The department offers an interdisciplinary professional MA in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (REEES) focusing on Russian language proficiency as well as Russian, East European and Eurasian cultures. The MA program is strongly interdisciplinary and students can pursue connections between Russian, East European and Eurasian history, politics and culture from the 19th through the 21st centuries. The faculty's strengths include literature, cinema, folklore, literary/cultural theory, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, minority studies, nationalism, environmental humanities, sociolinguistics and pedagogy.
The faculty works closely with students to design their own course of study. Some REEES MA students receive a teaching assistantship and tuition waiver.
For contact information and more general information on the MA in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies, visit the REEES Program website or email gsll@colorado.edu.
Requirements
Course Requirements
Russian MA students may take up to 12 credit hours in an outside area. Students frequently choose business, political science, geography, women and gender studies, education, history, linguistics, film studies, Jewish studies, religious studies, fine arts, and theater and dance, but students may pursue other options. All outside area courses must be approved by the Director of Russian Graduate Studies.
Upon approval of the Director of Russian Graduate Studies, students may take up to six credit hours of 3000- or 4000-level courses toward their MA degree.
Students interested in independent study should obtain an informational sheet and an Independent Study Contract from the department. Once the contract is approved by the chair, a staff member will enroll the student in the course. MA students may not take more than a total of 7 hours of independent study.
Transfer credit from accredited institutions is accepted by CU Boulder only after approval by the Director of Russian Graduate Studies and the Graduate School. Transfer credit is defined as any credit earned at another accredited institution, credits earned on another campus of the CU system, or credits earned as a nondegree student within the CU system. MA students are allowed a maximum of 9 hours of transfer credit.
All students must pass the Russian language proficiency exam, consisting of written and oral components, during their final semester. Educated native Russian speakers are exempt from the language proficiency exam.
Degree Plans
Plan I: Thesis Option
Students must complete at least 30 credit hours, including 24 hours of coursework and 6 thesis hours. Students must submit a thesis and pass a one-hour oral defense.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | 14 | |
| Advanced Russian Seminar 1 | ||
| Advanced Russian Seminar 2 1 | ||
| Slavic Culture and Society | ||
| Russia after Communism: Post-Soviet Politics and Culture | ||
| Thesis | 6 | |
| Master's Thesis in Russian | ||
| Electives | 10 | |
| Complete additional courses to fulfill the 30-credit minimum. Options include: | ||
| Professional Russian 2 | ||
| Topics in Russian Culture | ||
| Open Topics: Russian Culture in Russian 2 | ||
| History of Russian Cinema | ||
| Stalinism: Culture and Society | ||
| Russian Cultural Idioms 2 | ||
| Russian Queer Culture | ||
| American-Russian Cultural Relations | ||
| Mythological Russia | ||
| Russian Novel: Theory and Practice | ||
| The Russian Jewish Experience | ||
| Dostoevsky | ||
| Tolstoy | ||
| Chekhov | ||
| Women in 20th-21st Century Russian Culture | ||
| Rogues to Revolutionaries: Russian Rebels, Past and Present | ||
| 20th Century Russian Literature and Art | ||
| Topics in Literature and History | ||
| Contemporary Russian Literature | ||
| History of Modern Russian Drama | ||
| Russian Film and Society (taught in Russian) 2 | ||
| Critical Thinking: Russian Film and Society (taught in English) | ||
| Absurd and Supernatural in Russian Literature | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
| 1 | Native speakers are exempt from RUSS 5010 and RUSS 5020, and should contact the Director of Russian Graduate Studies for alternate coursework. For details, please see Russian MA Handbook. |
| 2 | These courses are strongly recommended for non-native speakers. |
Plan II: Non-Thesis Option
Students must complete at least 30 credit hours of coursework, then pass a written MA final exam and a one-hour oral defense.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | 14 | |
| Advanced Russian Seminar 1 | ||
| Advanced Russian Seminar 2 1 | ||
| Slavic Culture and Society | ||
| Russia after Communism: Post-Soviet Politics and Culture | ||
| Electives | 16 | |
| Complete additional courses to fulfill the 30-credit minimum. Options include: | ||
| Professional Russian 2 | ||
| Topics in Russian Culture | ||
| History of Russian Cinema | ||
| Open Topics: Russian Culture in Russian 2 | ||
| Stalinism: Culture and Society | ||
| Russian Cultural Idioms 2 | ||
| Russian Queer Culture | ||
| American-Russian Cultural Relations | ||
| Mythological Russia | ||
| Russian Novel: Theory and Practice | ||
| The Russian Jewish Experience | ||
| Dostoevsky | ||
| Tolstoy | ||
| Chekhov | ||
| Women in 20th-21st Century Russian Culture | ||
| Rogues to Revolutionaries: Russian Rebels, Past and Present | ||
| 20th Century Russian Literature and Art | ||
| Topics in Literature and History | ||
| Contemporary Russian Literature | ||
| History of Modern Russian Drama | ||
| Russian Film and Society (taught in Russian) 2 | ||
| Critical Thinking: Russian Film and Society (taught in English) | ||
| Absurd and Supernatural in Russian Literature | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 30 | |
| 1 | Native speakers are exempt from RUSS 5010 and RUSS 5020, and should contact the Director of Russian Graduate Studies for alternate coursework. For details, please see Russian MA Handbook. |
| 2 | These courses are strongly recommended for non-native speakers. |