Faculty of Arts Russian

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Faculty of Arts

Table of Contents

1. Time commitment to study
2. Language study streams
3. Diploma in Modern Languages (Russian)
4. Requirements for a major
5. Structuring a major
    5.1. Beginners stream
    5.2. Post-VCE stream
6. Optional subjects
7. Honours entry
8. Studying overseas
9. Career opportunities
10. For more information
Subject Lists
    Language subjects
    Optional subjects
        Second/third-year subjects
        Third/fourth-year subjects
        Fourth-year subjects

The study of Russian involves the study of the language, literature and culture of the Russian-speaking people. Russian is the official language of the Russian Federation, with some 150 million speakers, and is still a lingua franca amongst the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is a language with a significant modern literature. The 19th century boasts such writers as Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov, and there have been five winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature in the 20th century who wrote in Russian: Brodsky, Bunin, Pasternak, Sholokhov and Solzhenitsyn.

The Russian program provides a comprehensive range of subjects within the general area of Russian language, literature and culture. Students are also able and encouraged to take subjects in Russian and East/Central European history and political science as part of their major. It is also possible to undertake a linguistic study of another Slavic language (currently Czech) at a higher level.

The School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University also offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate subjects in Slavic languages, literatures and cultures which can be taken on a complementary course basis by Melbourne University students as part of their degree. The languages offered at Monash University are Ukranian and Polish.

1. Time commitment to study

As well as scheduled contact hours for lectures, tutorial and seminars a considerable additional time committment is needed to complete the academic requirements of each subect.

A subject-specific time commitment to study will be provided by your lecturer or tutor at the beginning of semester to help you schedule your workload and successfully manage your time during the semester. In addition, general estimates of the total time commitment required to study a 12.5-point single semester subject in the Faculty of Arts can be found on Time commitment to study.

2. Language study streams

The department offers two streams of Russian:

• Beginners

  • The beginners stream is for students who have little or no knowledge of Russian. It is available to students at both first and second year, although students intending to complete a major in Russian will normally need to commence their language study in the first year.

• Post-VCE

  • The post-VCE stream is usually only available to students who have obtained a pass in VCE Russian, or an approved equivalent.

3. Diploma in Modern Languages (Russian)

The Diploma in Modern Languages (DML) enables students to gain a diploma in language study while completing an undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne.

The DML usually involves a three-year sequence of language study, totalling a minimum of 100 points. It adds one year to the duration of an ordinary degree course.

The DML (Russian) is offered in beginners and post-VCE streams. Russian subjects are taken alongside the degree subjects in an integrated sequence of study. This must be approved by a faculty course adviser and the Head of the Russian Program. See Diploma in Modern Languages.

4. Requirements for a major

A major in Russian usually consists of 125 points comprising:

• four first-year subjects in Russian (37.5 points); and

• second-year subjects in Russian (37.5 points); and

• third-year subjects in Russian (50 points).

A major must include the following subjects:

• 109-109 Advanced Russian A

• 109-110 Advanced Russian B

5. Structuring a major

A major usually takes one of the following forms:

5.1. Beginners stream

5.2. Post-VCE stream

6. Optional subjects

The following subjects taught by Monash University may be available to Melbourne University BA students, see Can I enrol in subjects at other universities?. Not all these subjects are available each year. For further details please contact the Department of Slavic Studies at Monash University and a course adviser in the Faculty of Arts.

7. Honours entry

Students will normally enter a combined honours degree in Russian with another area of study in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne.

For information on how to apply see Applying for Honours.

The prerequisites for entry to fourth-year honours in Russian are:

• completion of all the requirements for the BA; and

• completion of a major in Russian; and

• (in the case of combined honours) completion of a major in the combined area of study; and

• an average grade of H2B or higher over the second/third-year subjects within the major.

Students undertaking combined honours in Russian and another area of study must complete:

• 109-506 Russian Thesis (37.5 points)

  and

• two honours subjects in Russian (25 points); and

• three honours subjects in the combined area of study (37.5 points); and

  or

• honours thesis in the combined area of study (37.5 points); and

• two honours subjects in the combined area of study (265 points); and

• three honours subjects in Russian.

8. Studying overseas

Students are encouraged to take in-country studies in Russian. Credit may be granted for subjects approved prior to the studies being undertaken. Melbourne Abroad Scholarships are available on a competitive basis through the School of Languages for such study trips.

9. Career opportunities

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts who have majored in Russian have found employment in teaching, the media, the theatre, the public service, diplomacy and tourism. In addition, when combined with another or a higher degree, Russian equips graduates for careers in academia, international law, and international business. Commercial dealings between the West, including Australia and Russia are also increasing.

10. For more information

Dr Robert Lagerberg
Russian Program
Room 704B, Arts Centre (corner of Swanston Street and Grattan Streets)
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: +61 3 8344 5187
Email: robertjl@unimelb.edu.au
Web: http://www.russian.unimelb.edu.au/

or (for Monash University subject enquiries)

Dr Millicent Vladiv-Glover
Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University
Victoria 3800
Tel: +61 3 9905 2256
Email: Millicent.Vladivglover@arts.monash.edu.au

Language subjects

109-101 Beginners Russian A
109-102 Beginners Russian B
109-103 Beginners Russian C
109-104 Beginners Russian D
109-105 Intermediate Russian A
109-106 Intermediate Russian B
109-107 Intermediate Russian C
109-108 Intermediate Russian D
109-109 Advanced Russian A
109-110 Advanced Russian B

Optional subjects

Second/third-year subjects

Third/fourth-year subjects

Fourth-year subjects

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