Russian MA (Hons)

First year

Two different types of module are offered in first year: intensive foundation courses for beginners, and advanced language and literature courses for those with higher entrance qualifications. For all modules, speaking in Russian is practised in small groups with a native speaker.

Students who are beginners are required to take the following compulsory modules in their first year:

• Elementary Russian Language 1: provides the most basic elements of Russian – the alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
• Elementary Russian Language 2: provides training in Russian grammar sufficient for reading Russian texts (books, newspapers, etc) with the aid of a dictionary.

Students who have an SQA Higher or GCE A-level in Russian will take the following compulsory modules in first year:

• Advanced Elementary Russian Language and Literature 1: reinforces and builds on the knowledge of grammar and vocabulary acquired at school, and studies texts in Russian.
• Advanced Elementary Russian Language and Literature 2: covers elements of grammar, translation, text analysis, study of literature, and includes oral tuition classes with a native language instructor.

Second Year

The distinction between beginners and non-beginners is maintained in year two, with separate sets of modules depending on your previous experience. For all modules, speaking in Russian is practised in small groups with a native speaker.

Students who are ex-beginners are required to take the following compulsory modules in their second year:

• Intermediate Russian Language 1: reinforces Russian grammar and syntax. Students will translate passages between Russian and English which engage with key historical and cultural events.
• Intermediate Russian Language 2: continues to build on the grammar and syntax taught in Intermediate Russian 1, and develops comprehension skills in response to contemporary audio-visual and online material.

Students who have an SQA Higher or GCE A-level in Russian will take the following compulsory modules in second year:

• Advanced Intermediate Russian Language 1: reinforces Russian grammar and syntax at a higher level. Students will translate passages between Russian and English which engage with key historical and cultural events.
• Advanced Intermediate Russian Language 2: continues to build on the advanced grammar and syntax taught in Advanced Intermediate Russian 1. Spoken Russian is improved through small-group oral tuition classes with a native language instructor.

Honours

If you take Russian at St Andrews in your third and fourth years, you will choose from a variety of advanced options which incorporate literary, historical and cultural studies into language learning.

Students of all language levels take the same core modules in Russian language, including advanced oral, writing and communication skills.

Optional specialist modules that have been offered in previous years include (but are not limited to):

• The 19th-Century Russian Novel
• The City in Soviet and Russian Cinema
• Gender in Russian Literature and Culture
• Issues in Russian Cultural Memory
• Russia’s Literary Easts
• Russian Children’s Literature
• Russian Crime Fiction
• Russian Modernist Fiction: 1900-1940
• Soviet Culture Under Stalin
• Voices of the Russian Enlightenment.

In fourth year, students have the option of undertaking a dissertation of up to 5,000 words in length, written in English, on a topic of their choice. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.