Russian Major Requirements

Grade Requirements

  • A grade of B- or better is required in each course that counts toward the major.
  • A grade of C or better in language courses is required to advance to the next level.
  • A minimum GPA of 2.0 in departmental courses is required for graduation.

Satisfactory/No Credit option: No course that counts toward the major can be taken on an S/NC basis.

Writing (W) requirement: RUSS 0325, RUSS 0800, RUSS 0810, RUSS 0870, and RUSS 0871 satisfy the W-course requirement for the major.

Related area: A minimum of 12 credits is required in any one Dietrich School department chosen in consultation with the major advisor. The completion of an official Dietrich School minor or Dietrich School or UCIS certificate also satisfies this requirement.

Honors Major Requirements

Honors in Russian is granted if, in addition to fulfilling all requirements for the major, the student:

  • maintained a GPA of 3.75 or above in RUSS courses;
  • maintained an overall GPA of 3.25 or above;
  • completed an additional capstone-eligible course over and above the major requirements.  The work for this course should represent a significant research project and will be evaluated by an appointed faculty member and at least one additional member of the department.

Advising

Dr. Thomas Dyne
thd29@pitt.edu

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to participate in an approved study-abroad program for a semester or the summer term. The department will adjust the course requirements in individual cases to accommodate this participation without delaying the student’s graduation. Majors often apply for Summer Language Institute and Nationality Rooms Program Scholarships for summer study abroad. The following represents a partial list of study abroad opportunities available to our students.

Summer study in Moscow: The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures currently sponsors a ten-credit summer-study program as part of the SLI in Pittsburgh (5 weeks) and Moscow (5 weeks) at the Moscow State University. Students may study first- through fourth-year Russian, covering one full year of language study in ten weeks.

The University of Pittsburgh is affiliated with a number of organizations offering summer, semester, or year-long study in Russia. The Study Abroad Office, located in 802 WPU, can be reached at 412-647-7413.

The Russian and East European Studies Center (REES) regularly organizes summer study abroad programs in languages and social sciences in locations from the Czech Republic to Slovakia. REES makes scholarships available for many of these programs. Andrew Behrendt, the REES undergraduate advisor, can be reached at 412-648-7403.

The Nationality Rooms Program offers a wide variety of competitive scholarships for summer study abroad in many parts of the world, including Central and Eastern Europe. Applications are due in January. The NRP, located in 1209 CL, can be reached at 412-624-6150.