Welcome to the Graduate Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies is a two-year multidisciplinary program that offers advanced training for those qualified students who seek an integrated knowledge of the language, history, society, and culture of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia. This graduate degree offers the opportunity to create an individually tailored program. Upon graduation, students will have an extensive understanding of the country or countries of specialization, including a working knowledge of one of the region's languages. The program primarily serves students preparing for professional careers and those seeking an intermediate M.A. before pursuing a Ph.D. in a particular discipline.

This region of the world covers over one-sixth of the globe and comprises countries, which differ enormously in language, ethnicity, religion, culture, political history, and economic development. Since the mid-1980s, the process of reform, collapse and reconstruction in the region has led to a heightened interest in the area and the need for serious and scholarly understanding of the region. It is the mission of the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies to facilitate such understanding.

The M.A. program offers either a thesis or report option.

Course requirements include:

• a Seminar in Russian, East European and Eurasian Civilizations and Cultures
• 3 semester hours in each of three (3) subject areas:

1. Literature or Culture
2. Economics, History or Government
3. Anthropology, Geography or Sociology)

• 12 semester hours (18 for the report option) of area studies electives
• a fourth year (or the equivalent) of formal language instruction in a language of the region

AND

• REE 698A and 698B (Thesis), a two-semester sequence of work concluding with the timely presentation of an acceptable M.A. thesis in the major field of concentration

OR

• REE 398R ("Conference Course - Master of Arts Report"), a one-semester course concluding with the timely presentation of an acceptable M.A. report.

All courses counted toward the degree must have content relevant to Russia, East Europe, or Eurasia. No credit for the degree is earned by fulfillment of the language requirement since language competence is a necessary tool for graduate study in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

All M.A. students are required to pass an oral proficiency interview in an area language upon completion of the M.A. degree at the ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) Level 2 or ACTFL (American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages) Advanced Level.