Russian Studies Program

Opportunities for Russian-Speaking Students

Brandeis boasts a large population of Russian heritage speakers, i.e., children of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home, but received little or no formal education in the language. The program recognizes the enormous value of these students’ existing language skills and offers classes designed specifically for their needs.

Heritage students are encouraged to contact Program Director Irina Dubinina early in the academic year to discuss their needs and goals, and the options available to them. The program currently offers classes for Russian heritage students on two levels:

• the beginning level, designed to develop literacy in Russian (focusing on writing and grammar); and
• the advanced level, aimed at expanding vocabulary, learning advanced grammatical structures and exploring Russian literature and culture in Russian.

We encourage all heritage speakers to work on developing their Russian language skills and to consider pursuing a minor or a second major in Russian regardless of their primary major.

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning opportunities are available to both heritage speakers and traditional students.