Our graduate programs provide comprehensive advanced training in Slavic languages and linguistics, and in Russian and East European literatures and cultures. As one of approximately 25 Ph.D.-granting departments in the United States, our Department has distinguished itself, since its establishment in 1969, by the regional breadth and disciplinary diversity of its program coverage. Our Department has maintained a firm commitment to its mandate as a Slavic and not merely Russian program, providing training in literatures, languages, and cultures.
The UNC-CH Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers master's degrees in the following:
- Russian Literature and Culture - At the M.A. level, this track focuses on Russian literature and culture since the 19th century.
- Comparative Slavic and East European Literatures and Cultures - Our unique programs in Comparative Slavic and East European Literatures and Cultures are modeled on Comparative Literature programs and have been designed to accommodate growing student interest in academic and professional opportunities relating to Central and Eastern Europe, enabling students to develop comparative expertise in Russian literature and culture and another East European literature and culture.
The UNC-CH Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers doctoral degrees in the following:
- Russian Literature and Culture- The doctoral level is comprehensive.
- Comparative Slavic and East European Literatures and Cultures
The M.A. Programs offered by the UNC-CH Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures equip students to pursue several career options:
- they prepare students for doctoral study and academic positions in the Slavic and East European field;
- they provide students wishing to focus on the master's degree with a solid grounding in their respective fields as well as training in the analytical, writing, and presenting skills desirable for a wide variety of careers (business, communications, government service, secondary and professional education, academic and nonprofit administration, library science). Because not all entering students know their career goals or the specific requirements of academic and non-academic careers, the M.A. program by design does not require an early decision as to whether the student wishes to pursue the doctorate or not. Researching and writing the M.A. thesis often helps students decide if they wish to commit themselves to a traditional scholarly career or to explore other field-related professional opportunities.
The Ph.D. Programs in Russian Literature and Culture, Comparative Slavic and East European Literatures and Cultures prepare students for employment in college and university teaching and research positions, although the skills and critical perspectives they teach also can be applied to non-academic teaching, research, and consulting. All students are required to develop and demonstrate a command of the field as a whole (e.g., Russian literature and culture from medieval times to the present, Russian literature and culture and another East European literature and culture in the modern era) and a deep specialization in one area, usually the area featured in the candidate's dissertation (e.g., dialectology and Balkan Slavic).
