Application process
The admissions requirements listed below are particular to this
Department and must be read in conjunction with the general
requirements of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). For
more information, visit the GSAS website, where you can learn about the application process and file your application online. Please note that all applications must be filed online through the GSAS website.
For a list of required application materials and deadlines, see the
Slavic Department page on the GSAS website.
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General Requirements
For all Slavic graduate programs, an undergraduate major in the appropriate Slavic language and literature is desirable but not required. The department will also consider applicants with solid backgrounds in other literatures, history, philosophy, religion, or other disciplines in the humanities. Non-native speakers of English must demonstrate proficiency in English on the TOEFL examination.
Students interested in combining the study of any of the Slavic literatures with the study of comparative literature should refer to the admissions information on the
Institute for Comparative Literature and Society website, as well as to the pages on the Slavic website describing our various graduate programs. to the requirements of the
. Students interested in combining the study of any of the Slavic literatures with area studies should see the requirements of the
Harriman Institute.
In order to be considered for possible Harriman fellowship funding, applicants to Slavic Department doctoral programs are encouraged to indicate their interest in the Harriman Institute in the "Regional Institute" space on the online application form.
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Ph.D. in Russian or Polish Literature
No student is admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. Students who
possess an M.A. degree from another institution and are potentially
eligible for advanced standing will be admitted first to the M.A.
program and then evaluated at the end of their first year of residence.
Normally, the student will be required to submit a Master's Essay,
whether or not advanced standing is eventually granted.
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M.A. Programs
Admission into the programs in Russian Literature and Russian
Translation normally presupposes four years of college-level Russian
(or the equivalent). Graduate students in Russian Literature are
expected to read both Russian literature and literary criticism in the
original and to be able to participate in graduate classes offered in
Russian. For admission into the Czech, Polish, South Slavic, or Ukrainian programs,
two or three years of college-level instruction (or the equivalent) in
the relevant language are required.
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