Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

The KU is open to students of all faiths and offers more than 50 subjects from the fields of the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies, mathematics and business administration. With approx. 5000 students, 120 professors and more than 200 research associates and many lecturers, the KU offers a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

With 1.097 students in the winter semester 2023/24, the Faculty of Languages and Literatures is the largest school at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. All departments at the Faculty of Languages and Literatures have in common that they train their students to become mediators: whether as teachers, journalists, public relations specialists, or cultural mediators in the broader sense.

The Chair of German as a Foreign Language (DaF) and Didactics of German as a Second Language (DaZ) (Prof. Dr. Tanja Rinker) primarily trains student teachers for primary, secondary and intermediate schools as well as for grammar schools with the aim of preparing them for the linguistically heterogeneous educational landscape they will eventually navigate

Around 160 students are currently studying German as a second language, equipping them with a multidimensional understanding of German in the context of multilingualism and migration.

The KU maintains strategic partnerships and cooperations with almost 300 partner universities in over 60 countries worldwide. In keeping with the international character of their university, students at the Chair of German as a Foreign Language (DaZ) can gain experience in the planning and implementation of international and interdisciplinary language promotion projects. In line with the KU’s mission statement, a wide range of cooperation projects promote voluntary work and build bridges to people, both locally and worldwide:

In Germany, locally:

Cooperation with the Deutsch-Treff in Eichstätt: language support for refugees from Ukraine.

In Africa, with students:

Planning and implementation of a German language support program for pupils of the German Protestant Secondary School (DEO) in Cairo (4th + 5th grade), including one week of on-site presence in Cairo and an accompanying seminar (Cairo Project (EGY)).

In North America, with students:

Teaching cooperation with Penn State University: KU students cooperate with American German students, following their acquisition steps, beginning with the winter semester 23/24.

Since a year, the Chair is also connected to Penn State University through a research cooperation.