Our Program

About the Program

The Russian Program at UC Davis is student-focused and provides small classes for a strong program that introduces students (heritage speakers and beginning Russian language learners) to the language, literature and culture. Russian is one of the major world languages and is spoken by over 250 million people. While Russia, also called the Russian Federation, is the world's largest country, Russian is also spoken in other nearby countries, and there is a large Russian-American population (approximately 3 million people). As a result, learning Russian can be a valuable asset for a variety of careers.

We offer both a Major and a Minor in Russian, as well as, opportunities for internships and study abroad through related programs.

Why study in Russian? Find out in Russian (PDF).


Courses

Our program is distinguished by a variety of language and literature courses, such as:

  • Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced Russian
  • Russian Literary and Scientific Translation
  • 19th and 20th Century Russian Prose and Poetry
  • Russian Film
  • Courses on Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn
  • Russian Culture
  • Women's Autobiography

Study Abroad

The Program highly encourages students to take advantage the different programs offered by UC Davis Education Abroad Center. Students who have completed one or two years of Russian language study can participate abroad programs in Moscow. Many of our students also participate in summer, semester, and year-long programs sponsored by CIEE and ACTR in St. Petersburg and Moscow. If taken the appropriate steps, students are eligible to receive unit credit for these study-abroad courses.