Undergraduate study | Russian

• You’ll complete a four-year MA (Honours) degree. You can take Russian Studies as a single honours degree, or jointly with one of a range of other subjects. 
• It doesn't matter whether you’re starting from scratch, or have some existing knowledge of Russian.  Over the course of your four years, ​​​alongside the written and spoken language, you'll acquire a good knowledge of the Russian-speaking world, past and present, through cultural study.

Years 1 & 2

• The first two years will provide a solid foundation in the Russian language (both written and spoken), with classes streamed in the first year according to how much Russian you already know. You'll also study Russian culture.

• Whether you’re doing single or joint honours, you’ll do the same amount of Russian in these pre-honours years. You’ll gain the rest of your credits from partner subject courses, if you are doing a joint degree, and outside courses, of which single honours students take more. This choice and flexibility may enable you to change the focus of your degree going into your final two (honours) years, which is when you start to specialise.

Years 3 & 4

• Your third year will typically be spent abroad, turning classroom learning into living engagement with other cultures. Our graduates have told us how much the Year Abroad has benefitted their broader life experience and skills, as well as their understanding of Russian.
• If Russian is the only language you are studying, your Year Abroad will be spent studying in a country where Russian is spoken, either at a university or a language centre. If you’re doing a joint degree with another language, you’ll divide your time and travel plans between your two languages.
• As well as developing advanced language skills in these years, you will learn how to undertake your own research to the level of completing a dissertation or long essay in your final year. This is your chance to focus on a topic, period or discipline that’s of particular interest to you. We have an extensive range of honours courses to choose from.

Going on a year abroad looks great on your CV. Most of the graduate schemes based abroad require a minimum of a year’s experience living in a foreign country. Such skills as adaptability and great communication are always a plus, and chatting about your year abroad will definitely help you stand out amongst other applicants.

Teaching and learning

• Our approach to learning and teaching is active, inclusive and question driven to help you gain skills for life after university.
• Across your courses, you’ll typically be taught in a combination of lectures, tutorials (including language classes) and seminars. On some courses, you will have seminars instead of lectures, especially in your honours years.
• You will also be expected to study independently and in small groups, and to read widely.

Assessment and support

• You’ll be assessed through a combination of coursework and exams. 
• Coursework may take a range of forms to give you the opportunity to practice different skills. 

• Exams will include oral exams to test your spoken language skills.

• Depending on where you go and what you do on your Year Abroad, Year 3 may include being assessed, in part, by a host university.
• As well as the teaching and other staff you will meet day-to-day, there are lots of ways to get help with your learning, including through the University’s Institute for Academic Development and Edinburgh University Students' Association.

In the 2024 to 2025 academic year, you can take Russian Studies as a single honours degree, or study any of the following joint honours degree combinations...

Applications for 2024 entry are now closed. If you have applied for one of our degrees or are holding an offer to start studying with us in September 2024, check out our applicant and offer holder website for Russian.

Visit the applicant and offer holder website for Russian

Keen to get a head start for 2025?

There’s lots of information about our undergraduate Russian Studies programmes on the University of Edinburgh Degree Finder. For example, you can find out about:

• the courses you will take each year
• entrance requirements
• English language requirements
• fees and funding opportunities

Browse our Russian Studies programmes on Degree Finder

If you’d like to study on any of our undergraduate programmes, you must apply through UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Go to the University of Edinburgh web page on how to apply for undergraduate study

Skills and experience

Studying one or more languages to degree level demonstrates that you're a good communicator, a resilient problem solver, and someone open to other cultures and new ideas – what employers call having Intercultural Competence.

Beyond the language skills you'll develop on our programmes, and the nuanced understanding you will gain of other cultures and societies, graduating with a four-year honours degree from the University of Edinburgh shows high-level intellectual strength and flexibility, including the ability to understand, analyse and articulate key concepts, and to work to varied briefs to deadline, both independently and in groups.

Opportunities at home and away

Around 150 million people in the world speak Russian, which plays an important role in global cultural and political contexts. It is the official language of four countries, is widely understood throughout Eastern Europe, and in the last thirty years has seen transnational mobility on an unprecedented scale. There are, for example, large communities of Russian-speakers in China, the United States, France, Germany, Spain, Norway and the UK.

Our graduates can be found in every kind of career, especially those that place a premium on thinking that is both disciplined and imaginative - you do not have to be based in a Russian-speaking country to have a career in which the ability to understand and communicate in the language will make you stand out. Within the private, public, not-for-profit, and for-benefit sectors, previous graduates have gone on to career pathways in: 

• Business and commerce
• Communications, marketing, advertising and public relations
• Education, outreach, advocacy and training
• Journalism, broadcasting and media
• Leisure, tourism and travel
• Politics, policy work, diplomacy, civil service and law
• Publishing, culture, heritage and the arts
• Research, development and venture acceleration
• Translating and interpreting

Further study

The enhanced research skills you will develop on a four-year programme, particularly in your honours years, are a valuable asset if you wish to continue studying at postgraduate level. At the University of Edinburgh, for example, you can study a Masters by Research degree in Russian Studies, or take an interdisciplinary taught Masters programme such as Comparative Literature, or Intermediality.

My office works closely with Russia to reduce the amount of highly enriched uranium and separated plutonium in civilian use worldwide. Despite other difficulties in the U.S.-Russian relationship, our cooperation remains strong in this area. My studies in LLC, including my year in Russia, have allowed me to support work, negotiations, and other engagement with our Russian-speaking partners around the world.

Find out more about LLC alumni and futures

Read our full interview with Ian Kapuza