Master of Arts in American Studies

The two-year American Studies Master Program in Mainz is closely linked to the internationally renowned research done by the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies and is designed to emphasize research-oriented perspectives on American literature, culture, history, and their theories.

Classes are taught exclusively in English.

Visiting professors from North America regularly offer classes in our program.

We welcome applications from students with a B.A. in American Studies or related subjects from German as well as international universities. In recent years, the program has attracted students from all over the world, including the United States.

• Start: April (summer term) & October (winter term)
• Price: 319,15€ per semester for student services and public transport (as of 2019)
• Application Deadline: November 15 for the summer term & May 15 for the winter term
• Entry Requirements: B.A. degree

Why should I choose the Obama Institute and the city of Mainz?

• American Studies in Mainz has a long-running, prestigious tradition, dating back to the 1950s.
• The U.S.A. library, together with our general university library and the English Department library, offers students one of the biggest library resources on the topic of American Studies in the country.
• The American Studies program at Johannes Gutenberg-University (JGU), Mainz has been certified by the German Science Council as one of the premier research and learning platforms for this field in Germany.
• With over 20 active direct-exchange agreements, the Obama Institute offers its students a choice of study-abroad opportunities that is unmatched in size and scope. Together with our various summer school programs, our students benefit from a vibrant network of partner universities and scholars from around the world, including the United States and China.
• These partnerships and the Obama Fellowships enable us to host a wide variety of guest lectures, workshops, and excursions, featuring internationally renowned experts.
• The city of Mainz offers the energetic buzz and cultural diversity of a state capital combined with the hospitality and warmth of Germany’s largest wine region.
• Johannes Gutenberg University’s vibrant student culture can be felt on campus as well as in all parts of the city.
• The close proximity to Frankfurt and its international airport allows for easy connections to Europe and the world.

We are looking forward to working with you at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies!

About Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

With around 31,500 students from over 120 nations, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is one of the largest and most diverse universities in Germany. JGU unites almost all academic disciplines under one roof with its University Medical Center, the Mainz Academy of Fine Arts, the Mainz School of Music, and the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies in Germersheim. In over 150 institutes and clinics, 4,400 academics, 560 of whom are professors, teach and carry out research. With 75 fields of study and more than 260-degree courses, JGU offers an extraordinarily broad range of courses.

As the only German university of its size, nearly all of the institutions of JGU are located on one single campus near the city center, which is also home to four partner institutes involved in top-level non-university research: the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (MPI-C), the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P), the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM) and the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB). The campus of the University Medical Center is only about a kilometer away and both Mainz Leibniz Association institutions – the Institute of European History (IEG) and the Roman-Germanic Central Museum (RGZM) – are located slightly further away in the inner city. In addition to this, many local businesses also carry out research, making Mainz a uniquely dynamic research hub.

World-Wide Recognition as a Research-Driven University

JGU enjoys global eminence as a research-driven university. Its main core research areas are particle and hadron physics, the materials sciences and translational medicine, while its most outstanding research achievements in the humanities have been attained in fields of American studies and historical cultural studies. Successes in the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments have confirmed JGU's academic status. In 2012, the research network Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter (PRISMA) was recognized as a cluster of excellence and the financing of the Materials Science in Mainz (MAINZ) Graduate School of Excellence was extended. Moreover, excellent placings in national and international rankings, as well as numerous other honors and awards, demonstrate just how successful Mainz-based researchers and academics are.

Another attribute of JGU is its research-oriented teaching – which incorporates research-based topics in the curricula early on. A similar emphasis is placed on promoting and mentoring young research talents. JGU also considers the exchange of knowledge with society as one of its key duties. As an open university, JGU offers the populace a unique portfolio of information dissemination concepts that extend far beyond the scope of standard popular academic formats. Through its system of university governance, JGU makes sure that its members participate in the strategic planning and that outstanding academics get involved.

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz was originally founded in 1477 and today still strives to emulate the innovational spirit of its namesake. The promotion and introduction of new ideas, the use of knowledge to improve people’s lives and encourage them to overcome the many boundaries they encounter daily – these are the underlying ambitions of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.