MA in Russian Studies

Russia is one of the most exciting and important countries in the world, and SSEES is the ideal place in which to study it. The MA program in Russian Studies draws on the unique area studies expertise at SSEES to offer a choice of courses unparalleled in depth and breadth, ranging from Russia's medieval history to its contemporary politics, from 19th-century literature to 21st-century film.

In putting together their course choices, students can choose to explore Russian culture from a variety of perspectives, whether by specialising in literature and culture, social sciences or history, or by combining more than one discipline into an interdisciplinary degree. Students are also encouraged to take a methodology course to develop their research skills. In addition, many MA students choose to learn Russian for the first time, or to improve their existing command of Russian, by taking one of the three Russian-language courses offered within the MA.

A wide variety of Russian-themed and interdisciplinary seminars enhance the sense of community in the large and lively Russian Studies cohort, as do frequent social events with a Russian theme.

Curriculum

• Compulsory Dissertation (60 credits)

  No compulsory courses

• Options totalling 120 credits chosen from the following:
  • MASR I: Cultural and Historical Studies (10 credits)
  • MASR I: Introduction to Qualitative Methods (10 credits)
  • MASR I: Introduction to Quantitative Methods (10 credits)
  • MASR I: Theory and Practice of Social Research (10 credits)
  • Advanced Qualitative Methods (20 credits)
  • Contemporary Cultural Studies: Between Post-Communism and Post-Modernism (20 credits) Dr Polly Jones and others
  • Bakhtin and Others: Alterity, Identity and Dialogue (20 credits) Dr Tim Beasley-Murray
  • Being Soviet: Typologies of Soviet Identity in Russian Cinema 1917-1956 (20 credits) Professor Julian Graffy
  • Between 'Permitted Dissent' and Dissidence: The Post-Stalinist Soviet Intelligentsia (20 credits) Dr Polly Jones
  • Beyond Stereotypes: The Jews in Polish Culture (20 credits) Dr Katarzyna Zechenter
  • Causes, Consequences and Control: Corruption and Governance (20 credits) Prof. Alena Ledeneva
  • Contemporary Russian Cinema and Society since the Collapse of the Soviet Union: the Journey into the Unknown (20 credits) Dr Phil Cavendish
  • Gender and Sexuality in Modern Russian Culture (20 credits) Dr Seth Graham
  • How to Read/Interpret Texts: Introduction to Hermeneutics (20 credits) Dr Zoran Milutinović
  • Informal Practices in Post-Communist Societies (20 credits) Prof. Alena Ledeneva
  • Ire, Irony, Ideology: Satire and Humour in Russian Culture (20 credits) Dr Seth Graham
  • Isolate and Punish: Exile, Prison and Hard Labour in Russian Literature (40 credits) Dr Sarah Young
  • Nabokov and Émigré Literature (20 credits) Dr Masha Rubins
  • The 19th-century Russian Novel (40 credits) Dr Phil Cavendish
  • Russian Foreign Policy Since 1917 (40 credits) Dr Alexander Titov
  • Russian Politics (40 credits) Dr Pete Duncan
  • Russian Thought (20 credits) Dr Robin Aizlewood
  • Soviet Cinema and Society from the Khrushchev 'Thaw' to the Collapse of the Soviet Union: The End of the Radiant Future (20 credits) Dr Phil Cavendish
  • The Soviet Cultural Experiment I, 1917-1945 (20 credits) Dr Kristin Roth-Ey
  • The Soviet Cultural Experiment II, 1945-1991 (20 credits) Dr Kristin Roth-Ey
  • The Soviet Project: Remaking 'Man' in Revolutionary Russia (20 credits) Dr Susan Morrissey (not running 2010-11)
  • Visions of Power: Art and Rulership in Pre-Modern Russia (20 credits) Dr Sergei Bogatyrev

• Language courses:
  • Russian as a New Language (40 credits) or
  • Intermediate Russian (40 credits) or
  • Advanced Russian (40 credits)

• Directed Reading Course
  Examples of topics that have been offered by Directed Reading are:
  • Russian Modernism

• A further 40 credits from the above list, or from another MA degree in SSEES, UCL (Faculty of Laws) or the University of London, or the MRes, subject to the Programme Tutor's approval.

N.B. Not all courses are guaranteed to run in any one year. New ones may be added to the list. Contact the Programmes Administrator for further information.

Entry Requirements

Normally an upper second-class honours degree or equivalent, although we shall consider applicants with high lower second-class honours degrees or equivalent on their merits. For papers in certain course options, appropriate background knowledge in the relevant subject is expected and there are special language requirements for certain papers.
Non-native English speakers should achieve scores of 7.0 overall and at least 6.0 in each element of the IELTS test.

Download application form

This page last modified Tuesday 16 August 2011.