University of Pittsburgh

UNDERGRADUATE
Bulletin

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

MAJOR AND MINOR DESCRIPTIONS BY DEPARTMENT

 

 

SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers majors in Russian and Slavic Studies. These majors provide students with the opportunity to study the languages, literatures, and cultures of Russia and of the Slavic-speaking Eastern European countries, including Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, and Croatia.

Students in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature include those whose primary interest is languages and/or literature, those who wish to enhance their career opportunities in a special way, those who have an interest in the politics and culture of Russia and the Slavic speaking Eastern European countries, and those who have a desire to explore their ethnic heritage. Many majors continue their studies in graduate or professional school and then go on to careers in business, government, teaching, law, medicine, social work, other health-related professions as well as the CIA, FBI and various NGOs and public policy institutions. Knowledge of a Slavic language has been valuable in working in local Western Pennsylvania institutions, politics, business, health-related professions, and the media because of the large population of those ethnicities in this region. Students are advised to begin language study early in order to gain as complete a command of the language as possible. For more information on the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and its programs, see www.slavic.pitt.edu.

During the fall and spring terms, the department offers language courses in Russian, Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian, with Serbian and Croatian available through the Language Acquisition Institute. Any student with prior experience in Russian or Ukrainian (including heritage speakers and those who studied a language in high school or abroad) are required to consult with the instructor before being admitted to any language courses in the department. Placement tests are offered to test suitability.

Summer term intensive courses in Russian, Polish, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian as well as Romanian and Hungarian are offered through the Slavic Department's Summer Language Institute [SLI]. Summer language courses are intensive and cover an entire year of study. First through fourth year level courses may be offered. These courses afford students the opportunity to make rapid progress through the language in order to qualify for advanced courses and for various study abroad opportunities. Summer study in the SLI now offers the opportunity to study for the first half of the course in Pittsburgh and the second part in the target country, with excursions to major cities and monuments. Scholarships are available for the SLI programs.

Deserving of special mention is the department's program in Slovak language, literature and culture—the only such program in the United States, and one that additionally offers the opportunity for several students each year to study abroad in Slovakia.

 Russian Major Requirements

The Russian major requires at least 33 distributed as follows.

Prerequisite courses; these courses do not count toward the 33 credits required for the major.

  • RUSS 0010 Elementary Russian 1
  • RUSS 0020 Elementary Russian 2
  • RUSS 0030 Intermediate Russian 1
  • RUSS 0040 Intermediate Russian 2

 

Language courses

  • RUSS 0400 Advanced Russian 1
  • RUSS 0410 Advanced Russian 2
  • RUSS 0420 Russian Newspapers and Magazines
  • RUSS 0430 Readings in Russian Literature
  • RUSS 1420 Fourth-year Russian 1
  • RUSS 1430 Fourth-year Russian 2

Literature and culture courses

  • RUSS 0800 Masterpieces of 19th Century Russian Literature
  • RUSS 0810 Masterpieces of 20th Century Russian Literature
  • RUSS 0850 Early Russian Culture and 0860 Modern Russian Culture
  • RUSS 0860 Modern Russian Culture
  • One 1000-level Russian elective course

Additional courses at the 1000 level in Russian literature are strongly recommended. Prospective majors are encouraged to take RUSS 0800 Masterpieces of 19th Century Russian Literature and RUSS 0810 Masterpieces of 20th Century Russian Literature as early as possible as an introduction to Russian literature.

The following rules and requirements apply to Russian majors.

  • Advanced placement assessment and credit by examination may be arranged through consent of the instructor and the department chair.
  • RUSS 0800 Masterpieces of 19th Century Russian Literature and RUSS 0810 Masterpieces of 20th Century Russian Literature are offered regularly as W courses and will satisfy the departmental W-course requirement.
  • A grade of C or better is required in each course that counts toward the major. A grade of B- or better in language courses is required to advance to the next level. A minimum GPA of 2.0 in departmental courses is required for graduation.
  • No course that counts toward the major may be taken on an S/NC basis.

Honors in the major

Honors in Russian is granted if, in addition to fulfilling all requirements for the major, the student meets the following conditions.

  • Maintain a GPA of 3.75 or higher in RUSS courses.
  • Maintain an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher.
  • Complete at least one additional RUSS 1000-level course.
  • Complete a 20-page paper involving Russian primary-source research and a two-page summary in Russian, under the supervision of an appointed faculty committee.
  • Consulted with the undergraduate advisor in their junior year.

Study abroad

Students are encouraged to participate in an approved study-abroad program for a semester or the summer term. The department will adjust the course requirements in individual cases to accommodate this participation without delaying the student’s graduation. Majors often apply for Nationality Rooms Program Scholarships for summer study abroad. The Summer Language Institute (SLI) offers generous scholarships as well. The following represents a partial list of study abroad opportunities available to students.

 

  • Summer study in Moscow: The Slavic Department currently sponsors a ten-credit summer-study program as part of the SLI in Pittsburgh (5 weeks) and Moscow (5 weeks) at the Moscow State University. Students may study first through fourth year Russian, covering one full year language study in ten weeks. Similar programs exist for study in Poland and Bulgaria. The Slavic department can be reached at 412-624-5096 or via e-mail at slavic@pitt.edu.
  • The University of Pittsburgh is affiliated with a number of organizations holding both summer and semester, or year-long study in Russia. The Study Abroad Office, located in 802 WPU, can be reached at 412-647-7413.
  • The Russian and East European Study Center regularly organizes summer study abroad programs in languages and social sciences in locations from the Czech Republic to Slovakia. REES makes scholarships available for many of these programs. Nadia Kirkov, the REES undergraduate advisor, can be reached at 412-648-7418.
  • The Nationality Rooms Program offers a wide variety of competitive scholarships for summer study abroad in many parts of the world, including Central and Eastern Europe. Applications are due in January. The NRP, located in 1209 CL, can be reached at 412-624-6510.

 

For more information, see www.slavic.pitt.edu/undergraduate/russian/index.php.

Slavic Studies Major Requirements

Academic requirements for the Slavic studies major may be fulfilled through one of two options.

Option 1
  1. Three to four courses (two years) of a Slavic language above the intermediate level
    • RUSS 0400 Advanced Russian 1
    • RUSS 0410 Advanced Russian 2
    • RUSS 1420 Fourth Year Russian 1
    • RUSS 1430 Fourth Year Russian 2

or

    • POLISH 0400 Advanced Polish through Film
    • POLISH 0410 Advanced Polish 2
    • POLISH 1930 Independent Study

or

    • SLOVAK0400 Advanced Slovak 1
    • SLOVAK 0410 Advanced Slovak 2
    • SLOVAK 1910 Independent Study

or

    • SERCRO 0400 Advanced Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 5
    • SERCRO 0410 Advanced Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 6
    • Fourth year Serbian/Croatian (LAI or study abroad)
  1. Eighteen credits of designated Slavic department courses in literature, film, and culture. Students must take three literature courses, one film course, and two courses in Slavic culture. One of the above must be a W-course.  Six credits of Arts and Sciences courses with a strong Slavic component (courses found in the Russian and East European studies listings) may be substituted, with the advisor’s approval.
  2. Six credits of Study Abroad or designated Slavic courses in any of the categories above. If students choose a language course, the number of credits may be six to ten.
Option 2
  • One year of primary Slavic language above the intermediate level. The language may be Russian, Polish, Slovak, or Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian.
  • One year of a second Slavic language at any level. The language can be Russian, Polish, Slovak, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, Ukranian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, or Czech.
  • Eighteen credits of designated Slavic department courses in literature, film, and culture. Students must take three literature courses, one film course, and two courses in Slavic culture. One of the above must be a W-course.  Six credits of Arts and Sciences courses with a strong Slavic component (courses found in the Russian and East European studies listings) may be substituted, with the advisor’s approval.
  • Six credits of Study Abroad or designated Slavic courses in any of the categories above. If students choose a language course, the number of credits may be six to ten.

Note: The first two years of language study do not count as credits toward the major, unless the first-year language course is taken as part of Option 2.

 


Minor in Slovak Studies

An undergraduate minor in Slovak studies motivates students to continue with their language and culture studies in a meaningful way. This program would be particularly useful for students majoring in anthropology, political science, and history, many of whom focus their work on Slovakia or Central Europe and see Slovak language and culture as a gateway to the study of the area. Several of the graduates with considerable work in Slovak at Pitt have been offered jobs at the Pentagon, international nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Radio Free Europe, and the U.S. Department of State.

Students who are interested in the minor may tailor their course selections according to the focus of their interest in the Slovak language or in Slovak culture.

The Slovak language option requires the following distribution of courses for a total of 17 credits.

  • SLOVAK 0010 Elementary Slovak 1, 4 credits
  • SLOVAK 0020 Elementary Slovak 2, 4 credits
  • SLOVAK 0030 Intermediate Slovak 3, 3 credits
  • SLOVAK 0040 Intermediate Slovak 4, 3 credits
  • SLOVAK 0400 Advanced Slovak 1, 3 credits

The Slovak culture option requires the following distribution of courses for a total of 17 credits.

  • SLOVAK 0010 Elementary Slovak 1, 4 credits
  • SLOVAK 0020 Elementary Slovak 2, 4 credits
  • Three of the following
    • SLOVAK 0030 Intermediate Slovak 3, 3 credits
    • SLOVAK 1250 Cultural History of Slovakia, 3 credits
    • SLOVAK 1260 Survey of Slovak Literature and Culture, 3 credits
    • SLOVAK 1270 Slovakia Today, 3 credits
    • SLOVAK 1770 Czech and Slovak Film, 3 credits
    • SLOVAK 1865 The Year Communism Crumbled, 3 credits