In addition to the International German Language School, the faculties and institutes of Johannes Gutenberg University offer many subject-related summer schools – from Statistics to Theology and from Music to Geology – there is something for everyone. We will shortly be publishing an English-language overview of the programs offered by our faculties for the year 2026.
Attending one of our summer schools can have a significant impact on an academic career. Dogara Ishaya Manomi came to Mainz in 2016 to take part in a summer school offered by a faculty at Johannes Gutenberg University. Today, he is a doctoral candidate at JGU:
“The Summer School “German (and) Theology” at the University of Mainz has played a significant and fundamental role in my academic development. I like to refer to my summer school experience as my “introduction” or “baptism” to German language, science and culture, because it not only introduced me to German academic language and thought patterns, and to working with primary sources, but also to German culture as a whole. This and the materials I was able to access here for my doctoral program have broadened my academic horizons for the rest of my academic career. I still use the learning materials from the Summer School today. I am also very grateful for the useful contacts and networks we made at the Summer School with other young scientists from different parts of the world.”
Dogara Ishaya Manomi, October 2019
Summer Schools 2026
| Title | Date | Description | Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn School Interpreting Chinese | 09/17 – 09/23 2026 | This course is an introduction to interpreting in the language pair German-Chinese. Participants will learn different interpreting modes and apply them in practical sessions. The teachers of this course will come from Germersheim and our partner university in Shanghai. | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| Intensive Course in Interpreting | 07/20 – 07/24 2026 | The course is aimed at students of interpretation, translation, or German studies who have some prior experience in translation or interpreting. We will cover professional aspects of interpreting and introduce different interpreting modes and techniques in practical sessions. | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| Translation & AI | 07/13 – 07/17 2026 | AI is present in all areas of life and this naturally also applies to translation. In this course, you will gain an insight into the basics that will enable you to interact effectively with AI: Technical basics, introduction to current AI tools, introduction to programming (Python). | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| TISS Lab Summer School: Artificial Intelligence, Simulation and Society | 06/13 – 07/17 2026 | The Summer School explores the triad of “AI, Simulation, Society” for two highly relevant and highly sensitive Innovation Areas: (1) AI use in assessing potential beneficiaries for public social services, and (2) AI use to mitigate climate crisis risks in natural disaster response. In both areas, the course deals with sociological aspects of AI futures and our ability to shape, test, and prototype potential techno-futures by sociological methods such as serious games in participatory social research and social simulation. The course is open to exchange students from all disciplines. TISSS Lab Summer School as also part of the “FORTHEM-Collective short-term mobility” program. | Faculty 02: Social Sciences, Media and Sports – Sociology |
| International Summer School German (and) Theology 2026 | 06/29 – 07/17 2026 | It is the aim of the summer school that all participants will be able to read and understand important German theological source texts upon completion of their courses even if they have not had the chance to study German in depth before. International doctoral and postgraduate students will thus become familiar with the thought processes and dynamics of German theology which may prove to be immensely fruitful for anybody striving to pursue a career in theology or related fields. In addition, there will be several excursions to places significant to German ecclesiastical history in and near Mainz. | Faculty 01: Protestant Theology |
| 2026 GO Home | 06/15 – 06/28 2026 + 3 preparatory virtual meetings (22 April, 6 May, 20 May 2026) | Join the “2026 GO Heimat” Summer School in Mainz and Ahrweiler, an interdisciplinary program for students from all subject areas exploring the intersection of migration, climate change, and the concept of home (Heimat). Through lectures, group projects, and cultural exchange with international students from Scotland, Ireland, and Latvia, participants will gain new insights and collaborate on global challenges. | Faculty 05: Department of English and Linguistics – JGU Mainz Scotland HUB |
| CLMCE Summer School: Communities, Fandoms and Materiality | 08/02 – 08/06 2026 | This summer school brings together scholars and publishing professionals to explore children’s and young adult literature from literary, cultural, and media studies perspectives. Through keynotes, panels, and workshops, participants engage with topics such as picturebooks, materiality, fandoms, social media, and publishing practices. The program is complemented by networking events, city tours, and visits to cultural and media institutions, fostering exchange between academia and the book and media industries. | Faculty 05: Academy of Sciences and Literature |
| Forster Summer School explores global water resources | 07/02 – 07/10 1 preparatory virtual meeting 15, June 2026 | This summer school will disentangle climate change-induced alterations to the water cycle and assess their impacts on freshwater availability, a resource essential for both human societies and ecosystems. Embedded in the framework of the UN Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, the summer school adopts an interdisciplinary teaching approach combining lectures, discussions, and scientific excursions. | Faculty 09: Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Geography and Geosciences |
| Date | Summer School | Faculties |
| 06/30 – 07/18 | International Summer School German (and) Theology Postgraduate students and young international scholars are invited to attend this three week summer school as an opportunity for theologians (even with hitherto little knowledge of German) to immerse into language, thought, and the intellectual world of German theology. | Faculty 01: Catholic and Protestant Theology |
| 04/07 – 04/11 | TISSS Lab Spring School “Artificial Intelligence, Simulation and Society” The Spring School explores the triad of “AI, Simulation, Society” for two highly relevant and highly sensitive Innovation Areas: (1) AI use in assessing potential beneficiaries for public social services, and (2) AI use to mitigate climate crisis risks in natural disaster response. In both areas, the course deals with sociological aspects of AI futures and our ability to shape, test, and prototype potential techno-futures by sociological methods such as serious games in participatory social research and social simulation. See full description here. This course is open to exchange students (of all subjects). To register, please contact the Sociology Office (studienbuero.soziologie@uni-mainz.de). Up to 30 students will be accepted. | Faculty 02: Social Sciences, Media and Sports |
| end of July-mid August 2025 (exact dates will be made available by Jan. 2025) | American Studies Summer School: The American South The American Studies Summer School provides students with courses in literature and cultural studies. Starting in Little Rock, Arkansas and ending in Washington DC, participants study the Civil Rights Movement, the history of food and music in the US South, and Southern Literature. The program is tailored to students of American Studies or English, however, remaining spots will be given to applicants from other faculties, as well. The application process for the program will start in December 2024. Contact: Julia Velten (juvelten@uni-mainz.de) | Faculty 05: Department of English and Linguistics – American Studies, Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies |
| 07/21 – 07/25 | Competence Center for Translation and Communication (CCTC) Barrierefreie Kommunikation (Accessible Communication) In this course, we will examine various aspects of accessible communication (including audio-visual and intralingual translation) on a theoretical and practical level. We will delve into various strategies and methodologies, such as subtitling, audio description, and the use of easy/simple language. The course aims at students from linguistics and translation studies with a level of at least B2 in German. | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| 07/28 – 08/01 | Competence Center for Translation and Communication (CCTC) Dolmetschen Intensiv (intensive course interpreting) This course aims at international students from linguistics and translation studies with a level of at least B2 in German who would like to learn more about interpreting. We will cover professional aspects of interpreting and introduce different interpreting modes as well as stress management and note taking in practical sessions. | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| 07/28 – 08/01 | Competence Center for Translation and Communication (CCTC) Analyzing History Textbooks: Texts, Images, Translation In this course, we will get to know different approaches to the analysis of history textbooks, from critical discourse studies to eye-tracking experiments. Looking at history textbooks from different countries, we will discuss how to analyze both the texts and the images included in them. We will also discuss the aims and challenges of translating history textbooks between languages, and of using textbooks in multilingual teaching environments. | Faculty 06: Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies |
| 04/02 – 04/10 | HUMAN DIFFERENTIATION: UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL MAKING OF HUMAN CATEGORIES This year’s spring school pays specific attention to the processes of differentiation and categorization and traces them along different axes, such as dis/ability, gender, sexuality, race, religion, age, class or human/non-human (such as animals or machines). By taking the temporal variability of processes of differentiation into account, we ask: how is difference textured, diluted, and performed? The spring school thus ties into a variety of contexts and relates to different fields, such as spatial planning, the formation of institutions, verbal and non-verbal communication, technology, diverse forms of representation, and other cultural practices. | SFB 1482: Human Differentiation |
