College of Arts and Sciences

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

Departmental URL: http://www.slavic.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

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 and East European Languages and Cultures with interdisciplinary area study of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.

Attention is also called to the Summer Language Workshop, 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 Degree

Admission Requirements

Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test and satisfactory previous academic record; relevant writing sample and three letters of recommendation. The following are also expected for admission into Tracks 1 and 2: (i) knowledge of the Russian language adequate for graduate study, as determined by a proficiency examination based on the department's fourth-year course and (ii) 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. For admission into Track 3, students should demonstrate a clear interest in their language(s) and area(s) of specialization (e.g., prior language study, overseas experience in the relevant country, employment plans which utilize that language, etc.). Students with a Slavic language deficiency are urged to apply to the Summer Workshop.

Track Requirements

In addition to the general course requirements, students pursuing the M.A. degree shall complete one of the three 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 concentrating in area studies and typically pursuing a departmental language other than Russian.

Track 1 Russian Literature M.A. Requirements

1. R500 Proseminar in Russian Literature or CMLT C501 Introduction to Contemporary Literary Studies or equivalent.
2. L571 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; students who place beyond Fifth-Year Russian on the departmental placement exam (this exam will be waived for native speakers of Russian with a college or high school diploma and transcript from any home-country institution with a curriculum conducted in Russian) will substitute two other graduate level courses with departmental approval.     
4. R563-R564 Two-semester survey course of Russian literature or equivalent
5. Four literature, culture, or film courses (at least three from SLAV, unless additional substitutions are approved by the department.)

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, or approved equivalent, of a second modern Slavic language.

1. R501-R502 Fifth-Year Russian or equivalent; students who place beyond Fifth-Year Russian on the departmental placement exam (this exam will be waived for native speakers of Russian with a college or high school diploma and transcript from any home-country institution with a curriculum conducted in Russian) will substitute two other graduate level courses with departmental approval.     

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

Students taking this option are encouraged to fulfill the additional requirements for a certificate in the Russian and East European Institute.

1. Two courses in Slavic literature, culture, or film at the graduate level
2. A departmental language to a minimum level of 4th year proficiency if Russian or 3rd year if some other language
3. An additional 18 credit hours, selected with the approval of the graduate advisor, of which at least 9 must be in the department.

Total: 30 credits, including up to 12 credits from language

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 Degree

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 30 credit hours, to include R501-R502, L501, and R592 or equivalent. Students who have not had a two-semester nineteenth- and twentieth-century Russian literature course must take R563-R564 or replace these with two survey-type Russian literature survey courses at the graduate level.  Students interested in pursuing doctoral studies in Russian language pedagogy are encouraged to take electives in other units, such as the Departments of Second Language Studies and Linguistics.

Language Requirement

Mastery of Russian at minimum fifth-year level, as established through coursework or proficiency testing.

Examination

No examination is required for a terminal M.A.T. degree.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Three plans of study are offered: Plan A: Russian Literature; Plan B: Slavic Linguistics; Plan C: Slavic Literature and Culture

Plan A: Russian Literature

Admission Requirements

Students who have completed M.A. requirements may be admitted to the Ph.D program upon approval of a formal request for change of status.

Research Requirement

A semester-long independent study with a faculty mentor, culminating in an essay suitable for submission to a scholarly journal.  This requirement is to be fulfilled prior to the qualifying examination, typically in the first semester of the Ph.D program.

General Requirements

1. 30 credits from M.A.

1. 12 credits from minor (if second Slavic language, cannot include first year and only 6 credits can come from language study).

3. One Slavic linguistics course.
4. Two semesters, or equivalent, of a second departmental or approved regional language.
5. At least six literature, culture, or film courses (at least four from SLAV, substitutions subject to departmental approval), including at least one seminar.

Total: 69 credits of course work satisfying degree requirements of the department, plus 21 additional graduate credit hours, for a total of 90 credits hours as required by the Graduate School.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading knowledge of French or German. Also active knowledge of written and spoken Russian beyond that required for the M.A.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination will be based on the common departmental list in Russian literature and culture, supplemented by a special field list drawn up in consultation with the research committee and representing preliminary research toward the dissertation. The exam will comprise two written examinations and an oral examination. The first written exam will require students to interpret excerpts of cultural documents from the exam list; the other will prompt two essays, respectively displaying conceptual understanding of major issues in Russian culture 1) from the point of view of historical development and 2) with a focus on cultural forms, modes, and media. Both exams are to be taken within a single semester. When they have both been passed, an oral examination will be given within one month. The oral examination will cover the entire exam list and expect necessary context in Russian and European history and culture. In addition, it will have a portion dedicated to exploration of the special field. The examination provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate the range and depth of their scholarly interests and ability. In the semester following the oral qualifying exam, students are required to establish a research committee and to submit to all members of that committee a dissertation prospectus of approximately 10-15 pages with a short bibliography.

Plan B: Slavic Linguistics

Admission Requirements

Students who have completed M.A. requirements may be admitted to the Ph.D program upon approval of a formal request for change of status.

General Requirements

1. 30 credits from M.A.
2. One course in Slavic literature, culture or film
3. Two semesters, or approved equivalent, of a third modern Slavic language; at least one of the three languages must be from a different branch from the student’s major language.
4. 12 credits from minor.
5. At least six linguistics courses, including at least one seminar.
6. The student must have taken both L571 Old Church Slavonic and L576 History of Russian Literary Language or equivalent prior to the doctoral exams.

Total: 69 credits of course work satisfying degree requirements of the department, plus 21 additional graduate credit hours, for a total of 90 credits hours as required by the Graduate School.

Language Requirement

Reading knowledge of French or German. Also 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.  

Qualifying Examination

Three written examinations. One will cover all aspects of Slavic linguistics from 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, both may be synchronic or 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. An oral examination will be given within one month after all written exams have been passed. This examination will be designed to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate the range and depth of their scholarly interests and abilities. In the semester following the oral qualifying exam, students are required to establish a research committee and to submit to all members of that committee a dissertation prospectus of approximately 10-15 pages with a short bibliography.

Plan C: Slavic Literature and Culture

Admission Requirements

Students who have completed M.A. requirements may be admitted to the Ph.D program upon approval of a formal request for change of status.

Research Requirement

A semester-long independent study with a faculty mentor, culminating in an essay suitable for submission to a scholarly journal. This requirement is to be fulfilled prior to the qualifying examination, typically in the first semester of the Ph.D program.

General Requirements

1. 30 credits from M.A.
2. One appropriate linguistics course
3. Two semesters of a second Slavic language

1. 12 credits from minor (if second Slavic language, cannot include first year and only 6 credits can come from language study)

5. At least six literature, culture, or film courses (at least four from SLAV, substitutions subject to departmental approval), including at least one seminar

Total: 69 credits of course work satisfying degree requirements of the department, plus 21 additional graduate credit hours, for a total of 90 credits hours as required by the Graduate School.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading knowledge of French or German. Also active knowledge of a major Slavic language beyond that required for the M.A.

Qualifying Examination

Three written examinations based on reading lists prepared with the student’s adviser and covering specific time periods, genres, and/or areas of specialization. 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 the areas covered by the student’s reading lists, but also history and culture of the student’s primary Slavic area of specialization, 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, students are required to establish a research committee and to submit to all members of that committee a dissertation prospectus of approximately 10-15 pages with a short bibliography.