University of Wisconsin-Madison
Department of Slavic Languages And Literature

Guide to Graduate Study

Table of Contents

The University of Wisconsin-Madison: A Brief History and Introduction

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is a public, land-grant institution, founded in 1849.   It combines ten schools and three colleges on a single campus, situated on the shores of Lake Mendota. The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures is part of the College of Letters and Sciences.

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures began in 1936 as the Department of Polish. In 1942, it was renamed the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and was made a regular part of the University budget.   After World War II, the Department grew rapidly.   The Department's first M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures was earned by George Deptula in 1950; and the first Ph.D. in 1961 by Sigmund Birkenmajer, son of its second chairman, Jozef Birkenmajer.   In 1962, there was a thorough revision of the undergraduate Russian major and the M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures, and a regular program was approved leading to the Ph.D.   Other Slavic languages have also been added to the regular offerings in Russian and Polish: Serbo-Croatian and Bulgarian in 1962, and Czech in 1964.

Madison, the state capital of Wisconsin, is a city of approximately 200,000 people with many of the cultural advantages of a large city and the friendliness of a small town.   It has its own airport served by major airlines and is within driving distance of other major cities in the Midwest (77 miles from Milwaukee, 148 miles from Chicago, and 268 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul).

Graduate Program

General Information about Admission | Back to Table of Contents

Advice to Applicants | Back to Table of Contents

In addition to the materials (such as three letters of recommendation) sent directly to the Graduate School, a Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study, a writing sample, one set of transcripts (from all institutions attended during undergraduate/graduate study), and GRE scores should be sent directly to the Slavic Department.  

Students interested in applying to the graduate program should ask for recommendations from those professors who know well not only their language skills, but also their ability to work with literary texts (both primary and secondary). Often it is best for students to get recommendations from professors from whom they have taken several courses and with whom they have had personal contact.   It is sometimes helpful for students to get a good recommendation from a professor outside their department.   A student's performance in third-year Russian grammar may be less impressive than an outstanding performance in a course on the modern English novel, in which the student outperformed all English majors.   Please note, however, that most of our students begin graduate study with very good to excellent Russian language skills.

A good Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study (500 words or more) is very important, and so is a writing sample . The writing sample should be a scholarly paper in English, generally under 20 pages in length, analyzing a literary text or texts (preferably a Russian literary text or texts).

GRE scores are required for admission to the graduate program and for most major fellowships.   If the Slavic Department does not receive GRE scores by the January 2 fellowship deadline, applicants will not be eligible for consideration for a fellowship.   Accordingly, we encourage students to take the GRE's in time for us to get the scores. The GRE's are administered annually in November, but applicants may also take the tests by computer on a year-round basis.   For more information, see http://www.gre.org .

First-year graduate students from other institutions who have only been there for one semester (and have not taken more than one course from a professor), should solicit most of their recommendations from their undergraduate or previous institution.   For these relatively new students, GRE scores, undergraduate grades, undergraduate recommendations, a Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study, and a writing sample determine success in the admission and fellowship competition.

Applications to the University of Wisconsin Graduate School can be submitted on-line at: http://www.wisc.edu/grad/eapp/index.html .

M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures | Back to Table of Contents

Candidates for admission to studies leading to the Master of Arts degree with concentration in Russian are expected to have preparation equivalent to an undergraduate major in Russian language and literature at the University or Wisconsin-Madison.

A candidate with deficiencies in such preparation will, after admission, be expected to remove them by taking the appropriate courses.

A.   M.A. with concentration in Russian - a minimum of 27 graduate-level credits is required as follows:

•  Russian literature

Slavic 700 - Slavic Critical Theory and Practice 3cr
Two 700-level courses in Russian literature 6 cr

•  Linguistics

Slavic 704 - Structure of Russian 3 cr

Slavic 706 - Old Church Slavic 3 cr

•  One seminar in Russian literature (900-level) 3 cr

•  Any additional 300-700 level Slavic courses 6 cr

•  Slavic 818: Methods of Teaching Russian 3 cr

•  Language competency examinations: students must pass any three of the five examinations in Russian before the warrant for the M.A. may be requested.   See p. 8 for more details.

Students who have fulfilled the above requirements for the minimum of 27 graduate-level credits (300-level or above) and have made satisfactory progress, as determined by the Graduate Studies Committee, will be granted the M.A. on request. Where satisfactory progress has not been adequately demonstrated by the candidate, the Department reserves the right to require the candidate to take an M.A. examination in order to certify that such progress has been achieved before conferral of the degree.

Continuation to the Ph.D.: a detailed statement of the policy is available from the Graduate Advisor.

B.   Other M.A. concentrations:

Programs leading to the Master of Arts with concentration in a Slavic language other than Russian may be set up by special arrangements.   The Department at present offers the M.A. with concentration in Polish.

Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literature | Back to Table of Contents

Students who are making satisfactory progress and who have fulfilled the necessary requirements will have the M.A. degree conferred on request and can be admitted to the Ph.D. program after approval by the faculty. A detailed statement of the policy is available from the Graduate Advisor.

The program leading to the Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures with Russian concentration requires 54 graduate-level credits (300-level or above) including the 27 credits earned for the M.A. in Slavic.   These 54 credits also include at least three seminars in the Slavic Department and 10-12 credits for the required Ph.D. minor.   The exact number of credits required for the minor depends on the minor department.   Credits for courses taken to pass the reading examination in French or German do not count toward the minimum of 54 credits of course work

A.      The Departmental requirements for the Ph.D. with concentration in literature are as follows:

•  Detailed knowledge of the history and development of one Slavic literature.

•  Oral and written competence in the student's major Slavic language (which must be the language of [1] above), including orientation in its structure and history.   Students must pass all five language competency examinations in Russian (or the equivalent in the student's major language if that language is not Russian) by the beginning of the fifth semester of graduate studies.   See p. 8 for more details.

•  Reading competence in and general knowledge of the literature of at least one additional Slavic language.

•  Reading competence in and general knowledge of German or French. Taking courses for this requirement is optional; students only need to pass an examination administered by the German or French Department.

•  An acceptable dissertation.

B.   The Departmental requirements for the Ph.D. with concentration in linguistics are as follows:

•  Knowledge of the structure and history of the language of specialization and another Slavic language, plus reading competence in a third Slavic language.   Students must pass all five language competency examinations in Russian (or the equivalent in the student's major language if that language is not Russian) by the beginning of the fifth semester of graduate studies.   See p. 8 for more details.

•  Orientation in general linguistics and in the interrelations of the Slavic languages.

•  Orientation in the literature of the language of specialization.

•  Reading competence in and general knowledge of German or French.   Taking courses for this requirement is optional; students only need to pass an examination administered by the German or French Department.

•  An acceptable dissertation.

•  Requirements for a Ph.D. Minor:

The University of Wisconsin Graduate School requires that students complete an external or internal minor outside their major field of study.   See the Graduate School's Academic Guidelines for more information.   We encourage students to pursue a minor in an area that will supplement their future research in Slavic, whether it be an internal minor in Polish or Serbo-Croatian (see section D below), or one of the more common minors taken outside the Slavic Department, such as Comparative Literature, Folklore, History, Philosophy, or one of the relevant literatures such as English, French, German, or Spanish.

Students have a choice of two types of minors:

Option A :   Requires a minimum of 10 graduate-level credits (300-level or above) in a single department/major field of study.   Selection of this option requires the approval of the minor department.

Option B (distributed) :   Requires a minimum of 10 graduate-level credits in one or more departments and can include course work in the major department.   Selection of this option requires the approval of the major department.   Suggested distributed minors are:   Polish, Serbo-Croatian, or Second Language Acquisition (see section D below).

Course transfer : It is possible to use credits earned for an M.A. at another university in an area other than Slavic to fulfill the minor requirements toward a Ph.D. in this department.    The credits are not transferred; rather, students are exempted from taking courses toward a Ph.D. minor, and they can go on to take other courses toward the Ph.D.   To request this waiver, a student should write a letter to the Graduate Advisor and enclose appropriate documentation (grade transcripts, syllabi, reading lists).

D. Requirements for a Ph.D. Minor in Slavic:

Graduate students in other departments are invited to minor in the Slavic Department, selecting one of the following established programs or contacting an appropriate faculty member to establish an individualized   minor.

Minor in Polish (contact: Professor Halina Filipowicz)

12 credits as follows:

1.   Required: Slavic 302 (must be taken before courses in category 2).

2.   Remaining credits from: Slavic 470, 472, 474*, 699; students may also take one of either Slavic 331 or 332 in this category.

*Slavic 470 and 472 must be taken prior to Slavic 474 for those who wish to include Slavic 474 in their Ph.D. minor program in Polish literature.

Minor in Russian (contact: Professor Judith Kornblatt)

12 credits as follows:

1) At least 6 credits in 700- or 900-level Slavic courses in Russian literature.

2) Remaining credits may be taken in 400-level courses in Russian literature and up to one of the following: Slavic 321, 322, 704.

Minor in Serbo-Croatian (contact: Professors Margaret Beissinger and Tomislav Longinovic)

12 credits as follows:

Slavic 341, 342

Slavic 449, 454

E.   Second Slavic Requirements and/or Internal Ph.D. Minors

Czech:   It is currently not possible to do a Ph.D. minor in Czech.   However, graduate students can study Czech for their Second Slavic Requirement.   Taking courses for this requirement is optional; students only need to pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination in Czech.

First-year and second-year courses are taught on a two-year sequence; they meet with the corresponding undergraduate courses, although students enrolled at the graduate level have additional requirements

The Ph.D. preliminary examination for graduate students who have taken Czech as their second Slavic area consists of two parts.   In the first part, the students will demonstrate a reading knowledge of Czech by translating a passage or passages from Czech to English; students may use a Czech-English dictionary for their translation.   The second part will be a long essay question relating to the work of a contemporary Czech writer whom the student has previously chosen, in consultation with the Czech language instructor, to study in depth.   It is recommended that students decide on a writer well in advance of the preliminary examination.

Polish : Courses that fulfill the requirements for a Ph.D. minor in Polish are:

SL301: Introduction to Intensive Polish

SL302: Zarys historii literatury polskiej

SL470:   Historia literatury polskiej do roku 1863.

SL472:   Historia literatury polskiej po roku 1863.

The preliminary examination for a Ph.D. minor in Polish covers the history of Polish literature since the Middle Ages to the present.

Students can choose Polish for their Second Slavic Requirement without doing a Polish minor.   Taking courses for this requirement is optional; students only need to pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination in Polish.   It is recommended, however, that students take SL301 and SL302.   The Ph.D. preliminary examination in Polish as the second Slavic area is based on the material covered in SL302.   It will test students'   knowledge of issues central to Polish culture, rather than their familiarity with the Polish literary canon.

Serbo-Croatian: Courses that fulfill the requirements for a Ph.D. minor in Serbo-Croatian are:

SL341: First-Semester Intensive Serbo-Croatian

SL342: Uvod u srpsku i hrvatsku knjizevnost)

SL450: Istorija srpske i hrvatske literature

SL454: Moderna srpska i hrvatska literature

The preliminary examination for a Ph.D. minor in Serbo-Croatian covers both contemporary Serbian/Croatian literature and the history of Serbian/Croatian literature.

Students can choose Serbo-Croatian for their Second Slavic Requirement without doing a Serbo-Croatian minor.   As with Czech and Polish, taking courses for this requirement is optional; students only need to pass the Ph.D. preliminary examination in Serbo-Croatian.   It is recommended, however, that students take SL341 and SL342, as well a literature course of their choice: either SL450 or SL454.   Questions for a preliminary examination in Serbo-Croatian as the second Slavic area are based on the literature course students have taken: either history of literature or contemporary literature.

Course and Credit Requirements | Back to Table of Contents

The Graduate School considers full-time enrollment to be 8-12 graduate credits (300-level and above; no audits or pass-fail) during the fall and spring semesters.

Dissertators are considered full-time with 3 graduate-level credits per semester.

Non-dissertator TA's who hold a semester appointment of at least 33.33% and are registered for 6 graduate credits, or who hold an appointment of at least 50% and are registered for 4 graduate credits, are considered full-time by the registrar for loan deferment and for certification of student immigration status.

For more details, see the Graduate School's Academic Guidelines.

Advising | Back to Table of Contents

•  Students are assigned to the Graduate Advisor upon enrollment.

•    Students must meet with the Graduate Advisor prior to registration for the following semester's courses.

•  In addition, students are encouraged to consult with other faculty in the Department about their coursework.

•  Students choose a major advisor as they prepare their dissertation proposal.   This advisor is chosen based on compatibility of interests and by mutual consent.   Students are encouraged to consult with several faculty members in the process.

Deadlines for Normal Completion of Requirements | Back to Table of Contents

The following apply to students entering with the B.A. in Russian or another Slavic language:

1. Students must complete the M.A. degree in not more than four semesters.

•  Students must pass three of the five competency examinations in Russian before a warrant for the M.A. may be requested, and all five examinations must be passed by the beginning of the fifth semester of graduate studies.   Time off from the program, such as a leave of absence to study in Russia, does not count toward the fifth-semester deadline.   Students can take the tests as many times as they want.     See below for more information.

•  All requirements must be completed before Ph.D. preliminary examinations can be taken.   Exceptions are made only in special cases.

5. Ph.D. preliminary examinations must be completed not later than the eighth semester of residence.

6. The Ph.D. dissertation must be completed and successfully defended within five years from the date of the Ph.D. preliminary examinations, or the preliminary examinations must be retaken.

7. Exceptions to the above deadlines must be requested in writing to the Graduate Advisor prior to the end of the deadline semester.

The following apply to students entering with the M.A. in Slavic Languages and Literatures (with concentration in Russian or another Slavic language):

•  Incoming students must take a qualifying examination not later than the end of their first semester in residence.

•  On a course by course basis, incoming students can request to waive a particular course requirement.   For example, if they have already had Old Church Slavic or Slavic Theory and Criticism, they can bring in their syllabus (or reading list), and the instructor for the respective course determines if that course will count for a waiver.   The credit is not transferred, but rather students are exempted from taking the course, and they can go on to take other courses toward the Ph.D.   After they pass the M.A. examination, they need only take the number of credits the Slavic Department requires for the Ph.D. (54 minus the 27 needed for the M.A. = 27).

•  Students must pass all five language competency examinations by the deadline set in consultation with the Language Program Director and the Graduate Advisor.

•  All requirements must be completed before Ph.D. preliminary examinations can be taken.   Exceptions are made only in special cases.

•  Ph.D. preliminary examinations must be completed not later than the sixth semester in residence.

•  Exceptions to the above deadlines must be requested in writing to the Graduate Advisor by the end of the deadline semester.

Language competency examinations in Russian | Back to Table of Contents

There are five language competency examinations:   listening, reading, speaking, writing and grammar.   The grammar test features 100 items testing mastery of basic conjugation, declension, pronominal constructions, participles, verbal adverbs, verbs of motion, time expressions, discourse markers, among other topics.    Graduate students must earn a score of 90 or better to demonstrate grammatical competency on this test.   The other tests are all based on the proficiency guidelines developed under the auspices of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL); graduate students must demonstrate advanced level skills on each of these tests in order to pass them.

Students must take the tests upon enrollment and may take them again when they are regularly scheduled.   The tests are offered annually during Welcome Week before the beginning of the fall semester and again after final exams in the spring semester.

Students must pass any three of the five examinations before the warrant for the M.A. may be requested.

All five examinations must be passed by the beginning of the fifth semester of residence.

When a student goes on a study abroad program, the clock on language competency examinations stops until his/her return.

Satisfactory Progress | Back to Table of Contents

•  Students must maintain a 3.40 GPA in graduate work.   Students who enter the program starting in the fall of 2002 must maintain a 3.60 GPA.

•  Pre-dissertation students are informed in writing of their progress following the second semester of each year.   This letter, written by the Graduate Advisor, states each student's GPA, outstanding incompletes, and Russian proficiency examinations remaining.   The letter also compiles comments from the faculty who have worked with the student over the year. Criteria include not only final grades, but also broader instructor assessment of class performance, language skills, and performance in assigned duties as project or teaching assistant, reader, hourly worker, or other capacities.   Dissertators receive a letter from their major advisor.

Incompletes:

The Graduate School receives graduate students' grades from the Registrar's Office.   Students carrying more than one incomplete for more than a semester may have their registration for the following semester blocked.   They may also lose their priority for funding.

Ph.D. Preliminary Examinations | Back to Table of Contents

•  Students receive a reading list for the preliminary examinations in the semester they enter the program.   The preliminary examinations are based on this list, in addition to the course work.

•  Students may receive a sample copy of the examinations from the Department Administrator.

•  Written examinations are offered in October and February of each year.   Before a student may take the first written exam (in October or February), he or she must agree with a professor in the Slavic Department to serve as the director of his/her dissertation.   The student and the professor need not at this stage work out the full dissertation proposal, but they must agree on the basic area for the dissertation topic and agree with two other faculty members who will serve on the student's dissertation committee.   The student must inform the Chair of the Department and the Graduate Advisor in writing of the dissertation topic, the name of the dissertation director, and the names of the two other faculty members who agree to serve on the committee, not later than one week prior to the date of the first prelim.   These steps will help the student to prepare for the oral examination and Ph.D. proposal defense that take place at the end of the semester in which the written exams are passed.

•  The written examinations are comprised of four parts: a) old Russian literature and eighteenth-century Russian literature (2 hours), b) nineteenth-century Russian literature (2.5 hours and a 1,500-word essay as a take-home exam), c) twentieth-century Russian literature (2.5 hours and a 1,500-word essay as a take-home exam), d) second Slavic literature (2 hours).

•  Students are informed of the results of their examinations in writing by the Graduate Advisor.   The grades are high pass, pass, and fail.

•  If a student fails one part of the examination, he or she must retake that part not later than his/her eighth semester in residence.

•  Ph.D. preliminary examinations must be completed not later than the eighth semester of residence (the sixth semester for students coming with an M.A. in Slavic).

Dissertation | Back to Table of Contents

•  As students prepare the dissertation proposal as the final part of the preliminary examinations, they should choose the dissertation advisor who will serve as the first reader of the dissertation.   In consultation with the advisor, students then choose a second and third reader to serve as a committee. Students consult with the advisor and the committee as they work on the dissertation.

•  A dissertation draft acceptable to the major advisor must be completed by the beginning of the spring semester for the May defense or by the beginning of the fall semester for the December defense.   Dissertators may not be able to defend in a timely fashion if the readers do not have enough time to read the dissertation.   The draft is then passed to the second and third reader.

•  The second and third readers will have a month to read a draft of the completed dissertation.   They will read the draft simultaneously.

•  In consultation with the advisor, dissertators schedule the defense and get the fourth and fifth readers.   The readers must receive a dissertation copy no less than one week prior to the defense date.   The fifth reader must be from outside the Department, usually from the Ph.D. minor area.

Leaves of Absence | Back to Table of Contents

Graduate students can request a leave of absence for one or more semesters.   To do so, they need first to consult with the Graduate Advisor and then write a letter to the Chair .

Grievances and Appeals | Back to Table of Contents

Our Department subscribes to the grievances and appeals guidelines developed by the Graduate School.   See the Graduate School's Academic Guidelines or http://www.wisc.edu/grad/gs/students/appeal.html. For more information, contact the Slavic Department's Grievances Committee, appointed yearly by the Chair.   A list of members may be obtained from the Department Administrator.

Teacher Training | Back to Table of Contents

Part of the Slavic Department's mission is to train future teachers of Slavic languages and literature.   To that end, pre-service training includes a 3-day orientation session conducted by the Language Institute and required of all new language teaching assistants.   The orientation session is held every fall semester in the week preceding the first day of class.

In-service training features several training components:  

•  A 3-credit seminar in methods of teaching Slavic languages (Slavic 818), required prior to or concurrently with the first semester of teaching in the department.

•  A 1-credit practicum hour for teaching assistants in Russian (Slavic 820), required for new and continuing graduate student teaching assistants, dedicated to the discussion of issues and problems related to teaching and testing for courses taught by graduate teaching assistants.

•  1-2 observations of each graduate student teaching assistant per semester to help all teaching assistants develop their own teaching styles and improve classroom performance.

•  TAs for literature and writing (Communication B courses) attend the workshop coordinated by the Writing Center.   In addition, they meet regularly with the course's supervising professor.

Whenever possible, the Department attempts to provide graduate students with the widest possible range of professional experiences, including teaching experience in both language and literature courses. This teaching experience, together with the comprehensive teacher training program, makes our graduates in Slavic Languages and Literatures attractive candidates in the academic job market.

TAs are chosen each year based on departmental need as well as students' satisfactory progress.   A detailed statement of the policy (Criteria in Making Teaching and Program Assistants Appointments) is available from the Graduate Advisor.

Related Graduate Programs | Back to Table of Contents

Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) : CREECA is a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center, which was established in 1993 to unite the efforts of two long standing University programs: Russian and East European Studies and Central Asian Studies.

CREECA's mission is threefold: to foster new knowledge and understanding of Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia; to train a new generation by providing the knowledge, tools, and experience necessary for understanding these societies and for playing productive roles in their reconstruction; to serve as a community resource through outreach activities designed for Wisconsin's citizens, businesses and other parties interested in these regions of the world.

CREECA has roughly 100 members, about a third of whom are UW-Madison faculty who focus full-time on these regions.   Among these are many nationally and internationally known experts in their fields.   Another third are CREECA faculty associates - faculty at UW-Madison engaged in significant activities in these regions. CREECA also unites faculty at a dozen or so universities and colleges around Wisconsin.

CREECA provides graduate students with both a general background in the area (economics, government and politics, foreign policy, history, language and literature, and law) and specific knowledge of one of these fields.   It trains Ph.D. candidates in various disciplines for research and teaching at the college level and serves the needs of M.A. and Ph.D. students seeking careers in government service, journalism, library work, and other professions.   A student who completes the Program will receive a Certificate.   Normally the work will take two years.

CREECA also offers an M.A. program in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies .   This program provides interdisciplinary area studies training for students interested in pursuing professional careers in business, government, journalism, and law, and for students planning further graduate study in an established academic discipline.

The M.A. curriculum is designed to:

- promote a broad understanding of the cultural, political, economic, social, and historical factors that have shaped the development of societies in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe;

- establish mastery in either Russian or an East European or Central Asian language at a level necessary for doing advanced research or professional work in the region;

- improve knowledge of methodological and analytical approaches of different disciplines that will contribute to a better understanding of the region; and knowledge of the methodological approaches in the student's chosen discipline to prepare for advanced research.

M.A. students will work closely with nationally recognized faculty in core departments, including Anthropology, Folklore, Geography, History, Languages and Cultures of Asia, Political Science, Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Scandinavian Studies.

The M.A. program comprises language study and rigorous training in interdisciplinary area studies.   The program requires 27 credits of non-language courses and completion of an M.A. thesis.   Students must enroll in a language course each semester and complete a minimum of three years of Russian or two years of another regional language in order to graduate.   The University regularly offers instruction in Czech, Finnish, Kazakh, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, and Uzbek.   Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Tatar are also available.   Completion of the program is expected within two academic years.

Students entering the M.A. program must:

- possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution;

- be admitted to the Graduate School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison;

- show evidence of academic achievement and intellectual ability, including a minimum total grade point average of 3.0 on a four-point scale and a 3.4 in related area courses, if any;

- obtain three letters of recommendation; and

- earn sufficiently high scores on the Graduate Record Examination [GRE] and, for applicants who are not native speakers of English, on the Test of English as a Foreign Language [TOEFL]

The M.A. program is designed to be flexible and individual and to appeal to a range of student demands; therefore, no rigid prior course of study is required for application.   No prior study of a foreign language is required for admission into the program.

Applications to the M.A. program: To be considered for financial aid, applications must be received by January 1.   Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2001.   For further information and applications, access http://www.wisc.edu/creeca or contact the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia, University of Wisconsin, 210 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706.   Phone: (608) 262-3379, Fax: (608) 265-3062, email: creeca@intl-institute.wisc.edu

Applications to the University of Wisconsin Graduate School can be submitted on-line at http://www.wisc.edu/grad/eapp/index.html .

Cooperative M.A. Program in Slavic Languages and Literatures and Library Information Science:   This cooperative program is designed for students who wish to prepare for professional work in the field of Library and Information Science, and to complement that training with an advanced academic degree in Slavic Languages (with Russian concentration).   Students who enroll in this cooperative program must be admitted by the Graduate School to work in both departments; such students will be taking courses at the same time in both the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the School of Library and Information Science.   It is essential that students in the cooperative program plan carefully with their departmental advisor in each department regarding desirable courses and sequences of courses, since some courses are offered only in alternate years.   The student will earn both M.A.s at the same time.   For qualified students, the combined program will ordinarily take some five semesters, which may be shortened somewhat by summer work and by the careful choice and dovetailing of courses.   Complete information about this program will be sent on request.

Financial Aid | Back to Table of Contents

Application for admission and financial aid in the first year of study is made simultaneously to the Graduate School and the Slavic Department.   Applicants for most University of Wisconsin-Madison fellowships or assistantships complete the Graduate School's on-line "Funding Form," as well as the Slavic Department's form "Statement of Interest in Fellowships and Financial Aid."

You must be admitted by the Graduate School and all materials must be received by the Slavic Department by January 2 if you wish to be considered for the University Fellowship competition and many other forms of support.   Most awards are competitive on the basis of academic merit; for a few, financial need is an additional factor.  

Departmental Financial Aid :   The most common form of financial aid is departmental.   In addition to the Xenia Gasiorowska Fellowship Fund and the Michael and Emily Lapinski Fund, awarded usually for one semester for a student studying Polish in addition to Russian, the Department offers project assistantships (helping a professor on a research project), readerships (helping a professor with grading), teaching assistantships (teaching literature and writing courses as well as language courses), and hourly work.   Graduate students are given the opportunity to teach undergraduate courses as a form of financial aid and as a means of gaining valuable teaching experience.   It is departmental policy to attempt to make TA experience available, so far as feasible, to every student earning the Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures with concentration in Russian.   Most TAships offered by the Department are limited term appointments (for the duration of one semester), but these are made available for two or more semesters whenever possible.   TAs and PAs with at least a 33% appointment are given a tuition waiver.   All TAs and PAs are granted the opportunity to enroll in a low cost (or no cost) comprehensive health care program.

University Fellowships :   The Department nominates a small percentage of its accepted students for University Fellowships, which are awarded through the Graduate School.   The University Fellowship covers the stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance.

Advanced Opportunity Fellowships (AOF ): For targeted minorities and some educationally and financially disadvantaged students.   The Department may award a limited number of Advanced Opportunity Fellowships to qualified students.   Contact the Graduate School for exact eligibility criteria.

  FLAS (Title VI) Fellowships :   For modern language and area studies training.   They are offered in six area studies programs on this campus:   African, East Asian, East European, Latin American, South Asian, and Southeast Asian.   GREs are required, and applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.   Awards are for one academic year but students may reapply.   The FLAS Fellowship covers the stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance. Applications are available from the Slavic Department or CREECA.   Decisions are made by CREECA in late March and funding is dependent on federal Title VI allocations.   FLAS Fellowships for summer study are also available.

National Fellowship Programs :   In addition to Graduate School and Department financial aid, many graduate students are eligible and could compete well for national fellowship programs.   Such fellowships include: ACLS/SSRC Fellowhip Program in Russian Studies, National Graduate Fellows Program, Mellon Fellowships in the Humanities, CIC Minorities Fellowships Program, and the Ford Minority Doctoral Fellowships.   For more information about these programs, contact the Graduate School or visit their website: http://www.wisc.edu/grad/

Federal Financial Aid :   Separate applications for graduate student loans and work-study programs may be obtained from the Office of Student Financial Aid, University of Wisconsin, 432 N. Murray Street, Madison, WI   53706.   The deadline for priority consideration is March 1 . For more information, access http:financial-aid.acadsvcs.wisc.edu/finaid/

Qualified students are encouraged to seek PA and TA opportunities outside of the Slavic Department.   In the past, our students have taught in the Communication Arts, English, French and Italian, and Spanish Departments, and held project assistantships across campus.

Auxiliary Opportunities | Back to Table of Contents

Research Facilities

A. LEARNING SUPPORT SERVICES:   The labs for recorded instruction contain a variety of services, of which, for students, the most relevant is the media library.   In addition to cassettes which accompany texts currently used in Russian, Czech, Polish, and Serbo-Croatian courses, the Media Library has tapes in Bulgarian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Slovene.   There are also numerous cultural programs available. The Media Catalog provides further details: http://lss.wisc.edu .   For teaching assistants, there is also audiovisual equipment available for use in the classroom.

B.   LIBRARIES:  

•  Memorial Library holdings in the East European and Russian fields now total about 400,000 volumes and rank among the best among major American universities.   Particularly noteworthy are the Russian holdings, with special collections in Emigré Literature and Russian Underground Publications ( Vol'naia pechat' ); the Polish Collection, including Solidarity Publications; the Balkan holdings, including the Komadinic Library in Balkan Social and Political History; and the Baltic Holdings, including the Senn Collection of Lithuanica and the Gulbis and Jegers Collections in Latvian Culture and History.   The Library employs several full-time Slavic specialists who have been actively engaged in collection building since 1960 through standing orders and exchange programs.   In recent years a dynamic exchange program with over 100 partners in Eastern Europe and Central Asia accounts for more than half of the current acquisitions in these areas .   Collecting activities now also embrace Modern Greece, Turkey, and the Turkic peoples of the former Soviet Union.   Memorial Library is also noted for its Underground Collection of Russian illegal revolutionary literature of the 1880-1917 period.   As a member of CRL, the Center for Research Libraries, and participant in the American Historical Association's Microcard program, the Memorial Library has access to additional Russian materials.    For more information, please visit the website:   http://www.wisc.edu/creeca/reeca/

•  The State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library on the University campus has many books and manuscript collections relating to American-Russian relations.

•  The Pushkin Library , located in Room 1435, Van Hise Hall, provides a collection of works by and about the famous 19 th century Russian author.  

•  The Chazen Museum of Art on campus owns a collection of Russian icons and specimens of Socialist Realism, and from time to time has an exhibition of paintings from the Joseph E. Davies Collection, accumulated and donated to the University by the American Ambassador to the Soviet Union in the 1930's.   The collection includes icons, Socialist Realist, and pre-revolutionary Russian art.   In addition, special exhibitions are arranged from time to time.

Educational Opportunities Abroad | Back to Table of Contents

Graduate students from our Department participate in language study programs in Central and Eastern Europe, in research activities in Central and Eastern Europe, and in summer graduate programs such as those of the Middlebury Russian School.

Typically, our students go to Russia on one of the programs sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) or by the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX).   Graduate students studying abroad do not transfer credits in to the Slavic Department for credit toward the M.A. or Ph.D. degrees.   Accordingly, they do not apply for study abroad programs through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of International Studies and Programs, but rather apply directly to the program in which they are interested in enrolling. For an up-to-date listing of available programs, see the ACTR website: http://www.actr.org , or the IREX web site:   http://www.irex.org .

Some students wishing to improve their Russian-language skills attend summer intensive programs in the United States, including those at Indiana University and Middlebury College.   The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages maintains a comprehensive list of such programs in Russian (and other Slavic languages):   http://aatseel. org .

There are also numerous opportunities for study abroad available through the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   For further information, contact the Office of International Studies and Programs, University of Wisconsin, 261Bascom Hall,   500 Lincoln Dr., Madison, WI 53706, http://www.wisc.edu/studyabroad .

Professional Organizations | Back to Table of Contents

We encourage graduate students to join and participate in the conferences of the major professional organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS) and the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL):

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/

http://aatseel.org

Extracurricular Activities

A number of extracurricular activities are associated with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures .

•  The Slavic Club has been in existence for as long as the Department itself; members of the faculty, students, visitors to the campus, and townspeople speak informally before it about different aspects of Slavic cultures, and its activities have included an annual winter holiday party and a spring picnic.

•  In connection with the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages ( AATSEEL ), the Department sponsors an annual scholarly conference.

•  Slavic films are shown during the academic year, allowing students and members of the community the opportunity to experience yet another facet of Russian and East European cultures.

•  Narodno International Dancers developed in 1980 out of the active community of recreational folk dancers in Madison. Today, Narodno performs traditional dances from Eastern Europe in ethnic style and dress to authentic music, both live and taped. Narodno promotes international understanding through public performances and provides an opportunity for group members to improve dancing and performing skills.

•  Russian, Czech, Polish, and Serbo-Croatian Tables meet weekly at a local establishment, enabling speakers of all levels to practice their conversational language skills.  

Balalaika Orchestra : CREECA sponsors a Russian Folk Orchestra, consisting of authentic Russian string instruments such as balalaikas and domras as well as accordions and several "Western" instruments, such as flute, oboe, and percussion. The RFO, which welcomes both students and community members, is directed by Victor Gorodinsky. It offers a repertoire of primarily Russian and other Slavic folk music, with occasional classical works by artists such as Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky.

Other Activities : Every year, CREECA sponsors a series of cultural events.   In the recent past, we have had lectures or concerts by the following individuals and groups: prominent Russian actor and director Veniamin Smekhov, Russian folk music ensemble Zolotoi plios, Russian talk show host Yelena Khanga, famous Russian writer and human rights activist Vladimir Voinovich.