The German Summer School of the Atlantic, now in its 30th year, offers the unique opportunity to learn German in a pleasant total-immersion atmosphere, minutes away from Rhode Island's beautiful beaches and scenic Newport.  The school is located at the University of Rhode Island in picturesque Kingston where students and faculty live, learn, and socialize together in modern, comfortable surroundings. German is the sole language of communication, and German life and culture the heart of the entire program. The program runs each summer from the last week in June through the first week of August.

The Deutsche Sommerschule am Atlantik welcomes participants of all adult ages, from the upper high school years to senior citizens:

• Undergraduate students preparing to study or work in a German-speaking country
• Graduate students preparing for language proficiency exams or research abroad
• Teachers of German who want to strengthen their skills, study methods of teaching German and earn credits for professional development
• Business professionals preparing for the global market place
• Anyone eager to learn German in an immersion program

Participants may attend for three or six weeks and can enroll in fully accredited courses and workshops in German language and culture at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.  Participants may take up to nine University of Rhode Island credits at the undergraduate level.

All participants are asked to sign a pledge at the beginning of the program, stating that they will speak only German in all public areas of the house and in the classroom.  Every summer, we, the staff members of the Sommerschule, create a miniature German-speaking world on the campus of the University of Rhode Island. Our job is to offer you, the learner, a wide variety of activities and resources, providing you continuously the opportunity to practice what you have learned in the classroom.

The most important resources available to you are the human resources. Since instructors, assistants and participants live together, learners have easy access to staff members and get instant feedback on any questions they might have.  It is the availability of the instructors outside the classroom that sets this immersion program apart from traditional classroom-only instruction.

The German Summer School of the Atlantic offers a wide variety of resources, including current German magazines, such as STERN, Focus and Wirtschaftswoche, a reference library, a comfortable living room and live German television via satellite.  The classroom building across the street from the summer school house features the modern Language Learning Resource Center and a state-of-the art screening room.  The extra-curricular program includes video-based evening sessions, German feature films, lectures, cultural presentations. On the lighter side, sing-alongs, volleyball, picnics and excursions to the beaches and to scenic Newport are also part of the program.

The German Summer School of the Atlantic (Die Deutsche Sommerschule am Atlantik - DSSA) provides intensive German language instruction at all proficiency levels.  Designed with students, teachers, and professionals in mind, the German Summer School offers fully accredited courses in German language, culture and literature in a German-only environment with extensive extracurricular programs.  We can accommodate special courses for engineering and business students, faculty and professionals through a collaboration with the International Engineering Program at the University of Rhode Island.  The German Summer School is located near Rhode Island's beach resorts, Newport, and historic Providence.

 Providence.