American Students at German Universities
Throughout the nineteenth century, a large number of American students who aspired to an academic career enrolled at German universities for part of their university training. Before World War I, about 9,000 to 10,000 Americans had traveled to Germany to pursue academic training.
The influx of American students began slowly: In 1835—1836, only a handful of American students was enrolled at German institutions of higher learning. Their numbers grew to more than 170 in 1880 and to about 400 each year during the 1890s. After the turn of the century, the number of American students decreased again, and in 1910 only 200 American students were found on the enrollment lists of German universities. World War I virtually ended the American student migration to Germany.American students were the largest contingent of foreign students in Germany before 1914. Between 5 and 10 percent of all foreign students in Germany came from the United States. Germany attracted more students from the United States than from neighboring France. Among these students were George Bancroft, George Ticknor, and Nicholas M. Butler, who later became renowned scholars and eminent public figures in their home country. A significant number of nineteenthcentury American university professors had received parts of their academic training at a German university.
Two world wars, the state intrusion into academia during the Nazi period, and the success of American universities throughout the twentieth century contributed to the diminishing attraction of German universities for American students. In 2002, only 3,100 American students chose to enroll in a German university, a tiny fraction of the overall number of students in both countries.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, small-town universities like those of Gottingen and Halle an der Saale attracted most of the American students; the universities of Leipzig and Berlin became the favored institutions in the second half of the century.
However, not only the choice of alma mater but also the motivation for American students to study in Germany underwent changes. The most important reason why Americans choose to cross the Atlantic was undoubtedly the excellent reputation of German universities. In addition, eminent scholars such as Gustav Schmoller, Theodor Mommsen, and Wilhelm Wundt attracted students who wanted to work with them. Furthermore, the highly esteemed training at a German university was a guarantee of a university career in the United States.However, there were also a couple of much simpler reasons: American universities did not offer the PhD until the 1870s. Therefore, many students went to Germany because they knew that they could acquire this prestigious title in a brief period of time and with a rather small amount of work. Further, living expenses for Americans in German cities were lower than in the United States. In addition, for many American students, studying at a German university was simply part of the traditional Grand Tour, which included travel all over Europe. Sitting in German lecture courses was thus part of the experience of European culture and was not taken as seriously as one would have expected. In other cases, a period of study in Germany was for the purpose of learning German, which was important for future scholars since Germans were leaders in many academic disciplines.
Depending on their motivation, American students returned home with different experiences of German academia. Some spent just one or two semesters in Germany and acquired only a fairly superficial impression of German scholarship, whereas others stayed for years and took their studies very seriously. However, especially those who came to Germany during the 1880s and 1890s rarely had contact with their German professors and fellow students because the overall number of students was increasing tremendously, turning them into a more or less anonymous mass. In cities such as Gottingen and Leipzig, American students formed enclaves, thereby avoiding contact with their fellow German students.
They lived together in the same student residences, frequented their own gathering places, and spent their free time with each other. This helped toestablish tight networks among the future academic elite of the United States, but it hindered the development of relationships with German academics.
Gabriele Lingelbach
See also Bancroft, George; German Students at American Universities; Gottingen, University of; Ticknor, George; U.S.- German Intellectual Exchange
References and Further Reading
Diehl, Karl. Americans and German Scholarship, 1770—1870. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978.
Drewek, Peter. “‘Die ungastliche deutsche Universitat”: Auslandische Studenten an deutschen Hochschulen 1890-1930.” Jahrbuch fur Historische Bildungsforschung 5 (1999): 197-224.
Jarausch, Konrad H. “American Students in Germany, 1815-1914. The Structure of German and U.S. Matriculants at Gottingen University.” German Influences on Education in the United States to 1917. Ed. Henry Geitz. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995, 195-211.