AATG Awards

Outstanding German Educator Award

Recognizes excellence in teaching and outstanding contributions to the German teaching profession. Awards are presented to an elementary, middle school or junior high school educator, a high school educator, and a post-secondary educator. Details and Nomination Guidelines.
  Recipients

Friend of German Award

Recognizes exemplary leadership in the advocacy of German and German language education at the local, regional, or national level. Awards are presented to an individual or organization outside the German teaching profession, as well as to a German educator. Details and Nomination Guidelines.
  Recipients

Centers of Excellence

AATG’s German Centers of Excellence program identifies and honors excellence at all levels of instruction K-16. The designation is presented to a well-established and growing German program with strong support from the administration, colleagues, alumni, parents, and students. Interested in having your school recognized as a German Center of Excellence? Application Guidelines.
  K-12 Center of Excellence Recipients
  College and University Center of Excellence Recipients

German Embassy Teacher of Excellence Award

Recognizes up-and-coming teachers for excellence in teaching, creativity, outstanding dedication, and enthusiasm for the German language. Details and Nomination Guidelines.
   Recipients

FL-A-CH Award

This award honors excellence in the teaching of the language and cultures of Austria, the German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Südtirol in the US. German educators may be recognized for developing materials and activities for use in the classroom, research and scholarship, and/or leadership in projects that promote these cultures at home and abroad. Details and Nomination Guidelines.
  Recipients

AATG / Goethe-Institut Outstanding GAPP Coordinator Award

This award recognizes German educators who provide opportunities for their students to study abroad on short-term exchanges to Germany through the German American Partnership Program (GAPP). Details and Nomination Guidelines.   
  Recipients

Goethe-Institut / AATG Certificate of Merit

This award honors achievement in furthering German teaching in the US. German teachers may be recognized for outstanding teaching, creative and successful activities promoting German, innovative curriculum and successful course design, successful interdisciplinary cooperation, and/or significant contributions to the profession. Details and Nomination Guidelines.
   Recipients

Max Kade Prize for Best Article in The German Quarterly

Recognizes the author of the best scholarly article in German literature and culture studies. Recipients of this award are selected each year by the Editorial Board. The award receives generous support from the Max Kade Foundation.
  Recipients

Best Article in Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German

Recognizes the author of the best article on advances in scholarship in German language teaching and learning. The recipient of this award is selected each year by the Editorial Board of Die Unterrichtspraxis.
  Recipients

The German Quarterly Graduate Student Paper Award

Best research paper by a graduate student on any topic related to German Studies, to be published in The German Quarterly. The selection committee, which includes members of the Editorial Board, annually selects an essay to be published in The German Quarterly. Details and Submission Guidelines.
  Recipients

Past Awards

Checkpoint Charlie Foundation Teacher Award

The award, recognizing outstanding teachers of German who strengthen intercultural understanding, is presented annually to one K–12 and one college/university AATG member. Eligible recipients were not born or raised in a German-speaking country. This award was last given in 2021.
  Recipients

Intercultural Student Experiences (ISE) Language Matters Award

Recognizes a high school teacher of German for providing immersion experiences and motivating students to speak German outside the classroom. Supported by Intercultural Student Experiences. This award was last given in 2015.
  Recipients