Russian Language and Culture Certificate Program

About the Program

The certificate program in Russian Language and Culture offers two options:  the first weighted toward language study, and the second weighted toward literary study. Click here for pdf form.

Interested students should contact Jessica Heslin [email protected] as early as possible in their junior year.

Course Work

For the language track, students must complete RUS 207 and take at least two of the language courses listed below and at least one Russian literature course conducted in Russian. For the literature track, students must complete RUS 207 and take at least one of the language courses listed below and at least two literature courses conducted in Russian.

Courses must be taken for letter-grade credit to qualify.

Language Courses 

  • RUS 208
  • RUS 405
  • RUS 406
  • RUS 407
  • RUS 408

Literature Courses

  • SLA 308 (Short Story)
  • SLA 312 (Russian Drama)
  • SLA 413 (Pushkin and his Time)
  • most topics courses (e.g. Russian poetry)
  • most graduate literature courses

Independent Work

Students must complete a paper in Russian of approximately 1,000 words. The paper will ordinarily be devoted to a close analysis of a literary text of about 10-20 pages. However, a student with strong related interests could write on questions of linguistics or a topic of broader cultural significance (e.g., Russian art, Russian film). In any case, readings in Russian will be a mandatory component of the paper. 

All topics must be cleared in advance with the Departmental Representative, who will decide on their appropriateness in consultation with other department members. For best consideration, certificate paper drafts should be submitted to Ksana Blank ([email protected]) or another faculty member by April 15th to make corrections.

The due date for Certificate Papers in 2023 is May 9th.

Note 

Students may obtain the certificate in Russian Language and Culture in addition to the certificate in Russian and Eurasian Studies. However, they may not apply the same courses toward both certificates (with the necessary exception of RUS 207).