More than 100 million people speak German as a first language, and it is the official language of six countries. More than one thousand companies based in German-speaking countries have subsidiaries in the U.S. In all of these firms there is a need for employees with an understanding of German language and culture. German majors work in government, politics, international relations and business, tourism, journalism, publishing, education, and many other areas. Germany is the third largest contributor worldwide to scientific research and development. German majors can read the works of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Kafka in the original. The University of Oregon Department of German and Scandinavian ranks among the top colleges and universities in the number of students majoring in German. Students can take part in exciting study-abroad programs to German-speaking countries, teach German for a few weeks at a local elementary school as part of the department’s teaching internship program, or live in a German-speaking section of the Global Scholars Residence Hall.