The graduate/professional certificate in REECAS provides graduate students with a general background in the areas of anthropology, economics, foreign policy, geography, government and politics, history, language and literature, law, and sociology. It also provides specific knowledge about one of these areas. With its emphasis on interdisciplinary study, a REECAS certificate enhances the training of PhD candidates who wish to teach and do research at the college level, and serves the needs of MA and PhD students who wish to make a career in broadcasting, government service, journalism, library work, or other professions requiring a well-rounded acquaintance with this diverse and highly important area.

Admissions

All Graduate School students must utilize the Graduate Student Portal in MyUW to add, change, or discontinue any graduate/professional certificate. To apply to this certificate, log in to MyUW, click on Graduate Student Portal, and then click on Add/Change Programs. Select the information for the certificate for which you are applying. Professional students in the careers of Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary cannot add the certificate in the Graduate Student Portal, and should contact the program for more information.

The certificate coordinator will review your application for admittance, and reach out to you if there are any further questions.

Requirements

Required Courses

Students must complete 12 credits in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies (REECAS) core courses distributed over three distinct subject listings from the lists below. Language classes are not applicable to the 12-credit requirement. All 12 credits must be in REECAS area studies content classes and include:

• At least 6 credits must be graduate-level coursework (i.e., courses numbered 700 or above, or 300 or above with the Grad 50% attribute). 
• At least one course (3 credits) must be a graduate-level seminar in which a research paper on the region (Russia, East Europe, Central Asia) is written, utilizing original source material in the target language(s).

Language Requirement

In addition to the required 12 credits in area studies content classes, students must demonstrate a working knowledge of one of the languages of Russia, Eastern and Central Europe, and/or Eurasia. This requirement may be met through two years of university language study (or the equivalent) in one of the region’s languages. At UW-Madison, Kazakh, Persian, Polish, Russian, Turkish, and Ukrainian are offered regularly during the academic year.

General Courses

Seminar Courses

Language Courses

Learning Outcomes

1. Regional expertise: advanced knowledge of the societies and cultures of the region through in-depth understanding of the principal historical, social, political, cultural and scientific forces and conditions that have given rise to the unity and diversity in the region today.
2. Multi-disciplinarity: analyzing contemporary political, economic, and cultural realities in the region from at least two disciplinary perspectives, ideally including humanities, social sciences and sometimes natural science approaches.
3. Depth of knowledge: advanced knowledge of particular facets of life in the region by taking courses on particular sub-regions or countries, by studying a regional language, or by taking at least two courses on the region in one discipline
4. Research and methods: Students must demonstrate the ability to conduct interdisciplinary research that shows knowledge of research methodologies, demonstrates analytical skills, and the ability to articulate and elaborate research findings.