Slavic languages and literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a national leader of doctoral programs in the field, and welcomes students with a BA/BS or MA who are interested in all areas of Russian and comparative Slavic prose, poetry, drama, and philosophy. The curriculum offers breadth and depth in a variety of areas of Slavic philology, literature, and culture, and is known for offering a balanced approach to training in teaching, writing, and research.
The program is fortunate to count among its faculty specialists in Czech, Polish, Russian, and Serbo-Croatian languages, literature, and culture, award-winning authors and teachers, and members of editorial boards of leading journals and publication series. Information regarding faculty biographical sketches is available on the program website. In addition to their excellence in teaching and research, professors are unparalleled mentors to graduate students. Students work closely with faculty members on writing, teaching, and publishing. Graduate students are expected to produce publishable articles during their graduate careers, and are provided the guidance and feedback to do so.
The department places high expectations on graduate students to achieve and maintain professional-level proficiency in the Russian language in all four modalities: speaking, writing, listening, and reading. All students who are not native speakers of Russian will be tested in those modalities—plus Russian grammar—when they enter the program, and periodically throughout their tenure. Appropriate competency must be demonstrated before receiving a teaching assistantship and before passing from MA to PhD candidacy.
Graduate students in the program receive exceptional training in teaching both language and literature. The department has a thriving undergraduate program in Slavic languages with strong enrollments in language, literature, and culture, providing many opportunities for teaching experience, working closely with master teachers among the faculty and academic staff. In addition to teaching assignments in first- through fourth-semester Russian language (and occasionally in other Slavic languages), as well as in the two-semester undergraduate survey of Russian literature course, the department has also instituted an apprenticeship program for adequately prepared graduate students in the teaching of advanced literature and language classes. The program's graduate teaching assistants regularly win prestigious campus awards for their excellence in the classroom.
Admissions
Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.
Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.
| Fall Deadline | January 2 |
| Spring Deadline | This program does not admit in the spring. |
| Summer Deadline | This program does not admit in the summer. |
| GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) | Not required but may be considered if available. |
| English Proficiency Test | Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1241. |
| Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) | n/a |
| Letters of Recommendation Required | 2 |
For admission to the graduate program, the Slavic department requires the equivalent of a BA degree in Russian and a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants who have carried out graduate work at another institution must have a graduate GPA of 3.25. International degree-seeking applicants must prove English proficiency using the Graduate School's requirements.
Applicants who have spent at least a semester studying in a Russian-speaking setting are best prepared to continue graduate-level study in Russian. Admitted applicants with deficiencies, especially in Russian, are required to make up such deficiencies.
Applications for admission to the graduate program are accepted at any time, but only complete applications received by the deadline will be considered for fellowships and other forms of funding for the following fall semester. More information regarding graduate program admission may be found on the program website.
If an applicant chooses to submit GRE scores, these should be sent electronically from ETS (use institution code 1846).
Reentry applicants must contact the program before applying for admission.
Note that we do not admit applicants seeking a terminal MA. Prospective students who are interested in a terminal master’s degree are encouraged to consider the interdisciplinary master’s degree in Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies (REECAS) through the Center for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CREECA).
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursar’s Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
Most students receive funding for multiple years in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships or project assistantships. These positions include a stipend as well as tuition remission and a generous health plan. Additional hourly employment is also often available.
Students are typically admitted with four- to five-year funding guarantees contingent on satisfactory progress and ability to perform assigned responsibilities well. Funding packages combine fellowships, teaching assistantships and project assistantships at the level of at least 33%. All such positions include a stipend as well as tuition remission and a generous health plan. Funding beyond the initial guarantee period is often available for one or two years.
See the program website and the Graduate School's funding information page for more information.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
Mode of Instruction
| Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
Curricular Requirements
| Minimum Credit Requirement | 51 credits |
| Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 36 credits |
| Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 34 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244. |
| Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.6 GPA required |
| Other Grade Requirements | n/a |
| Assessments and Examinations | Students must earn passing grades (no lower than B) on all six written Foundation examinations in the history of Russian literature by the end of the sixth semester of coursework This includes those passed as an MA student. For students admitted with MA degree, the same requirements need to be fulfilled by the end of their fourth semester. Students must pass all five Russian language proficiency examinations (including those passed as an MA student) by the end of the sixth semester (end of the fourth semester for students admitted with MA degree). Students must complete a review of a capstone dossier (all six Foundation examinations and two major seminar papers) by the graduate faculty in the beginning of the seventh semester in the program (fifth semester for students admitted with MA degree). Students must pass an oral examination (defense of a dissertation proposal) by the end of the seventh semester in the program (fifth semester for students admitted with MA degree). Defense of PhD dissertation. |
| Language Requirements | For Russian language proficiency requirements see "Assessments and Examinations". Students must demonstrate proficiency of language through coursework or placement test/examination. Knowledge equivalent to two years of college-level study of either:
In well-grounded cases, when a different language is necessary for student’s research, it may be applied towards fulfillment of the language requirement. A student will submit a respective petition to DGS, which will be discussed and decided upon by all Slavic graduate faculty. |
| Graduate School Breadth Requirement | All doctoral students are required to complete a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate. Refer to the Graduate School: Breadth Requirement in Doctoral Training policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1200. |
Required Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core | ||
| Students must complete the following courses. | ||
| SLAVIC 800 | Proseminar-Slavic Literature and Culture | 1 |
| SLAVIC 803 | Introduction to Old Church Slavonic and the History of Russian Literary Language | 2 |
| SLAVIC 801 | Slavic Critical Theory and Practice | 3 |
| SLAVIC 802 | The Structure of Russian | 2 |
| SLAVIC 804 | Methods of Teaching Slavic Languages | 2 |
| Seminar | ||
| Students must complete the following course. | ||
| SLAVIC 900 | Seminar: Slavic Literature and Culture (taken three times for 3 credits each) | 9 |
| Breadth | 9 | |
| Electives | 23 | |
| Students must complete additional courses to meet the minimum credit requirement, chosen in consultation with advisor. Additional enrollments of SLAVIC 900 may be applied to satisfy this requirement. | ||
| Total Credits | 51 | |
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW-Madison Policy Library. Programs may set more stringent policies than the Graduate School. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions
Students are generally not allowed to transfer credits earned at other institutions to fulfill degree requirements. Exceptions are students who are admitted to pursue a PhD degree after completing their MA degree at another institution, and who confirmed their MA degree in the department by passing a qualifying examination. Students may transfer up to 15 credits of MA coursework to satisfy PhD degree requirements. Up to 9 credits of prior graduate coursework may be applied towards the breadth requirement (Option B -- Distributed Minor). Coursework earned ten or more years prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison
With program approval, up to 7 credits numbered 700 and above taken in the Slavic department while pursuing a UW–Madison undergraduate degree are allowed to transfer. Undergraduate coursework from other institutions is not allowed. Coursework earned ten or more years prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
Credits Earned as a Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)
Refer to the Graduate School: Transfer Credits for Prior Coursework policy.
Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW–Madison
With program approval, students are allowed to transfer no more than 9 credits of coursework numbered 300 or above taken as a UW–Madison University Special student. However, these credits are not allowed to count toward the 50% graduate coursework minimum unless numbered 700 or above or are taken to meet the requirements of a capstone certificate and has the “Grad 50%” attribute. Coursework earned ten or more years prior to admission to a doctoral degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
Probation
A semester GPA below 3.25 will result in the student being placed on academic probation. If a semester GPA of 3.25 is not attained during the subsequent semester of full time enrollment the student may be dismissed from the program.
Advisor / Committee
Prior to being admitted to candidacy, all students meet with graduate advisor once a semester (in November and April) to discuss their progress and to plan their coursework for the subsequent semester.
No later than by the end of their sixth semester students choose their dissertation advisor.
After being admitted to candidacy, all students are required to submit brief written yearly progress reports to their thesis committee by the end of January.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.
Time Limits
Students must fulfill all coursework requirements and pass oral examination by the end of the seventh semester in the program (fifth semester for students admitted with MA degree).
Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.
Grievances and Appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals
Graduate students have the right to appeal an academic decision related to an L&S graduate program if the student believes that the decision is inconsistent with published policy.
Academic decisions that may be appealed include:
- Dismissal from the graduate program
- Failure to pass a qualifying or preliminary examination
- Failure to achieve satisfactory academic progress
- Academic disciplinary action related to failure to meet professional conduct standards
Issues such as the following cannot be appealed using this process:
- A faculty member declining to serve as a graduate student’s advisor.
- Decisions regarding the student’s disciplinary knowledge, evaluation of the quality of work, or similar judgements. These are the domain of the department faculty.
- Course grades. These can be appealed instead using the L&S Policy for Grade Appeal.
- Incidents of bias or hate, hostile and intimidating behavior, or discrimination (Title IX, Office of Compliance). Direct these to the linked campus offices appropriate for the incident(s).
Appeal Process for Graduate Students
A graduate student wishing to appeal an academic decision must follow the process in the order listed below. Note time limits within each step.
- The student should first seek informal resolution, if possible, by discussing the concern with their academic advisor, the department’s Director of Graduate Studies, and/or the department chair.
- If the program has an appeal policy listed in their graduate program handbook, the student should follow the policy as written, including adhering to any indicated deadlines. In the absence of a specific departmental process, the chair or designee will be the reviewer and decision maker, and the student should submit a written appeal to the chair within 15 business days of the academic decision. The chair or designee will notify the student in writing of their decision.
- If the departmental process upholds the original decision, the graduate student may next initiate an appeal to L&S. To do so, the student must submit a written appeal to the L&S Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Academic Affairs within 15 business days of notification of the department’s decision.
- To the fullest extent possible, the written appeal should include, in a single document: a clear and concise statement of the academic decision being appealed, any relevant background on what led to the decision, the specific policies involved, the relief sought, any relevant documentation related to the departmental appeal, and the names and titles of any individuals contributing to or involved in the decision.
- The Assistant Dean will work with the Academic Associate Dean of the appropriate division to consider the appeal. They may seek additional information and/or meetings related to the case.
- The Assistant Dean and Academic Associate Dean will provide a written decision within 20 business days.
- If L&S upholds the original decision, the graduate student may appeal to the Graduate School. More information can be found on their website: Grievances and Appeals (see: Graduate School Appeal Process).
Other
n/a
Professional Development
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Learning Outcomes
- (Critical Thinking and Writing Skills) Demonstrate: analytic, interpretative, and critical thinking skills; knowledge of research protocols; and understanding of the specificity of the literary object as well as its historical and cultural context.
- (Literature) Develop comprehensive knowledge of Russian literary history, the major writers and movements, from the origins to the present day. Demonstrate this knowledge in relation to the following periods and movements: Old Russian Literature; 18th-Century Russian Literature; Romanticism (ca. 1790s to 1840s); Realism (ca. 1840s to 1890s); Modernism (ca. 1890s to 1920s); Soviet, Emigre, and Post-Soviet Periods (ca. 1930s to the present).
- (Language proficiency) Demonstrate Advanced Russian language proficiency on the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) scale across all modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing). Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the structure of contemporary Russian. Develop, at minimum, reading proficiency in languages essential for research in the field, including a second Slavic language and either French or German.
- (Ph.D. Minor) Demonstrate intellectual breadth and the ability to synthesize cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives through the completion of a doctoral minor.
- (Ph.D. Dissertation) A successful Ph.D. candidate will have written a dissertation that synthesizes knowledge of relevant disciplines and develops it to create an original contribution to scholarship. The candidate will be able to present the results of her or his research both to experts in the field as well as to a wider public.
- (Teacher-Trainer) Demonstrate, both in theory and through instructional practice, foundational knowledge of second-language teaching, including the concepts of proficiency-oriented instruction and communicative language teaching; principles behind the design, integration, and delivery of classroom instruction and appropriate assessment instruments for all four modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing), structure, and culture.
- Recognize, apply, and foster principles of ethical and professional conduct in the context of Slavic studies.