<p>If German is what really interests you, go for it I dont think it you should conclude that its not worth it just because you havent yet identified a strong department. If you read the article to which Pointoforder linked, I dont think that should lead to a conclusion that its not worth it, either. </p>
<p>At many universities, German has relatively small number of majors. This is generally true even at the most highly ranked universities. A similar situation applies for certain other, less popular languages, such as Russian. In fact, due to budgetary reasons and the small number of majors in certain languages, many colleges and universities consolidated these departments. Hence, you often see a combined German & Russian Department. The other trend that is particularly prevalent among German departments is to shift away from a traditional focus only on German language and literature studies. Many departments now emphasize interdisciplinary German cultural studies, including intellectual history, film, philosophy, art history, music, etc., in which German-speaking regions made major contributions. </p>
<p>If you are interested in IR, your more in-depth study of German will be advantageous compared to the minimal language requirements specified for many IR programs (often, just 2 years). That being said, you should look at ways to enhance the value of a major in German. You can double-major In German and IR, or another field, you can major in IR with a German minor, etc. Some universities also offer area studies programs focused on contemporary Europe, either as a sub-concentration within an IR major, or as an interdisciplinary major by itself. If you have any interest in teaching German at the high school level, getting a dual major in another language might give you an edge since you could teach 2 languages. (For example, currently there is some demand for high school Latin teachers.) A German major also could be enhanced by taking some business courses in core business fields (accounting, marketing. etc., and international business.) If you have or develop an interest in pursuing graduate study, there are lonely very limited job prospects in German (and all humanities disciplines for that matter) at the university level. As for IR, it is a very popular major these days, but most majors will not get related jobs in the foreign service or international organizations (particularly, without good language skills). Those types of jobs are very competitive, and work experience, language skills, and a graduate professional degree in IR count for much more valuable. In fact, other than requiring you to take coursework in related areas (e.g., international economics), I dont see much advantage of an IR degree over a sub-concentration in IR within a political science dept. </p>
<p>So, to find a school with a good German dept., look at size of the program (# of majors, # of graduate students, # of professors, # of courses). Size wont be an absolute indicator of quality, but it makes it gives you some idea of the strength of a department at a particular school. The previous posters suggestions of Wisconsin or Ohio State are good in this regard. (A state school in a state with a prominent German ethnic heritage, such as Wisconsin, is more likely to have a strong German dept. and definitely better protected against cutbacks than schools in some other states.) Indiana University is another possibility. Even though this means you might end up at one of the larger universities, you still may have good opportunities to interact with your professors since a German dept. still would be smaller relative to other depts., Size also gives you some indication that a department is not on the chopping block for cutbacks or elimination. Look for a dept. that is just a German dept. and not one that is combined with other languages *e.g., German & Russian, or Modern Languages). Look at the faculty—did they get their doctorates a top-ranked universities? Look at the social activities for majors----does the dept. have an active German club. Are there opportunities to live in a Deutsch Haus or language-themed dorm? Often, you can find this information on a departments website. Look at the opportunities to study abroad. Look at course offerings in cognate fields—are there a sufficient number of courses in German history, politics, etc. Does the school have coursework or majors you want in IR or in IR in the political science dept. Is there a business school where you can access courses in international business (just in case thats an area where you want to put your language skills to work). Does the dept. faculty have some people who specialization in applied linguistics/second language acquisition?----possibly important if theyve incorporated the best language teaching methods into their language courses. Are there native speakers on the dept. faculty or people who got their degrees at German universities? What German courses are offered—does it include coursework in film, cultural studies, etc.? Are these cultural courses taught in German or in translation? Does the dept. have resources such as a German film collection, a reading room with subscriptions to periodicals in German, etc. Does the dept. require or encourage its students to take exams such as those offered by the Goethe Institute or other German cultural organizations? If you think you might be interested in teaching, does the German dept. or a linguistics dept. offer coursework in second language pedagogy? Ditto for translation and interpretation. While these suggestions dont necessarily point o particular schools, it gives you a starting point. Finally, email the departments that interest you and obtain more information. Ask them about these considerations I mentioned above—theyll be only too happy to make the case for their dept.</p>