Russian

• Prospective students: Check out the Russian page in Majors, Minors, and Concentrations

The department awards the A.B. degree in Russian, and previously awarded the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Second Language Acquisition in Russian. The department also supports the Russian Language Institute (RLI), which offers summer intensive Russian language courses at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels.

Our program in Russian language is designed to help students successfully attain an advanced level of oral proficiency in Russian by the time they graduate. In addition to language courses at all levels, students have the opportunity to take a variety of courses in Russian literature, history, cinema, and culture. Department majors concentrate in one particular area of study. The department also encourages its majors to apply their knowledge of the language to other disciplines. As a result, students regularly combine a Russian major with majors or minors in areas such as other languages, linguistics, comparative literature, political science, international relations, economics, history, computer science, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. 

Thanks to its distinguished and distinctive profile, the department has received various prestigious grants in recent years, in particular one from the Department of Defense to participate in The Language Flagship, which focuses on reaching a professional level of proficiency in Russian.

Joint Statement from the Tri-College Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Community, Colleagues, and Affiliates Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Swarthmore College (February 25, 2022)

As scholars and teachers of the region, but also as concerned citizens of the world, we join our colleagues in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in no uncertain terms. We are shocked by the Putin regime’s historical distortions, unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, and senseless violence, and we urge all countries and individuals to do their part in bringing this conflict to an end. Peace must and will be restored in Ukraine. (Full statement via this link)