Russian Studies

Russian Studies: Major, Minor

Russia’s importance in the world continues to grow and evolve. To understand the richness and complexity of Russia’s thousand-year-old history and culture you need to view it from various perspectives. The Russian Studies Program courses, major, and minor are designed to be interdisciplinary — combining the study of Russia’s art and culture with its language, history, religious traditions, geography, and more.

Our vibrant curriculum will provide you with superior language training and skills in critical thinking and analytical writing, while ensuring broad literacy in Russian history, art, and culture. In addition to all levels of language study, the Russian program offers an array of literature and culture courses that focus on different centuries (early Russia, 19th century, 20th century, contemporary Russia), genres (epic and folk tale, drama, poetry, prose, film), and geographical regions (Kievan Rus, European Russia, Siberia). We encourage you to expand the breadth of your studies with Russian related courses in other disciplines such as history, economics, philosophy, and political science.

To better understand today’s Russia, you will interact with our native Russian foreign language assistant (FLA) on campus and have the opportunity to study abroad at our affiliated university in Moscow. The Russian Studies Program and the student-run Russian Club also sponsor film series, artists’ performances, speakers, and on-campus conferences that will keep you engaged in ongoing cultural, political, and economic happenings in Russia.

Program Highlights

  • The Russian Studies language curriculum uses up-to-date, innovative methods to accelerate learning
  • Literature, art, and culture courses develop 21st-century skills like critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration
  • You can study abroad on our own 17Թ program in Moscow — the cultural, economic and political center of Russia
  • 17Թ Russian Studies students are singled out for jobs, graduate school and fellowships 
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Study Abroad

17Թ faculty oversee our program in Daugavpils, Latvia.

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Opportunities

Russian Studies students land exciting internships in the Washington Semester Program and produce original research.

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Courses

Our interdisciplinary courses frame Russia’s rich cultural and artistic traditions in its political, economic, and social history.

Russian Studies News

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Professor Explores 300 Years of Russian Artistic Imagination in New Book
What does commedia dell’arte, a form of theatre born in Italy in the mid-16th century, have to do with Russian cultural history? In “Vagabonding Masks: The Italian Commedia dell’Arte in the Russian Artistic Imagination” (Academic Studies Press, 2017), Olga Partan, …
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17Թ Academic Conference 2017 to Showcase Student Work
As the academic year nears its end, more than 350 students will present the results of their independent work in the performing and visual arts, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences at the 2017 Academic Conference, taking place across campus …
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History Professor and Russian Expert Discusses Putin-Trump Relationship on CNN
As the world keeps tabs on potential shifts in U.S. foreign relations, Cynthia Hooper, associate professor of history and director of Russian and Eastern European Studies at the 17Թ, was called upon by CNN for her expertise …