Russian and Slavic Studies
Dr. Ana Hedberg Olenina
About this opportunity
The BA program in Russian explores Russia's language, literature, history and more. As part of a small community of program participants with the resources of a large university, students gain intermediate to advanced reading, writing and speaking skills in Russian. They also study Russian civilization, pop culture, protest and propaganda, and classical Russian works. Visit the program page here.
The program partners with the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies to offer a certificate in agribusiness, anthropology, architecture, economics, geography, history, political science, religious studies, Russian, sociology or women's studies. They also work closely with the Critical Languages Institute. There students can complete two years of Russian in one year, or four years in two years through tuition-free intensive summer immersion with study abroad scholarships. We study Russophone civilization, history, and culture, including pop culture, film and media, propaganda and espionage, and the classics.
Thesis
All projects are research and writing based. Students select their research projects in consultation with their advisor and then write their thesis. The thesis director must be a continuing faculty member at ASU with a terminal degree; the second committee member can be anyone with sufficient expertise in the thesis topic.
Academic Preparation
Depending on your topic, it is a good idea to complete upper-division courses in RUS or SLV. The SLV or RUS 492 and 493 will be taken for thesis research and the thesis defense and final presentation.
Recommended Timeline
During their penultimate semester, the students should conduct thesis research in RUS/SLV 492 and during their final semester, they should write the thesis in RUS/SLV 493.
Other Honors Opportunities
Many RUS courses have an HON cross-listed section. Otherwise, please contact the instructor to learn about honors enrichment contracts. Students are also encouraged to engage in undergraduate research. Examples include: