Program Requirements

Major in Russian | Major in Russian and Eastern European Studies | Minor in Russian

Major in Russian Language and Literature
The Russian Language and Literature major is oriented exclusively toward the undergraduate student. Special attention is paid to speaking, reading and composition in contemporary Russian, as well as to modern and historical approaches to literature. The department provides its majors with a firm grounding in Russian to prepare them for graduate study or other professional pursuits.

The major requires ten courses as follows:

1. Russian 21 and 22.
2. Three advanced (100-level) courses conducted in Russian. At least one of these must be in Russian literature (Russian 131, 132, or a substitute approved by the Russian program.) At least one must be a language course (e.g., 121 or 122). An advanced course in some special topic (e.g., Russian 123, 125, 191, 192) may be substituted for Russian 121 or 122 with program approval. Students coming back from a semester in Russia are required to take one 100-level course conducted in Russian. (Students going abroad in the spring of senior year must take one 100-level course in Russian before leaving.)
3. Four courses in Russian literature (must include Russian 60 and either 61 or 62).
4. One additional course in Russian culture (literature, art, music, film, history, political science, or religion).
5. Students who place out of Russian 21, 22, 121 and/or 122 on the basis of the Russian language placement examination administered by the department still need to take ten courses to complete the major.

Minor Forms, once completed, must be signed by either the Program Director, Vida Johnson, or the Language Coordinator, Christopher Lemelin, and then returned, along with a copy of your transcript, to the Main Office, Olin 326.

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Major in Russian and Eastern European Studies
The Russian and East European Studies major offers the student training in the history, politics, literature, and arts of Russia and the nations of Eastern Europe, as well as a grounding in contemporary oral and written Russian. (Training in some other Slavic languages is available as independent study.) The major is designed for students who intend to pursue careers in which familiarity with Russia and the East European area is an attractive or necessary asset, or for students planning to enter graduate school in law, business, or diplomacy with a specialization in Russian and East European affairs. The area concentration also prepares students for graduate work in Russian and East European studies.

Normally, members of the Russian faculty in the Department of German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literatures can be advisers for students majoring in Russian and East European studies. It should be emphasized, however, that a course of study tailored to the individual student's educational and career plans should be arranged in close cooperation with the appropriate members of all departments participating in the major.

The major requires ten courses as follows:

1. Four core language courses: Russian 21, 22, 121, 122. For Russian 121 and 122 the student may substitute Russian 123, 125, 131, and 132 or any advanced course related to the area in which all readings are in Russian. Students coming back from a semester in Russia will be required to take one 100-level course conducted in Russian. (Students going abroad in spring of senior year must take a 100-level course in Russian before leaving.)
2. Six courses with a primary focus in the Russian and East European area chosen from the following three categories: 1) history 2) political science, and 3) literature and the arts . At least one course in each of the three categories and at least three courses from a single category must be taken. One of the courses must be a special topics course, seminar or an advanced directed study.
3. Students who place out of Russian 21, 22, 121 and/or 122 on the basis of the Russian language placement examination administered by the department still need to take ten courses to complete the major.
   Please let me know if you have any questions.

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Minor in Russian
The Minor in Russian requires six courses as follows:

1. Four courses above the intermediate level (Russian 3-4), which must include two courses in Russian at the 100 level.
2. Two literature or culture courses in the Russian area.

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