Undergraduate program

WHY MAJOR IN SLAVIC?

David Marcovitz '06

Medical Service Assistant, Christ House Recovery Shelter

The pediatrician's eyes lit up.  "Russian literature…that happens to be an interest of mine. The last student I interviewed was studying biology, researching viral infections in yellow squash. As it turns out, we didn't have a whole lot to talk about. But the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky…that's something else altogether..." We talked for over an hour, and by the end, my med school interviewer was writing down the names of various Russian authors and announcing his plans to head for the bookstore…

When I began taking introductory Russian as a freshman, a major in Slavic was barely on the radar for me. It never occurred to me that a small department might offer the best preparation for a wide variety of potential careers.   But after two fully-funded trips to St. Petersburg and a feeling that many of the Slavic professors cared a great deal about my work and ideas, joining such a small department struck me as a risk worth taking.   The payoff has been enormous….

My plan is to start medical school in the fall of 2008, though I'm not sure what type of physician I want to be. I do know I will take with me a special knowledge of Russian literature, from Pushkin's mastery of language to Bulgakov's intellectual honesty in the face of government oppression. But most important of all, I owe my ability it to write clearly, read critically, and engage others – skills I expect to rely upon daily as a medical student and physician – in no small part to my experience as a Slavic major at Princeton.  Read more

Will Russ ’99
Attorney, Vinson & Elkins

... Even before I graduated, I discovered that employers valued my degree. Let’s be clear: a Princeton student could concentrate in mud, and interesting (and lucrative) doors would probably still open up before her. But even among employers who receive numerous Princeton résumés, Slavic languages and literatures stands out. Indeed, my first employer—a technology consulting firm—wrote in its offer letter that my choice of concentration was the reason why they wanted to hire me. They had computer scientists and engineers; what they needed was people who could think beyond the numbers and communicate their ideas effectively. I believe my concentration was also instrumental in helping me gain admission to Harvard Law School. The ability to read critically, adapt to the language of the law, and engage effectively with difficult and complex issues are all crucial tools in law school, and the Slavic department was where I honed them to a fine point. Moreover, as a beginning lawyer, I know that the analytical skills, attention to detail, and discipline I learned in the Slavic department are at least as valuable as the more specialized legal skills I acquired in law school.   Read more

Vanessa Lemonides '97
Actor
 

I came to Princeton with a talent for foreign languages and a passion for acting. I found my home in the Slavic department after observing fellow cast members backstage preparing frantically for their Russian oral exams. They told me how difficult it was but how great (and quirky) the professors were.

... As an artist, I flourished in the Slavic department, which felt more like a supportive family than a department (majors were outnumbered 2:1 by faculty). I wrote plays and short stories in Russian, gave concerts of Russian music with Professor Caryl Emerson and our motley Russkii Xor, and performed scenes from one of Gogol's plays in a Russian drama class. I also spent a summer studying and living with a Russian family in St. Petersburg, one of the most culturally rich cities in Russia. … Gaining fluency in the language allowed me to slip into another skin, to think and behave in a new way, to become someone else. The actress felt right at home.  Read more

HOW TO MAJOR IN SLAVIC

The department gives its own placement test to all incoming students who have studied Russian. On the basis of this test and background, the students are placed in an appropriate course. Successful completion of 107 or immediate assignment to a higher course satisfies the A.B. foreign language requirement.

A minimum of eight departmental courses is required. Four upper-level (200 and above) courses must be within the department; the other four courses may be from cognate areas depending on the student's particular interests. For example, if the major field of concentration is 19th-century prose, the program might include courses from French or German literature. If the student’s primary interests lie in the study of language, the program might include courses from theoretical and cognitive linguistics and from other cognate areas (psychology, computer science, history). Students with a strong interest in Russian and Soviet studies might take area courses in the Program in Russian Studies such as Russian history or politics, sociology, or economics. These are only sample suggestions. The program is flexible and strives to satisfy as wide a range of interests as possible.

Concentrators are required to complete RUS 207 and one additional language course (RUS 208, 405, 406, 407, or 408). Concentrators are urged to take three of the four literature survey courses (RUS 219, 220, 221, 222) in preparation for the departmental examination.

Departmental concentrators who are considering pursuing graduate studies in Slavic are reminded that most graduate schools require a reading knowledge of a second modern foreign language. French and German are important for Russian literature, and German is valuable for Slavic linguistics. Graduate programs in Russian literature often require another Slavic language, and programs in Slavic linguistics often require two. Students should think about preparing themselves while still undergraduates to meet these requirements.