The Russian for the Professions M.A. specialization strives to bring students to the advanced level on the ACTFL scale and will feature curriculum focused on advanced Russian language, developing applied language skills, and application in different professional fields, such as research, translation, film and media studies, gender studies, and the problems of global human trafficking. Should students specializing in Russian for the Professions decide they would like to pursue a PhD in SEELC, they should speak with the Graduate Studies Chair about continuing after the MA.
This specialization concludes with an M.A. examination, The MA examination for this specialization has two parts. The first is a written examination question based on the DSEELC Integrated MA/PhD reading list in Russian Cultural Studies. Russian culture today is, to a great extent, based on Russian literature, film, and other media texts, and proficiency and knowledge in these areas are essential for work related to Russia. Preparation for this exam will also constitute work in the original language: reading texts and screening film, video, and other media will contribute to the language proficiency goal in this specialization. The second portion of the MA examination involves a professional composition written in Russian in a field of the student’s choice, along with the translation of a work from Russian to English. This set of tasks will guarantee that the MA recipient has mastered all relevant skills and knowledge – deep competence in Russian culture, the ability to write in Russian, and translation – to work in a professional capacity with the Russian language.
Students pursuing the Russian for the Professions specialization are expected to complete the Russian Proficiency Exam (RPE) with a score of at least 90%. For more information on the RPE, please see the Graduate Handbook.
Coursework:
Theory (Proseminar in East European Literary & Cultural Studies) (3 Credit Hours)
- Slavic 6500
Literature/Culture/Film Requirement (6 credit hours; choose 2 courses):
- Russian 5225 (Russian Émigré Literature)
- Russian 5250 – The Russian Writer (.02 Dostoevsky; .03 Tolstoy; .04 Nabokov)
- Russian 6252 or 6253 (19th Century Russian Literature; 20th Century Russian Literature)
- Russian 6254 (Russian Literary Genres)
- Slavic 6457 (Film Theory, Gender and National Identity in Slavic Cinema)
- Slavic 7480 (Slavic Film Directors)
- Russian 5530 (.01 or .02) (Madness and Power in Russia)
Exam Preparation (3 credit hours; choose 1 course)
- Russian 5193
- Russian 6999
Language Courses (12 Credit Hours; choose 4 courses):
- Russian 5101
- Russian 5102
- Russian 5103
- Russian 5104
- Russian 6172 (Reading Russian for Research – self-paced)
- Russian 8550 (seminar on special topics, taught in Russian; may be repeated)
Professional Language Training Electives (12 credit hours; choose 4 courses):
- Russian 5150 (Russian for Business)
- Russian 5260 (Russian Open Source Intelligence Research and Analysis)
- Russian 5460 (Russian Media)
- Russian 5601 (Structure of Russian)
- Russian 5630 (Translation Studies)
- Slavic 5450 (Global Human Trafficking: Realities and Representations)
- Courses from above category as relevant