Requirements and Opportunities

Students may complete a major or minor in Russian. 

The Russian major is a multidisciplinary program designed to provide students with a broad understanding of Russian culture and the Russophone world. The major places a strong emphasis on the development of functional proficiency in the Russian language. Language study is combined with a specific area of concentration to be selected from the fields of Russian literature, history, economics, language/linguistics, or area studies.

College Foreign Language Requirement

The College’s foreign language requirement may be satisfied by completing RUSS 001 and 002 (or RUSS 101/102, RUSS 201/202, or RUSS 390/391) with an average grade of at least 2.0. The department conducts placement tests for first-time students with previous Russian language study in the week before classes start in the fall semester. For any student interested in being placed, please reach out to Dr. Irina Walsh (iwalsh@brynmawr.edu).

Major Requirements

A total of 10 courses is required to complete the major: two in Russian language at the 200 level or above; four in the area of concentration, two at the 200 level and two at the 300 level or above (for the concentration in area studies, the four courses must be in four different fields); three in Russian fields outside the area of concentration; and either RUSS 398, Senior Essay, or RUSS 399, Senior Conference.

Russian majors have the option of fulfilling the College’s writing requirement through Writing Attentive (WA) courses either through upper-level Russian language courses, where the focus is on writing in Russian, or through 200-level courses on Russian literature (in translation), culture or film, where the focus is on writing in English.  Majors also have the option of completing one WA course in Russian and one WA course in English.

Majors are encouraged to pursue advanced language study in Russia in summer, semester, or year-long academic programs. Majors may also take advantage of intensive immersion language courses offered during the summer by the Bryn Mawr Russian Language Institute. As part of the requirement for RUSS 398/399, all Russian majors take senior comprehensive examinations that cover the area of concentration and Russian language competence.

Major Requirements in the 2025-26 academic year pending approval:

A total of 10 courses is required to complete the major, which must include:

• RUSS102 (not required if the student is placed into a 200 or 300-level Russian language course, in which case one additional RUSS language course will help fulfill the ten-course minimum);
• at least three language or content courses, taught in Russian at the 200 level;
• at least three content courses taught in Russian at the 300 level, including either RUSS398, Senior Essay, or RUSS399, Senior Essay;
• at least two area studies courses that are offered in history, literature, film, culture, taught in translation;
• one additional RUSS course.

Russian majors have the option of fulfilling the College’s writing requirement through Writing Attentive (WA) courses either through upper-level Russian language courses, where the focus is on writing in Russian, or through 200-level courses on Russian literature, culture, or film (in translation), where the focus is on writing in English. Majors also have the option of completing one WA course in Russian and one WA course in English.

As part of the requirement for RUSS 398 or RUSS399, all Russian majors take senior comprehensive examinations.

A sample Russian major track:

RUSS102: Intensive Intermediate Russian

RUSS201: Intensive Advanced Russian

RUSS202: Intensive Advanced Russian

RUSS240: Russian through Art

RUSS271: Chekhov: His Short Stories and Plays in Translation (in translation)

RUSS252: Love, Death, Justice, and Russian Literature (in translation)

RUSS365: Russian and Soviet Film Culture

RUSS390: Russian for Pre-Professionals I

RUSS391: Russian for Pre-Professionals II

RUSS398/399: Senior Essay

Honors

All Russian majors are considered for departmental honors at the end of their senior year. The awarding of honors is based on a student’s overall academic record, work done in the major, and intellectual engagement with Russian language and culture.

The departmental faculty awards honors based on superior performance in two areas: coursework in major-related courses (including language classes), and the senior thesis. The faculty requires a minimum 3.7 average in major-related coursework to consider a student for honors.

Study Abroad

The Russian Department strongly recommends that majors study abroad for a summer, semester, or academic year in countries where Russian is spoken such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, or Armenia to maximize their language proficiency and cultural familiarity. We require formal approval by the department major adviser and Study Abroad office prior to the student’s travel. Without this approval, credit for courses taken abroad might not be given by the department and/or College.  Russian courses taken abroad can, with the approval of the Russian Department, be counted toward the Russian major.

Domestic Summer Language Study Option

If study abroad is not practical, students may consider attending the Bryn Mawr Russian Language Institute or another approved intensive summer program offered domestically.

Senior Prizes

Graduating Seniors in Russian are eligible for the Elinor Nahm Prize in Russian Language and Linguistics or Elinor Nahm Prize in Russian Literature and Culture – prizes awarded for excellence in the study of Russian language and linguistics and of Russian literature and culture. The prizes carry a small award that is announced and celebrated at the annual Senior Awards Ceremony.

Minor Requirements

Students wishing to minor in Russian must complete six units at the 100 level or above, two of which must be in the Russian language.

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