gain an insight into the methods of language comparison.

Especially for students of historical-comparative linguistics, ancient oriental studies, ancient history and archaeological sciences, the minor subject Hittitology offers a very good supplement to the main subject.

However, Hittitology is also suitable as a minor subject for other subjects in the combined Bachelor's degree that deal with ancient topics.
Indology (major and minor subject in a combined bachelor's degree)

In the major subject “Indology”, you will deal with the Indian cultural region, which extends beyond the geographical area of the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), on an academic level. A characteristic feature of Indology is the approach of using the original languages of the sources. The combination of Sanskrit and Hindi has proven successful. Sanskrit as the most important ancient language, of particular significance for religious history and pre-colonial studies; Hindi as a supra-regional language, highly relevant both as a source language and as an academic language. In Marburg, there is also the option of combining Sanskrit with Tibetan or Classical Newar, the last of which we are the only university in Europe to offer.
In Indology, the philological approach means that you always work with primary texts. A very good feeling for language is therefore indispensable. However, you will also study Buddhism and its spread to Central, East and South-East Asia as well as the cultural relationships between India and Europe.

In the minor subject “Indology”, you will deal with the Indian cultural region, which extends beyond the geographical area of the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), on an academic level. A characteristic feature of Indology is the approach of using the original languages of the sources. In the minor subject, you will learn Sanskrit in particular as the most important ancient language, and you can either deepen your knowledge of this language, combine it with another language (for example Hindi, Tibetan or Classical Newar, the last of which we are the only university in Europe to offer) or acquire knowledge of the cultural history. In Indology, the philological approach means that you always work with primary texts. A very good feeling for language is therefore indispensable.
M.A. Celtic Studies

The subject of Celtic Studies is the languages and literatures of the island Celtic peoples (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Cymric (Welsh), Breton and Cornish) as well as mainland Celtic, which has only survived in fragments.

In addition to working with (original) texts from different periods and text types, the course focuses on philological as well as literary-theoretical and literary-historical questions of text indexing. In order to deepen the knowledge of cultural and literary backgrounds, the cultural and intellectual history of the peoples concerned is also included in the study.

The Marburg Master's degree course in Celtic Studies focuses on the linguistic and literary history of two medieval Celtic languages, Irish and Cymric, whose rich text corpora, in addition to their linguistic-historical significance, also represent a significant contribution to European cultural development in the Middle Ages.

Further information can be found on the course page.
M.A. Classical Philology

The Klassische Philologie / Classical philology master's program imparts well-founded competencies, as regards content and methodology, in the field of classical literature and the fortification of the associated necessary linguistic skills. The totality of this knowledge is intended to qualify you to work independently in the field of Classical Philology, to independently integrate into philological problems, to critically and systematically analyze them and to develop new fields of research.

Detailed information on the subject content and the structure of the course can be found on the course page.
M.A. Indo-European Linguistics

The subject of the study of historical-comparative linguistics is the Indo-European language family. The aim of this discipline is to determine the relationship that exists between the languages belonging to this language family and to gain insights into the differentiation processes that have led to the languages spoken today. Historical-comparative linguistics focuses on the earliest tangible stages of the individual languages and attempts to record their linguistic evidence as precisely as possible, to describe the sound systems and grammatical structures in detail, to collect the vocabulary and to determine the meanings of the words. Words and grammatical forms are also examined for their etymology.

Detailed information on the subject content of Historical Comparative Linguistics and the structure of the course can be found on the course page.
M.A. Indology

Indology“ is the academic study of the languages and cultures of the Indian subcontinent (”South Asia").

The Master's degree course in “Indology” builds on the general knowledge of the content and research fields of the participating philologies acquired in the interdisciplinary Bachelor's degree course in Historical Linguistics, Textual and Cultural Studies as well as the specific specialist knowledge from the chosen Indological focus. It serves the in-depth study of original Indian literature and the history of ideas of India's diverse philosophical and religious currents. The course is always based on the available source material, which is made accessible and researched using the methods of historical-critical philology.

The aim of the course is to acquire an academically qualified degree that enables students to independently apply and develop academic methods and findings in the field of Indology and to transfer them to problems in other areas, as well as providing access to doctoral studies.

In the course of the program, students acquire knowledge of the textual content and methods of philological and cultural studies processing of primary sources in Indian languages.

Further information can be found on the degree program page.