Academia

Within a liberal arts setting, the importance of German is indisputable. German-speakers occupy a prominent place on any list of the world's greatest artists and thinkers, while almost every academic discipline has a strong German tradition, in many cases one that largely defines the field. In fact, the modern university itself, with its combination of teaching and research, is a German invention. Dartmouth's library holdings reflect this tradition: after English, more of them are in German than in any other language. Germany justifiably presents itself as "The Land of Ideas."

German contributions to the sciences are the easiest to document. In The Discoveries (Pantheon, 2005), Alan Lightman's list of the 22 greatest scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century includes eight that were made exclusively by Germans, while two more had Austrian or German collaborators.

Nobel Prize awards give another kind of indication. Scientists from the three major German-speaking countries have won 37 Nobel Prizes in Physics (most recently in 2007), 39 in Chemistry (in 2014), 31 in Medicine (2013), and one in Economics. Many Nobel laureates from other countries received their training at German universities; 47 of them had fellowships from the Humboldt Foundation, including the three winners of the 2011 prize for medicine. Seven German and Austrian individuals have also received the Peace Prize — and while the 2012 Prize went to the EU as a whole, few people would dispute that Germany has played a disproportionately large role in the success of that institution.

Germany, Switzerland, and Austria are all famous for the quality of their universities, and Germany enrolls the third-highest number of international students in the world, including over 10,000 Americans, all taking advantage of the free tuition. In the 2012 QS Ranking of "The Best Student Cities in the World," German-speaking cities dominate the category of "Quality of Living" for students, with the first five places going to Vienna, Zurich, Munich, Sidney, and Berlin.

The accompanying commentary states that "Berlin can stake a credible claim to being one of the coolest cities in the world. During the past decade its cultural scene has flourished, turning it into a major centre of design, fashion, music and art to rival New York and London. More so than those cities however, Berlin is still easily affordable on a student budget, while also being enough of a global financial centre to appeal to those whose outlook is of a more corporate nature. Comfortably the most affordable city in the top ten…"