USC
University of Southern California
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Graduate Degrees

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate major in Slavic languages and literatures or equivalent is a prerequisite for graduate work. Undergraduate major requirements must include four language and four literature courses at the upper division level.

Degree Requirements

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation section and the USC Graduate School section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Transfer credit to be applied toward the master's degree must have been earned no earlier than seven years prior to the date of application (or 10 years for a Ph.D.).

Master of Arts in Slavic Languages and Literatures

The department does not accept applicants for a Master of Arts degree in Slavic languages and literatures. The M.A. degree is intended only as a transitional degree in the process of completing requirements for the Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures.

A student must complete 30 units in Russian, three units of which may be taken in a related department. Students who lack undergraduate preparation in any given area may be required to take appropriate courses at the 400 level before enrolling in 500-level courses. Command of spoken and written Russian must be demonstrated; a proficiency examination must be taken at the beginning of the first semester of study and again before the completion of the degree to demonstrate sufficient progress. Written and oral examinations or a thesis are required on completion of course work. The thesis is an honors option. The departmental Graduate Committee will consider thesis requests on the basis of a student's performance in graduate courses, units completed, and individual background in Russian literature. The thesis may be taken in lieu of four units of course work.

Required coursesUnits
SLL 500Topics in Advanced Russian (2 units each semester to total 8 units)8
SLL 501Proseminar in Russian Literature3
SLL 516Structure of Modern Russian: Morphology3
SLL 530Early Russian Literature and Culture (11th-17th Centuries), or
SLL 53218th Century Russian Literature3

Two courses in 19th century Russian literature, and two courses in 20th century Russian literature (one course in Russian art or culture may be substituted for one course in either 19th or 20th century literature).

One elective may be selected from relevant courses in any department with approval of the graduate advisor.

Doctor of Philosophy in Slavic Languages and Literatures

The course of study leading to the Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures requires 30 units of course work beyond the M.A. Requirements include: demonstrated proficiency in spoken and written Russian; reading knowledge of French and German (In exceptional cases a second Slavic language may substitute for either French or German. Instruction in Slavic languages other than Russian is not scheduled on a regular basis); comprehensive examinations in primary and secondary fields of concentration; dissertation. Required courses are: SLL 510 or SLL 512, SLL 548, SLL 584, SLL 585; and two courses selected from SLL 650, SLL 660, and SLL 665.

Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

Specialization in Slavic
See Linguistics in this catalogue.

Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching

The Certificate in Foreign Language Teaching provides certification in the theory and practice of second or foreign language teaching for student language teachers concurrently enrolled in graduate degree programs in foreign languages or related graduate programs at USC; for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages; for external candidates concurrently enrolled in similar programs at accredited colleges or universities; or for graduates of such programs who are teaching languages. The certificate is meant to supplement graduate study in the literature or linguistics of foreign languages. It is also meant to supplement classroom teaching. Refer to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese for course work requirements.