The UNC Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the oldest Ph.D.-granting program in Slavic languages and literatures in the southern United States, first offered courses leading to a graduate degree in 1965 and became established as an independent department in 1969, with Professors Paul Debreczeny, Vasa D. Mihailovich, and Walter N. Vickery in residence. Our department was founded as a Slavic department, and our faculty maintains that profile with an extraordinary range of regional and disciplinary expertise. Our research specializations include versification, literary translation, literary critical theory, literature and Orthodox theology, gender studies, literature and the Holocaust, performing arts studies, and émigré culture. We benefit from excellent on-campus research, teaching, and professional skills development resources, and are closely linked with the UNC-Duke Title VI Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies and the UNC-Duke Title VI Slavic and East European Language Resource Center. Located in North Carolina's Triangle area, a flourishing center for education and business in the Southeast, the UNC Slavic Department also provides its students access to courses at nearby Duke University and internship/employment opportunities in the Research Triangle Park.

Our undergraduate programs enable students to develop specializations in Russian language and culture and Slavic and East European languages and cultures. Our graduate programs offer general professional development and specialized training in Russian literature and culture, as well as comparative Slavic and East European literatures and cultures. Our curriculum provides students with three years and more of instruction in five Slavic/East European languages (Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian and Croatian) and extensive coverage of topics in Slavic linguistics and the literatures and cultures of Russia/the Soviet Union, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Serbia and Croatia. We pride ourselves on being effective teachers and engaged advisers, and we work intensively with students to help them develop strong analytical and communicative skills.

Our Commitment to Diversity

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our community and to ensuring that educational and employment decisions are based on individuals’ abilities and qualifications. It is our policy not to discriminate in offering access to educational programs and activities or with respect to employment terms and conditions on the basis of age, gender, race, color, national origin, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status or sexual orientation. For more information on the University’s policy on non-discrimination, please go to http://www.unc.edu/campus/policies/nondiscrim.html.