Languages

 

Academic Year Instruction
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers regular training in Russian, Polish, Slovak, Ukrainian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Old Church Slavonic, and related literatures and cultures leading to the BA, MA, and PhD degrees. Additionally, instruction in Modern Greek, Hungarian, Persian, and Turkish is offered through the University´s Less Commonly Taught Languages Center, and other languages of the region may be taught on an individual basis through LCTLC.

The Slavic Department faculty have developed widely adopted and highly praised materials for both classroom and individualized instruction in Russian, Polish, Slovak, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, and have been pioneers in the use of computers for language learning. For example, an entire first-year course and other learning resources may be found on the Polish Language Website.

The Slavic Department offers a BA and MA in Russian language and literature, and is widely regarded as one of the leading centers for the study of contemporary Russian culture. The PhD program combines work in Russian language and literature with Russian and East European studies, cultural studies, and film studies. Over the years, the Slavic Department has maintained an exceptionally high job placement record for its PhD recipients. The department also publishes Studies in Slavic Cultures, a compendium of top-quality, original work submitted by students from the United States and abroad.

Free Language Tutoring
Free tutoring in Russian, Polish, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) every semester.  Please contact the REEES advisor for more information.

REEES Language Social Hours
Practice your chosen language in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. Language Social Hours offered each semester include Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Polish, and Russian.  Please contact REESAdvising@pitt.edu for more information.

Summer Language Institute
Each year REEES and the University of Pittsburgh’s Slavic Department administer the Slavic, East European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute (SLI), which attracts students from across the nation. Programs ranging from six to ten weeks are offered in Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Russian, Slovak, Turkish, and Ukrainian, and students may choose to incorporate an abroad component into their study. All courses are intensive and immersive, and cover approximately one academic year’s worth of language training.

Generous SLI and Summer FLAS Fellowships are available on a competitive basis. Visit www.sli.pitt.edu for more information on program details, dates, and costs.

Note: Please view the "Why Study Slavic and East European Languages" webpage provided by the The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL). AATSEEL advances the study and promotes the teaching of Slavic and East European languages, literatures, and cultures on all educational levels, elementary through graduate school.