The Institute of Romance Philology at Freie Universität is one of the most renowned Romance studies institutes in Germany. It is strongly involved in the outstanding activities that have earned Freie Universität its status as a university of excellence in research and teaching. According to current rankings (e.g., the Times Higher Education ranking and the QS World University ranking), Freie Universität is one of the top international universities, and Romance Studies at the FU regularly occupies top positions in subject-specific nationwide rankings (see the current CHE university ranking).

Infrastructure

The on-site infrastructure is characterized by the atmosphere of a spacious campus laid out according to Anglo-Saxon models. The institute is located in the bright, spacious main building of the university, both parts of which are known as 'Rostlaube' and 'Silberlaube'. It is easily accessible by subway (U3 Dahlem Dorf and Thielplatz), S-Bahn (S1 Lichterfelde West) and bus. The architectural jewel of the building complex is the Philological Library ("The Berlin Brain") designed by Sir Norman Foster, which is excellently equipped with approx. 150,000 volumes on Romance Studies alone, with approx. 600,000 volumes of other subject disciplines, as well as with a wide range of electronic media, and allows for very pleasant working and studying.

History of the Institute

The Romance Philology Institute is grounded on a solid background and long tradition, as can be seen in the History of the Institute, History of the Study Offers and Professors' Timeline (only in German).

Dahlem Campus

The institute is located in the spacious main building of the university on the Dahlem campus, whose three parts are known as 'Rostlaube', 'Silberlaube' and 'Holzlaube'. The campus is easily accessible by subway (U3 "Dahlem Dorf" or "Freie Universität"), S-Bahn (S1 Lichterfelde West) and bus. The architectural gem of the building complex is the Philological Library ("The Berlin Brain") designed by Sir Norman Foster, which is excellently equipped with about 150,000 volumes on Romance Studies alone, with about 600,000 volumes of other disciplines, and with a wide range of electronic media.

Teaching

The Freie Universität Romance Philology offers a very broad range of study options in teaching: The languages, literatures, and cultures of French, Italian, and Spanish can be studied here in a variety of cuts, and this 'classic' offering is expanded by courses and module packages not only for Portuguese and Brazilian, but also for Galician, Catalan, and Basque. Such diversity is exceptional in the spectrum of German universities. The study programs - including the regionally specialized BA programs "German-French Literary and Cultural Studies", "French Studies", "Italian Studies" - are internationally oriented. The local study programs are complemented by a very strong integration of exchange programs with a high number of partner universities in Romance-speaking countries: There are Erasmus programs with currently 27 international partners and special exchange programs with, among others, the École Normale Supérieure in Paris as well as with the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and with a number of renowned universities in Latin America. There are numerous support and orientation offers, especially for the study entry phase (mentoring program, student advisory service, detailed assistance for scientific work). Our courses benefit from the close networking with the Berlin cultural institutes of the Romance-speaking countries, from the cooperation with the Latin America Institute and, in the field of Italian, from the interdisciplinary interface of the Italian Center of the FU. The placement of our graduates is very good; after the BA, many of them move on to demanding Master's programs or work in publishing houses, cultural institutions, NGOs, galleries, museums, news agencies and journalism, as well as in the teaching profession. For the teaching profession (in German) as well as for the other professions, our programs have specific career-preparation module components (ABV and LBW, only in German).

Research

Freie Universität is known worldwide for its excellent commitment to research. This also applies to the Romance participation in a large number of research projects that are integrated into interdisciplinary and international contexts. A very large number of scholars working at the Institute come from Romance-speaking countries; in addition, there are a large number of international visiting scholars from all over the world. The Institute's courses are generally open to the development of the most current research trends, among other things within the framework of the Freie Universität's program for research-oriented teaching (in the Dahlem Center for Academic Teaching, in German). Courses and colloquia regularly include presentations by external, international speakers. Our students benefit greatly from this in terms of subject content. In addition, they have an above-average number of opportunities to actively participate in research at an early stage of their studies, for example by working as student assistants (in German).