Russian MA (Hons)

University of St Andrews

The MA (Hons) in Russian teaches you to use Russian with sound grammatical accuracy and a high level of oral aptitude. In addition to language teaching, you will gain a deeper and more diverse understanding and appreciation of Russian-language cultures, histories and societies through modules dedicated to literature, film, cultural history, and contemporary society.

Russian at St Andrews uses a specially designed language teaching programme that caters both for students who have already studied Russian as a main subject at school and for absolute beginners. Upon completing the degree, you will have an excellent command of the Russian language and be familiar with the Russian-speaking world.

Course details

The MA (Hons) in Russian is a four-year course run by the School of Modern Languages. The course focuses on building a high level of competence in language skills and allows you to explore topics of interest within Russian-language culture and history.

The course is available to both students who are beginners in Russian and to more advanced students who have an SQA Higher or a GCE A-Level qualification in Russian. Advanced students will follow a separate language course for the first two years.

In the first two years, students of all levels will build on their Russian language skills and are offered a broad view of Russian-language literatures, histories and cultures.

Alongside Russian, in the first year of your studies, you will be required to study an additional two subjects. In the second year you will usually carry on at least one of these subjects, sometimes two. Find out more about how academic years are organised.

During your degree, you have the opportunity to apply to spend time studying abroad in a Russian-speaking country. Studying abroad is not compulsory, but is strongly recommended as the best way to master the language and to better know the country. On a four-year degree, students can spend one semester in a Russian-speaking country. The MA (Hons) in Russian is also available as a five-year course with an integrated year abroad when students spend time studying in a Russian-speaking country between their second and third years.

Careers

Russia’s political and economic significance in the world means ever-multiplying career prospects for those who can communicate in Russian.
Graduates of Russian have gone on to successful careers in:

• accountancy
• the armed services
• the British Foreign Office
• Civil Service
• finance
• journalism
• law
• management consultancy
• translation and interpreting 
• teaching.

Others work as educators in Russia and Eastern Europe or pursue graduate study.