Halle Foundation Awards Donation for Graduate Study and Career Education in German Studies at Georgia Tech

Posted April 22, 2019

The Halle Foundation has made a generous donation to the School of Modern Languages German Program to support graduate programs, study abroad, and career education, including several full scholarships for master’s students.

The Halle Foundation strives to promote understanding, knowledge, and friendship between the people of Germany and the United States. “The Foundation’s unprecedented generosity has supported hundreds of students to learn German, study and intern abroad, and launch global careers in engineering, international relations, business, and sustainability,” said Dr. Britta Kallin, Director of the German Program and Associate Professor of German.

The Claus Halle Graduate Assistantships in German Studies will fully fund two students to pursue a Master of Science in Global Media and Cultures in 2019-2020, with a focus in German. The School of Modern Languages is excited to announce that Kestra James and William Thomas will receive the assistantship.

Kestra James is from Raleigh, NC. She will graduate from East Carolina University this May with a Bachelor’s degree in English and German studies. After a service-learning trip to Munich in 2016, Kestra became interested in the German refugee crisis and is now interested in working on migration, its depiction through media, and minority groups in Germany.

Will Thomas was born and raised in the Atlanta area. After graduating from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in International Affairs and German, Will plans on joining a summer research team at the Technical University of Munich and will then take part in the Congressional Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals before returning to Georgia Tech for the Global Media and Cultures Master's Program in 2020.

The Master of Science in Global Media and Cultures is a one year Master’s degree that offers humanities education for the 21st century. The curriculum provides advanced training in necessary skills such as communication and cultural leadership and prepares students for careers in international business, non-profit, media, social justice, and education. The program not only teaches language skills, but also shows how media, language, and culture shape human society and impact innovation. Students are able to pursue a personalized program of study that prepares them for their specific career goals.

“The Foundation’s support has enabled Georgia Tech to produce what has now become one of the leading German programs nationwide, as well as a premier source of qualified employees for German companies in Georgia and throughout the United States, and internationally,” said Dr. Anna Stenport, Chair of Modern Languages.

Starting in Fall 2020, the German Program will also offer an M.S. and 5-year B.S./M.S. in Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, which will also be eligible for this award.

The Foundation also generously pledged support of the School’s new interdisciplinary career education initiative, Global Career Intensive, for the next three years. Global Career Intensive: Jumpstart your future with German is an interdisciplinary program that showcases how language study can complement and further careers in STEM, business, and a variety of fields. The pilot program in August 2018 featured guest speakers from leading German companies in the Atlanta area, including a site visit to the German firm Grenzebach’s North American headquarters, as well as resume and interview workshops conducted in German.

In addition to three interdisciplinary majors, two master’s degrees, and one of the oldest study abroad programs at the Institute, the Georgia Tech German Program hosts a chapter of the National German Honor Society Delta Phi Alpha and a number of annual events that connect students to German companies and organizations throughout Georgia and the Southeastern United States.