SLAV-MA - Slavic Languages and Literatures (MA)
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Program 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.
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.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers a Master of Arts degree only to students concurrently enrolled in other Stanford degree programs.
Graduate Degrees lists university requirements for the MA degree.
The requirements for admission to the master’s degree program in Slavic Languages and Literatures are:
A BA (or its equivalent) from an accredited college or university
Command of the Russian language sufficient to permit the student to do satisfactory graduate work
Familiarity with Russian literature is sufficient to permit the student to perform adequately in courses at the graduate level
The applicant’s previous academic training in Russian language and literature typically serves as an indication of competence. Accordingly, the department does not ordinarily consider applications from students who have not had at least three years of college Russian and some undergraduate training in Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. 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 selected from courses given by the department.
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.
The department allows a limited number of undergraduates to work for the coterminal MA degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures with a concentration in Russian. In addition to university requirements for the BA degree, the student must:
Apply for admission by January 31 of the senior year. Applicants must meet the same general standards as those seeking admission to an MA program. Applicants must submit: an application for admission; a written statement of purpose; a transcript; and three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be from members of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures faculty.
Meet all requirements for both the BA and MA degrees. Applicants must complete 15 full-time quarters (or the equivalent) or three full-time quarters after completing 180 units, for a total of 225 units. During the senior year, they may, with the consent of the instructors, register for as many as two graduate courses. They must complete at least three graduate-level courses in the final year of study.
University Coterminal Requirements
Coterminal master’s degree candidates are expected to complete all master’s degree requirements as described in this Bulletin. Coterminal Master’s Program describes university requirements for the coterminal master’s degree. Graduate Degrees describes university requirements for the master’s degree.
After accepting admission to this coterminal master’s degree program, students may request a transfer of courses from the undergraduate to the graduate career to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree. Transferring courses to the graduate career requires review and approval of both the undergraduate and graduate programs on a case-by-case basis.
In this master’s program, courses taken during or after the first quarter of the sophomore year are eligible for consideration for transfer to the graduate career; the timing of the first graduate quarter is not a factor. No courses taken before the first quarter of the sophomore year may be used to meet master’s degree requirements.
Course transfers are not possible after the bachelor’s degree has been conferred.
The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
Candidates for the Coterminal MA should plan coursework that ensures adequate preparation for the Coterminal 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 Coterminal MA must complete a program of 45 units, of which 36 units must be selected from courses given by the department.
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.