Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers majors in Russian and Slavic Studies. These majors provide students with the opportunity to study the languages, literatures, and cultures of Russia and of the Slavic-speaking Eastern European countries, including Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, and Croatia.

Students in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature include those whose primary interest is languages and/or literature, those who wish to enhance their career opportunities in a special way, those who have an interest in the politics and culture of Russia and the Slavic speaking Eastern European countries, and those who have a desire to explore their ethnic heritage. Many majors continue their studies in graduate or professional school and then go on to careers in business, government, teaching, law, medicine, social work, other health-related professions as well as the CIA, FBI and various NGOs and public policy institutions. Knowledge of a Slavic language has been valuable in working in local Western Pennsylvania institutions, politics, business, health-related professions, and the media because of the large population of those ethnicities in this region. Students are advised to begin language study early in order to gain as complete a command of the language as possible. For more information on the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and its programs, see www.slavic.pitt.edu.

During the fall and spring terms, the department offers language courses in Russian, Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian, with Serbian and Croatian available through the Language Acquisition Institute. Any student with prior experience in Russian or Ukrainian (including heritage speakers and those who studied a language in high school or abroad) are required to consult with the instructor before being admitted to any language courses in the department. Placement tests are offered to test suitability.

Summer term intensive courses in Russian, Polish, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Ukrainian as well as Romanian and Hungarian are offered through the Slavic Department’s Summer Language Institute [SLI]. Summer language courses are intensive and cover an entire year of study. First through fourth year level courses may be offered. These courses afford students the opportunity to make rapid progress through the language in order to qualify for advanced courses and for various study abroad opportunities. Summer study in the SLI now offers the opportunity to study for the first half of the course in Pittsburgh and the second part in the target country, with excursions to major cities and monuments. Scholarships are available for the SLI programs.

Deserving of special mention is the department’s program in Slovak language, literature and culture-the only such program in the United States, and one that additionally offers the opportunity for several students each year to study abroad in Slovakia.

Programs

Major

Minor

Courses

Polish

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Slavic

Slavic Language Institute - Non-Slavic Languages

Slovak

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