Skip to main content
Skip to main menu Skip to spotlight region Skip to secondary region Skip to UGA region Skip to Tertiary region Skip to Quaternary region Skip to unit footer

Slideshow

Russian Major

Russian Major (A.B.)

About this Degree

The undergraduate program in Russian helps students become proficient in the Russian language and cultivates their understanding of the Russian cultural and intellectual heritage. The program is committed to education of future global professionals. The department of Germanic and Slavic Studies houses The UGA Russian Flagship program, a federally-sponsored initiative supporting undergraduate students of any major in their efforts to achieve a professional level of proficiency in Russian. Through completion of intensive Russian courses and participation in study abroad programs and professional internships, students earn prestigious Flagship certification.

The Russian major is intended to help you develop advanced language proficiency and acquire a deep understanding of Russian culture. The requirements are designed to allow you flexibility in pursuing your own interests (including study of related Slavic languages/cultures, if desired). Students often combine a Russian major with a second major in a related field, such as International Affairs, History, Linguistics, etc. Russian study can easily be combined with virtually any other major and will expand your future career opportunities.

What you will learn

The program of study encompasses a wide variety of courses that range from Russian language courses at different levels to content courses in literature and culture, both in Russian and English. The program’s curriculum aims to sharpen students’ critical skills and strengthen their ability to express themselves. They are designed to raise students’ cross-cultural awareness, to help them realize the uniqueness of their own background and understand it as socially and historically constructed. In accordance with the UGA’s initiative for experiential learning, the department hosts a six-week summer study program in Russia, conducted in St. Petersburg and Moscow. This intensive cultural immersion is tailored to students’ academic needs and aspirations.

Requirements

Core Area VI (Courses related to the major)

  • RUSS 2001 Intermediate Russian I
  • RUSS 2002 Intermediate Russian II
  • LING 2100 The Study of Language

(The RUSS 2001 and 2002 requirements will be waived for students who place at a higher level.)

Core Area VI also requires 9 additional hours preferably taken from the following areas: Additional Foreign Language, ANTH, ARGD, ARHI, ARID, ARST, ARTS, CMLT, COMM, DRAM, ECON, GEOG, HIST (world), LING, MUSI, PHIL, POLS, WMST. However, most students already have courses that can fill this requirement and do not need to take any additional courses specifically for Core Area VI.

Major requirements (8 courses/24 hours)

Three required courses:

  • RUSS 3001 Russian Conv. and Comp. I
  • RUSS 3002 Russian Conv. and Comp. II
  • RUSS 4520 Contemporary Russian Culture

(Students who place out of RUSS 3001 and 3002 may substitute any 3000/4000-level course taught in Russian for these two courses.)

Three courses chosen from the following list:

  • RUSS 3100 Approaches to Russian-English Translation
  • RUSS 3200 Russian Culture to 1917
  • RUSS 4250 Pushkin
  • RUSS 4260 Masterpieces of 19th-Century Russian Literature 
  • RUSS 4270 Masterpieces of 20th-Century Russian Literature 
  • RUSS 4280 Chekhov
  • RUSS 4290 Politically Incorrect: Contemporary Russian Literature, Art, and Cinema
  • Maximum of one directed study course (RUSS 3990, 4960H, 4970H, or 4990H)

Plus any two RUSS or SLAV courses at the 3000- or 4000-level

A complete list of courses is available here.

Special Requirements

Students must earn a minimum grade of C in each course to receive credit toward the major. 

All upper-division courses fulfilling the major requirements must be taken in residence with the exception of a maximum possible 9 hours of transfer credit. Upper-division transfer credit from a non-UGA study abroad program may be applied to the major, subject to approval by the department, and provided that credit for RUSS 2002 (or an equivalent course) was earned before participation in the program.

Entrance Requirements

RUSS 2002 is the prerequisite for upper-division courses.

For more information, please contact Cecilia Reynolds (706.540.1412).

For questions about course placement, please contact Prof. Sasha Spektor (706.542.3663).

Students on the 2015 UGA Study Abroad program in Russia at a market, holding Russian flags

Employers:

Border Patrol /Customs Officer
Civil Service Worker
Contributing Writer 
Copy Editor
Cultural Coordinator
Customer Service Agent 
Defense Language Institute Officer
Diplomat
Editor 
Export Coordinator 
FBI Agent
Foreign News Correspondent
Foreign Service Officer
Historian
Hotel Manager
International Consulting
International Development Officer
International Educator
Interpreter / Translator
Kiriyama Prize Manager
Language Librarian
Law Enforcement Officer
Lexicographer
Linguist
Peace Corps Volunteer
PR Coordinator 
Press Officer
Program Coordinator
Research Assistant
Sales Associate 
Security Leadership Fellow
Senior Research Technician 
Technical Writer
TOEFL and IELTS instructor 
Travel Advisor 
World Health Organization Office

Possible Job Titles:

Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Center for International Trade and Security
Chambers of Commerce
City Year
Community Education Programs
Consulting Agencies
Delta Air Lines
Developmental Learning Centers
Embassies
Focus on the Family
Hospitals
Immigration Services
Import / Export Companies
International Banking/Business
International Non-Profits
Investment Firms
Ketchum International
Language Institutes
Linguatext LLC
Maritz Internet Travel
National Archives
News Bureaus
Pacific Rim Voices
Peace Corps
Public Relations Firms
Russian Language Institute
Russian-American Business International, LLC
SAS Institute Educational Technologies Division
Testing companies
Translation Services
Vladivostok News
World Chamber of Commerce

Support Germanic and Slavic Studies at UGA

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies appreciates your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. 

Click Here to Learn More

EVERY DOLLAR CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY.