Acquiring a double diploma will increase the chances of Germanic studies students of the Faculty of Arts of the University of South Bohemia for a good professional career.
The Faculty of Arts of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and the University of Passau are currently finalizing the preparation of a joint Bachelor's double degree programme in German Studies. The so-called double degree studies are a higher form of contractual cooperation between partner universities. After completing the prescribed course structure at both partner universities, students will receive a diploma from both universities and a significant competitive advantage in the labour market.
The joint programme will link two partly identical and partly complementary study programmes, namely the Sprach- und Textwissensschaften in Passau and the German Language and Literature programme at the Institute of Czech-German Area Studies and German Studies in České Budějovice. Both of these programmes have the same basic part of the study of German studies consisting of linguistics, literary science and cultural studies. However, by combining them, both existing types of studies will gain additional ‘added value’. Czech students will be offered media science (the nature of media communication, the goals and practices of mass media, etc.) or textual and cultural semiotics (understanding and interpretation of texts, the nature of culture, aspects of national cultures, etc.), while German students will improve their ‘area competence’ at the USB Faculty of Arts. They will be able to study, e.g. contrastive linguistics, area linguistics, intercultural communication, cultural and literary history oriented towards Czech-German relations, issues of cross-border cooperation between the two regions, translation and interpretation seminars, etc.
At the same time, the students of the double degree studies in German Studies at the partner university will get acquainted with a different concept of higher education, different forms of its presentation and control as well as different types of professional disciplines. This way, the graduates will broaden their professional perspectives not only with improved linguistic and cultural competencies but above all with professional knowledge and skills that are particularly relevant to the Bavarian-South Bohemian area. They will thus create the prerequisites for working in organisations, institutions and companies in this international environment. Double degree programmes are an essential added value of university studies in the European area and an important attribute of the quality of domestic degree programmes.
At the USB Faculty of Arts, students of German studies will apply for a double degree in the first year of their studies already, i.e. students who start their studies in German studies in the next academic year 2022/2023 can already consider the possibility of obtaining two diplomas. Students from České Budějovice will study at the University of Passau in the second year of their bachelor's degree, while students from Passau will study at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice in the third year. Their stay at a foreign university will be financed in cooperation with ERASMUS+ and DAAD, and the Czech-Bavarian Higher Education Agency (BTHA) has promised to support them in obtaining internship places.
The priority of double degree studies is to remove cultural and linguistic barriers in cross-border education and to improve the professional and practical competencies of graduates. The joint degree programme will present the latest professional knowledge and apply proven teaching methods. ‘We perceive the cooperation with the University of Passau and the upcoming start of the verification phase of the double degree studies with one of our students as very important not only due to our geographical location,’ explains Prof. Alena Jaklová, PhDr., CSc., principal investigator of the project and Director of the Institute of Czech-German Area Studies and German Studies. "Graduates of this study programme will have a recognised university qualification both in the Czech Republic and in Germany. The coordination of qualification requirements and the acquisition of a double diploma will consequently increase the graduates' chances of good professional employment, both in the regional labour market and in the entire border area," added Prof. Alena Jaklová, PhDr.
