Program Requirements

Major Requirements:

• Complete Russian 101, 102, 201, 202 (may be waived for students with sufficient language proficiency)
• Complete Russian 321, 322, 323, 330, 340, 421, 422, 441, 442, 492R (all courses are required)
• Complete Russian 341, Russian 342 or Russian 343.
• Russian majors are expected to live in a Russian speaking country for at least 16 months or complete an approved academic program in Russia. In addition, Russian majors either complete a second university major or a rigorous program of study proposed by the student and approved by the Russian section head.

Minor Requirements:

• Complete Russian 101, 102, 201, 202
• Complete the following with the BYU St. Petersburg Study Abroad program or an approved equivalent program: Russian 211, 321, 330, 490R.

Russian Minor and Returned Missionaries

We are occasionally asked why BYU does not offer a minor in Russian for returned Russian-speaking missionaries. After all, other language departments provide minors. There are two main reasons. The first has to do with resources. In the Russian section we are firmly committed to having full-time faculty teach Russian at all levels (from 101 to 492). Having a minor would increase the number of students in our 3rd year courses and so require more full-time faculty to cover these courses, forcing us to hire student teachers for the lower division courses. The obvious solution would be to hire another faculty or two, but the university is currently not able to provide more Russian teachers. The other reason has to do with the marketability of our graduates. We have found that most of our students are able to improve significantly their marketability by combining their Russian major with that of another field, whereas a minor in Russian means little. Since the requirements for the Russian major are very limited (only 29 hours for a returned missionary!), most students find they can graduate with a double major making themselves more attractive to potential employers, and widening their possibilities in graduate or professional schools. Though we offer a lean Russian major, the already strong capabilities of our incoming students allows us to promote intensive work in our classes. Consequently, we have one of the finest Russian programs in the country. Our courses teach in-depth language, culture, pronunciation, and the structure of Russian, and we cover some of the most influential works of literature ever written in any language. For more information or to discuss a course of Russian study, please see the Russian Section Head.

Russian BA Program Objectives:

Graduates of the Russian major should . . .

1. Speak Russian proficiently in ordinary situations as well as in routine business and professional matters. Pronunciation, grammar, syntactical complexity, usage and effectiveness of communication should approximate the "superior" (3) level on the proficiency scale of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language.
2. Understand Russian conversational speech as well as routine business and professional discourse. Comprehension should approximate the "superior" (3) level on the proficiency scale of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language.
3. Read Russian written texts such as newspapers, literary texts, and college-level informational texts with a high degree of understanding and be able to describe and to evaluate their context, style, and organization. This proficiency should approximate the "superior" (3) level on the proficiency scale of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language.
4. Write Russian with sufficient proficiency to express their personal experiences, feelings, and opinions to write routine business correspondence and to research and compose simple reports and essays characterized by good organization, coherent development, and standard grammar, syntax, and diction. This proficiency should approximate the "advanced" (2) level on the proficiency scale of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language.
5. Demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences generally, as well as for variance between their own culture and Russian culture.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of the main periods, figures, and achievements of Russian cultural history, especially in literature.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of main principles of linguistics as they relate to Russian.
8. Demonstrate research, critical reasoning, and writing capabilities which will prepare graduates for an active life of the mind.
9. Demonstrate a good understanding of methods for maintaining and extending their abilities in Russian after graduation.

The curriculum is designed to build increasing proficiency in the language and to develop knowledge and skills in Russian culture, including literature. A senior seminar culminates the curriculum with in-depth study of a limited area of language or literature and requires research and writing.