College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: iuslavic [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL: www.indiana.edu/~iuslavic

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy

Program Information

Attention is called to the program of the Russian and East European Institute, which offers students an opportunity to combine work for an advanced degree in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures with interdisciplinary area study of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.

Attention is also called to the Summer Workshop in Slavic and East European Languages, which provides intensive language training in Russian at advanced levels not available during the regular academic year. The workshop also offers first-year and occasionally second-year courses in other Slavic, East European, and Eurasian languages.

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

General Provision

Students wishing the recommendation of the department for teaching positions must present evidence of their ability to teach Russian.

Master of Arts Degre

Admission Requirements

Graduate Record Examination General Test. In addition, entering students are expected to have: (1) active knowledge of the Russian language adequate for graduate study, as determined by a proficiency examination based on the department’s fourth-year course, (2) a general acquaintance with the major works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature equivalent to at least the materials covered in a two-semester undergraduate survey course, and (3) a reading knowledge of one non-Slavic research language (typically French or German, but others may qualify). Students seeking to study a departmental language other than Russian must demonstrate a clear interest in that language (e.g., prior study, overseas experience in the relevant country, etc.) for admission.

Students with a Russian language deficiency are urged to apply to the Summer Workshop. Courses taken to satisfy deficiency requirements in Russian or the research language will not carry graduate credit and will lie outside of the 30 credit hours required for the M.A. degree. Students with a deficiency in Russian literature should take the departmental survey courses (R563-R564) during their first two semesters.

General Course Requirements

A minimum of thirty (30) credit hours of courses carrying graduate credit, at least 20 of which must be taken in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.

Track Requirements

In addition to the general course requirements, students pursuing the M.A. degree shall complete one of the four programs described as follows. Tracks 1 and 2 are structured primarily for preparing students who wish to continue toward a Ph.D. degree with a specialization in Russian literature or Slavic linguistics; Track 3 is designed mainly for students pursuing a departmental language other than Russian; Track 4 is for those with other career goals in mind.

Track 1 Russian Literature M.A. Requirements

1. R500 Proseminar in Russian Literature or CMLT C501 Introduction to Contemporary Literary Studies or equivalent
2. 571 Old Church Slavonic or L576 History of the Russian Literary Language or L501 Structure of Russian I
3. R501-R502 Fifth Year Russian or equivalent
4. R563-564 Two-semester survey course of Russian literature or equivalent
5. Four literature courses (at least three from SLAV, substitutions subject to departmental approval)

Total: 30 credits

Track 2 Slavic Linguistics M.A. Requirements

1. L501 Structure of Russian I: Phonology and Morphology
2. L502 Structure of Russian II: Syntax and Semantics
3. L571 Old Church Slavonic  or L576 History of Russian Literary Language or equivalent
4. One course in Slavic literature, culture or film
5. Two semesters of a West or South Slavic language
6. R501-R502 Fifth year Russian or equivalent.
7. Two linguistics courses (SLAV or elective from LING, SLS, or other unit, subject to departmental approval)

Total: 30 credits

Track 3 Language and Area Studies
Two survey-type Slavic literature courses at the graduate level; a Slavic or East European language other than Russian (6-12 credit hours), and 3 credit hours in the department as approved by the graduate advisor; and, in addition, 9 credit hours of graduate courses inside or outside the department selected with the approval of the graduate advisor. (Students taking this option are encouraged to fulfill the additional requirements for a certificate in the Russian and East European Institute. See following.)

Track 4 Dual Concentration
Two survey-type Slavic literature courses at the graduate level; plus two additional graduate courses in the department; and a program of at least 9 graduate credits in one other department approved by the graduate advisor, such as business, comparative literature, economics, fine arts, geography, history, linguistics, literature, music, political science, or a foreign language.

Students may be exempted from Slavic language courses by passing proficiency examinations.

Examination

No examination is required for a terminal M.A. degree, but a doctoral admission examination, based on the M.A. program for Tracks 1, 2, or 3, is required for admission to Ph.D. work and must normally be passed before the student registers for the fifth semester of graduate work. (A student working simultaneously for the M.A. degree and an area certificate in the Russian and East European Institute must pass the doctoral admission examination before registering for the sixth semester of graduate work.)

Master of Arts for Teachers Degre

Admission Requirements

Applicants should have a knowledge of the Russian language adequate for graduate study (a minimum of three years is acceptable, but four is preferred). A broad, solid undergraduate program in the liberal arts is strongly recommended. New students must take a proficiency examination in Russian before registering, and those whose performance is inadequate will be required to take appropriate courses in Russian until their proficiency reaches the level required of B.A. candidates in the department.

Major Field Requirements

A minimum of 20 credit hours, to include R501-R502, R403, and History D411 or equivalent. Students who have not had a two-semester nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature course must take R263-R264 (without graduate credit) or replace these with two survey-type Russian literature survey courses at the graduate level. Students who have not taken a course in methods of teaching modern foreign languages are required to take Education M455 Methods of Teaching Modern Foreign Languages or the departmental equivalent.

Language Requirement

Active knowledge of Russian (fifth-year proficiency level).

Examination

Oral and written test of proficiency in Russian.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Two plans of study are offered: Plan A: Russian Literature; Plan B: Slavic Linguistics

Plan A: Russian Literature

(A comparable program will be worked out for students choosing another Slavic literature as their major field.)

Admission Requirements

A doctoral admission examination based on the Indiana University M.A. degree in Slavic languages and literatures under Track 1 (Russian literature). One written exam that covers the following fields: (1) Old Russian Literature and the eighteenth century; (2) the nineteenth century; (3) the twentieth century; (4) poem analysis. Students holding an M.A. in Slavic languages and literatures from another institution may be required, at the discretion of the department, to pass this examination no later than their second semester in attendance at Indiana University.

General Requirements

1. 30 credits from M.A.
2. 12 credits from minor (if second Slavic language, cannot include first year).
3. One Slavic linguistics course.
4. Two semesters of a second Slavic language.
5.  At least six literature courses (at least four from SLAV, substitutions subject to departmental approval),,including at least one seminar.

Total: 90 (at least 69 credits of course work and up to 21 credits of dissertation).

Language Requirement

Active knowledge of written and spoken Russian beyond the minimum required for the M.A.; reading knowledge of German, French, and one other Slavic language. Another research language may be substituted for French or German with departmental approval.

Qualifying Examination

Three written examinations. One will cover all genres of literature in one of the following three periods: (1) from the beginning to 1800; (2) the nineteenth century; (3) the twentieth century. The second examination will cover the whole history of Russian literature, but will be confined to all forms of narrative. The third examination will cover one of the following categories in its entirety: (1) poetry, exclusive of drama; (2) dramatic literature; (3) film.
All three of these written examinations are to be taken within two successive semesters. When they have been passed, an oral examination will be given within one month. The oral examination will cover not only all of Russian literature, but also the following: Russian history and culture and major literary developments in the rest of Europe, including those in the second Slavic literature. The examination will be designed to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate the range and depth of their scholarly interests and ability. In the semester following the oral qualifying exam, a candidate is required to submit to all members of his/her committee a dissertation prospectus of approximately 10 pages with additional short bibliography.

Plan B: Slavic Linguistics

Admission Requirement

A doctoral admission examination based on the Indiana University M.A. degree in Slavic languages and literatures under Track 2 (Slavic linguistics). At the discretion of the department and based on the student’s M.A.-level work, this exam may be waived.

General Requirements

1. 30 credits from M.A.
2. One course in Slavic literature, culture or film
3. Two semesters of a third Slavic language. 12 credits from minor .
4. At least six linguistics courses, including at least one seminar.

Total: 90 (at least 69 credits of course work and up to 21 credits of dissertation).

Language Requirement

Active knowledge of a major Slavic language beyond the minimum required for the M.A.; reading knowledge of one Slavic language from each of the other two branches and of German, French, or another research language with departmental approval.

Qualifying Examination

Three written examinations. One will cover all aspects of Slavic linguistics based on the student’s coursework. The second and third examinations will be in two different specialized areas of Slavic linguistics, with topics and deadlines worked out together with the student’s faculty advisor. While the specialized exams are ordinarily expected to include one topic from Slavic synchronic linguistics and another from Slavic diachronic linguistics, they may be both synchronic or both diachronic so long as the general areas are different.

All three examinations are to be taken within two successive semesters. The general examination is a scheduled written exam, while the second and third will typically be research quality papers written within a period of no more than 10 days. When all have been passed, an oral examination will be given shortly thereafter. In the semester following the oral qualifying exam, a candidate is required to submit to all members of his/her committee a dissertation prospectus.