Master of Arts

Slavic Languages and Literatures

School of Humanities & Sciences

MA
PhD
PhD Minor
Coterm

Overview

The department supports coordinated study of Russian language, literature, literary and cultural history, theory, and criticism. The department’s programs may also be combined with the programs in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, Jewish Studies, Film Studies, Drama, International Relations, Stanford’s Overseas Studies, the Special Languages Program, and other programs. The department is a part of the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages opens in a new tab.

A complete undergraduate program provides a choice of several tracks leading to a BA (with a major or a minor) or a BA with Honors. The department offers a full graduate program leading to an MA in Slavic Languages and Literatures and a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures. Stanford undergraduates can apply to the department for a coterminal BA/MA degree. Students in the department’s PhD program are required to choose among minor programs in other national literatures, linguistics, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Jewish Studies, art and music history, theater, or film studies; or they may design their own minor or choose the related field option.

Improving cultural understanding is a critical part of the department’s mission, and the department offers a full range of courses at all levels devoted to Slavic literature, music, and visual arts that do not require specialized knowledge, as well as advanced research seminars for graduate students. The undergraduate program has attracted students seeking careers in journalism, business, international relations, law, medicine, human rights, and academia. Russian is still the lingua franca over the vast territory of the former Soviet Union, and a good command of this language offers a gateway to Eurasia’s diverse cultures, ethnicities, economies, and religions.

Stanford Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies students benefit from unmatched faculty resources. Green Library and the Hoover Institution libraries and archives hold world-renowned Russian and East European collections, which undergraduates and graduate students use in their research. Department students master a complicated language and rich and challenging literature. They are rewarded by gaining entry into a unique, powerful, and diverse civilization that defined major trends in the past century and plays an increasingly significant role in the world today.

Requirements

Program Requirements

Requirement Overview

Before registering for the first quarter’s work in the department, entering graduate students are required to take placement examinations in Russian. Students who fail to perform satisfactorily on such examinations must register for remedial courses in the areas in which they are deficient. Coursework in third-year Russian and below carries no credit toward the MA degree.

Candidates for the MA should plan coursework that ensures adequate preparation for the MA final examination at the end of the third quarter of work. Coursework should be planned in consultation with the graduate advisor, whose approval of the overall course load is required.

Candidates for the MA must complete a program of 45 units, of which 36 units must be 200-level or above, selected from courses given by the department.

Graduate Degrees lists the university requirements for the MA degree.

Qualifying Paper or Final Examination

Qualifying Paper

The Qualifying paper represents a complete article-length research paper (6,000-9,000 words). The Qualifying paper must be submitted to the thesis advisor no later than the eighth week of the final quarter of registration.

Final Examination

A final examination may substitute for the Qualifying paper requirement. The final examination requires a student to demonstrate in a written examination:

Command of the phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicology of contemporary standard Russian sufficient to teach beginning and intermediate courses at the college level
An ability to read contemporary Standard Russian sufficiently to assist students studying contemporary Russian poetry or literary prose
Sufficient familiarity with Russian literature of either the 19th or 20th century to successfully handle survey courses dealing with the chosen period of specialization.

The examination should be taken at the end of the final quarter of required coursework.