Our Department is often able to make cash awards from its scholarship funds to support graduate study or research during the spring/summer, fall, or winter semesters. These awards are intended to reduce graduate students reliance on teaching, or other employment as they prepare to fulfill the requirements for the PhD degree (e.g. prelims, prospectus, dissertation, qualifying research paper, etc.). They are not intended to support travel to conferences, the writing of seminar papers or the writing of articles for publication. These awards do not entail waiver of tuition or other fees.

Each Winter term, graduate students are invited to apply for such funding to be used in the coming year. The application procedure requires:

• A 500-word proposal describing work that the student can reasonably expect to accomplish in the given period of time. Students should state clearly the goal for the award period, how the award will help him/her progress academically, and how the proposed work fits into the overall degree trajectory.
• An itemized estimate of expenses to be covered by the award.
• A brief outline of the student's progress to degree (no more than 250 words).
• A letter of support from your principal advisor.

Awardees must agree to (1) submit a brief report within 30 days after the end of the period of support, and (2) be enrolled or on detached study during the fall or winter term immediately following the award period. Fall and winter awardees must be enrolled or on detached study during the term of support. Spring/summer awardees need not be enrolled or on campus.

Students are encouraged to submit their application materials (including letters of support) electronically to Marga Schuhwerk-Hampel (mshampel@umich.edu). Electronic applications should be submitted as a single file, labeled as [student's name].doc (e.g. einstein.doc); letters of recommendation should be submitted under the same name. If you do not submit electronically, please submit six (6) hard copies of all materials to Marga Schuhwerk-Hampel. Selection will be made by the departmental Executive Committee.

The deadline for submission of proposals is the second Monday in March.

Our Department can nominate candidates who are in the final stages of writing their dissertations for a Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship. Go to External Funding for more information.

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These prizes were established through the bequest of $1,000 by Thomas Bertrand Bronson, class of 1881, in memory of Calvin Thomas, who served as first chair of the department of Germanic Languages and Literatures and was a great pioneer in the field of German Studies generally. Calvin Thomas was a member of the faculty at the University of Michigan from 1878 until 1896.

The Bronson-Thomas competition was first held in 1929, and has been held annually ever since.

Past Winners of the Bronson-Thomas Prize We know that this list is incomplete, and would appreciate help filling in the gaps!

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Marilyn Sibley Fries [1945-1995]

Marilyn Sibley Fries was an internationally-recognized scholar of postwar German literature and culture generally, and of Christa Wolf in particular. She was also a devoted and much-beloved teacher and mentor, especially to the many younger women who were drawn to her.

Undergraduate or graduate students wishing to study or pursue research in Berlin may apply to the Department for a Marilyn Sibley Fries Scholarship. Marilyn Fries lived and studied in Berlin for many years; she was fascinated by the city, and it became one of the foci of her scholarly work. Thus it is fitting to honor her memory in this way.

We are grateful to the many family members and friends whose donations have made this scholarship possible, above all to Marilyn's mother, Elizabeth Sibley Parry.

We are also grateful to Marilyn's husband, Brant, and her daughters Kyra and Lorin, for donating to the Department Marilyn's magnificent scholarly library. This collection, which has been named The Marilyn Fries Memorial Library in her honor, is housed in the Chair's Office in 3102 MLB. It is especially strong in the areas of Marilyn's scholarly expertise: postwar German literature, Women's Studies, literary theory (especially Feminism), and twentieth-century German history.

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Besides funding the annual prizes for the best undergraduate honors thesis, the Haller Endowment also funded a large number of summer interships in 2000 and 2001.

Past Winners of the Martin Haller Prize

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Valentine C. Hubbs [1925-1985]

The Department is pleased to be able to offer one or more scholarships for students participating in Michigan's Junior Year Abroad the the University of Freiburg. These scholarships are funded by an endowment created by his colleagues, family, alums and other friends in honor of Valentine C. Hubbs, who directed the Freiburg Program, and felt great affection for both the institution and the students who went abroad with him.

The University's memorial of Professor Hubbs is reproduced below. We invite colleagues, alums, and friends to contribute their recollections of him for this website.

Past Winners of Valentine C. Hubbs Memorial Scholarships

The University's Memorial to Valentine C. Hubbs

"On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1985, just two weeks before his sixtieth birthday, our esteemed colleague Charles Hubbs died in Ann Arbor after suffering a stroke. His colleagues and students in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures were stunned by the suddenness of his departure in the prime of life, carrying on to the last the multiple activities of a dedicated teacher, researcher and scholar, devoted husband, and avid sportsman.

Charles Hubbs graduated from Hofstra College in 1950 and completed his Ph.D. at New York University in 1959. In the same year he was appointed Instructor in our department, rising to the rank of Professor in 1971. He served as Chairman of the department from 1970 to 1976, as well as on numerous committees throughout the College. His name is perhaps most closely tied to the University's Junior Year in Freiburg with which he has been associated uninterruptedly since 1966, and many hundreds of our alumni remember his helpful advice and his warm, gentle humor.

As a scholar and teacher, Charles represented the important era of German Romanticism, and numerous articles and editions bear witness to his life-long interest in that literary period. Another area of research that fascinated him was the history of Hessian troops in America, culminating in his book Hessian Journals, published in 1981, recently translated into Japanese. As editor of the journal Michigan Germanic Studies, he was admired for this painstaking attention to style as well as the collegial way in which he took on additional burdens voluntarily, such as the co-chairmanship of the Martin Luther Quincentennial Conference in 1983, the proceedings of which have since been published. At the time of his death, he was working on a new volume on the German dramatist Heinrich von Kleist.

Charles Hubbs will be remembered as a gentle and devoted family man, a scholar of international standing, an efficient administrator, and popular teacher. He will be missed by his colleagues and his students."

Gerhard Dünnhaupt

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Max Kade House With the support of the Max Kade Foundation, the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures sponsors a residence where undergraduates and graduates have the opportunity to learn and practice German in an informal setting. Students at all levels of ability are welcome; beginners learn quickly by interacting with native speakers. Participating in the Program is an excellent way to prepare for study abroad or a summer internship, or to "reacclimate" after spending time in a German-speaking country.

The residence is the campus home to a group of students united by a common interest in the German language and the cultures of the German-speaking countries. A graduate student or an advanced undergraduate student serves as the German-speaking Head Resident and helps to create a German language- and culture-based living environment. The house has its own collection of useful reference books, a TV and VCR, an extensive collection of videos, a new upright piano, laundry facilities, a kitchenette, and large, comfortable spaces for social events, lectures, seminars, and other academic and non-academic gatherings. Just outside the back door is a large field for picnics, sports, and sunbathing.

Kade residents are also able to participate in the many activities available in the residence, such as our film series, Kaffeestunden, Sunday dinners, meetings of the German Club, and celebrations of Oktoberfest and Fasching.

Scholarship Thanks to the generosity of our alum George Valenta, $1000 scholarships are available for junior and senior German majors who live in the Kade Residence. The competition is publicized to all majors each Winter; for more information, please contact our Undergraduate Concentration Advisor, Kalli Federhofer at kallimz@umich.edu.

The Program also organizes and subsidizes trips to local cultural events such as concerts and theatrical productions. During the Winter Break, Kade residents have the opportunity to travel together with faculty guides for a week-long tour of Berlin, Munich, or Vienna. In many cases, the Program is able to offer these cultural experiences free of charge. A Fall mini-course featuring guest lectures by faculty helps prepare students for the trip abroad.

The Kade Program offers its students help in finding internships in German-speaking countries. One of the most effective ways for students to immerse themselves in another culture is for them to work there. We attempt to find jobs that match students' abilities, interests, and career choices, ranging from auto companies to biotech firms to law offices and an art auction house. Most internships are three-month, paid summer positions.

The Max Kade German Residence is located in Thieme House, which is part of the Baits Housing complex on the University's beautiful North Campus. Click here for more on Baits Housing, including a virtual tour. Meal contracts are available at nearby Bursley Hall, and Kade residents enjoy easy access to the School of Engineering, the School of Music, and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. University buses run regularly to Central Campus. Click here for information about basic transportation around campus.

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These prizes were endowed by the Department's great benefactor Hermann Kothe in honor of his former teacher Jonathan A. C. Hildner (BA U of M 1890, MA 1893), who was further remembered in the following obituary from The Michigan Alumnus:

"Beloved Jonathan A. C. Hildner, '90, A.M. '93, Professor of German, who was known as 'Dad' to his students, alumni, and other friends, died in Wyandotte, Mich., January 25. He has been living there since his retirement in 1938, and had suffered a broken hip a week before his death.

Besides teaching German, 'Dad' Hildner served as an advisor to foreign students on the Campus for more than twenty years. In the classroom he taught by means of song and other informal methods. Editor of many German texts, his best-known work was his edition of Goethe's Goetz von Berlichingen."

Past Winners of the Kothe-Hildner Prize We know that this list is incomplete, and would be grateful for help filling in gaps.

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Our beloved Program Assistant and internship coordinator, Mechthild Medzihradsky, passed away after a long illness on December 18, 2001. Mechthild had been a member of the Department continuously since 1982.

The Department has established a fund in her honor: the Mechthild Medzihradsky Scholarship Fund, which will be used to help support undergraduates doing summer internships in German-speaking countries.

Her obituary from the Ann Arbor News is below. We also invite anyone who knew Mechthild to contribute their recollections, which will be added to those below.

Mechthild Medzihradsky's Obituary from the Ann Arbor News

"Passed away at home on December 18, 2001, in the company of her son, Oliver, and friends. Studied at the University of Munich, where she received the Master of Arts degree in Sociology and met her future husband. Academic Secretary in the German Department at U-M since 1982, Mechthild was dearly loved by faculty, coworkers, and students, for whom she always had an open ear. Mechthild is survived by her two children, Sofia (Pacifica, California) and Oliver. Her husband Fedor, formerly Professor of Pharmacology and Professor of Biological Chemistry, passed away earlier this year. Contributions in memory of both Mechthild and Fedor may be sent, in their name(s), to the University at either: the Department of Pharmacology, U of M Medical School, 1150 W. Medical Center Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0632, or the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, 3110 Modern Languages Bldg., 812 E. Washington, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1275."

Recollections of Mechthild Medzihradsky by Friends and Colleagues

"Mechthild was an expert in the German language. In response to any question on the meaning of a word or its correct use, Mechthild would enthusiastically and expertly expound not only on its meaning, but also on the meaning of related words and phrases. She could explain how the word or phrase was used in different regions of the country, and what the social context might imply. This discourse was accompanied by a thoughtful exposition of cultural norms or regional dialects, punctuated with inflections of voice, raising of eyebrows, lowering the pitch or sotto voce, all combined with a sense of the importance of the question and a bit of hilarity at German linguistic customs. She was an asset to the Department in the best sense of the word, helpful, interested in every aspect of teaching, willing to take time to answer questions, coupled with a great sense of humor and self-deprecation. I treasure her memory and her tremendous spirit." Astrid Beck, February 2002

"Mechthild had been a member of the Department continuously since 1982. She was a grand lady, and she will be sorely missed. Everyone will have their own memories of her, but I will never forget her dignity, her immense willpower, her strong opinions, or her habit of shifting unpredictably from English to German and back to English – all in the same sentence. Above all, I will remember the professionalism and dedication she brought to our internship program, which she created single-handedly. She loved talking with the interns, and took a deep, personal interest in their success. We shall not see her like anytime soon." Frederick Amrine, Chair, Februrary 2002

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Arati Sharangpani was born in Baroda, India on March 3, 1975. Her name, which means "offering to God," befitted the happy baby girl who was a gift to those around her. When Arati was two years old, her family moved to Holland, Michigan, where she was raised. The middle sister of three, Arati was the most outgoing and was involved in many activities - from school band and tennis to local community theater. She spent her senior year of high school as an exchange student in Germany. The idealistic young woman who returned was awed and excited about how much larger her world had become, and she was full of ideas about how to "make it a better place."

Arati became a student at the University of Michigan in the Fall of 1993, where she pursued a double major in German and Organizational Studies. She also led a full and varied campus life beyond academics. She was a respected member of the Indian American Student Association, of which she was vice president in 1995 and 1996. In Mary Markley Hall, she served as an outstanding Resident Advisor for two years, as well as being a facilitator for the 21st Century Program. While being active at the University, Arati still found time to volunteer for local community organizations.

On January 9, 1997, Arati was offered a job in marketing with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. She perished in a plane crash returning from Ohio that same day. The "Arati Sharangpani Lounge" in Markley Hall was dedicated on March 15, 1998 in honor of her memory and her service to the University community.

Arati's star shone too briefly, but the light it cast will continue to burn in the hearts and minds of those who knew her. In dedicating this award to her memory, it is hoped that Arati's life will serve to inspire others who will never have known her to act now to make a difference.

Past Winners Of The Arati Sharangpani Memorial Award