BA in Russian
Degree Program Description
The discipline of Russian studies involves the systematic, first-hand exploration of the language, literature, and cultures of Russian-speaking countries. The liberal arts foundation of this discipline prepares students for careers in a wide variety of fields, including journalism, tourism, diplomacy, and education.
Major Program Requirements
The major in Russian consists of 27 credits in Russian beyond RUSS 1200. Within these 27 hours, students must meet minimum requirements within three categories: language, literature, and culture (see below). The Russian faculty strongly encourages all majors to spend at least one semester (or summer) studying abroad, preferably after their second year of the language. In addition, students must meet all degree, college and university graduation requirements, including those for university general education.
| Major core requirements (beyond the A&S language requirement) | ||
| Four of the following courses in language or their equivalents (minimum of two at the 3000-plus level) must be included: | 12 | |
| Second-Year Russian I | ||
| Second-Year Russian II | ||
| Topics in Russian-General | ||
| Intermediate Russian | ||
or RUSS 3160 | Intermediate Conversation and Composition | |
| Russian Classics I | ||
| Russian Classics II | ||
| Advanced Russian Conversation | ||
| Three literature or culture courses, chosen from the following, and to include at least one at the 4000-level: | 9 | |
| Classics and Iconoclasts: An Introduction to Russian Literature | ||
| Topics in Russian-Humanities | ||
| Sinners, Saints, and Madmen: 19th Century Russian Literature | ||
| True Fictions: Russian Prose since 1900 | ||
| Topics in Russian-Humanities | ||
| Russian Poetry | ||
| Special Readings in Russian | ||
| Russian Drama | ||
| Russian Prose | ||
| Nabokov's Russian Fiction | ||
| Blogging the World: The Web in Cultural Context | ||
| One of the following two courses in culture: | 3 | |
| Between Heaven and Earth: Russian Civilization * | ||
or RUSS 2320 | The Arts of Survival: Civilization in Soviet Times | |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Elective courses and equivalents to replace the required courses above should be selected in consultation with the advisor | ||
| Total Credits | 27 | |
| * | Both RUSS 2310 and RUSS 2320 are Writing Intensive Russian civilization courses. |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| RUSS 1100 | 6 | RUSS 1200 | 6 |
| HIST 1100 | 3 | MATH 1050, 1100, or STAT 1200 | 3 |
| ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | Course for second major/minor | 3 |
| Foundation Requirements (humanities) | 3 | Foundation Requirements (behavioral Sciences) | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| RUSS 2100 | 3 | RUSS 2160 | 4 |
| RUSS 2130 | 4 | Course for second major/minor | 3 |
| Course for second major/minor | 3 | RUSS 2320 | 3 |
| Foundation Requirements (sciences, Math Reasoning Proficiency) | 3 | Foundation Requirements (humanities) | 3 |
| Foundation Requirements (social science) | 3 | Foundation Requirements (sciences) | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| RUSS 3130 | 3 | RUSS 3630 | 3 |
| RUSS 3390 | 3 | Foundation Requirements(sciences with lab) | 5 |
| Foundation Requirements (humanities) | 3 | Foundation Requirements(behavioral sciences) | 4 |
| Course for second major/minor | 3 | Course for second major/minor/elective | 3 |
| Course for second major/minor | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| RUSS 3890 | 3 | 4000-level Russian literature course | 3 |
| 4000-level Russian literature/culture course | 3 | Capstone course for second major/elective | 3 |
| Foundation Requirements (humanities) | 3 | Foundation Requirements (social sciences) | 3 |
| Second major/minor/elective | 3 | Second major/minor/elective | 3 |
| Second major/minor/elective | 3 | Second major/minor/elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits: 122 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.