At the beginning of the second semester of the senior year, students may nominate themselves to candidacy for the degree with honors. By the end of the junior year at the latest, however, they will have established in consultation with the Department their qualifications for embarking on the project, the pattern of study to be followed, and the standards of performance. Candidates for honors will normally be expected to complete a minimum of nine courses plus a Winter Study project or the equivalent in the field. The Department regularly offers courses on Russian literature in translation for those students who have little or no knowledge of Russian, but who wish to become acquainted with the major achievements in Russian literary and cultural history. The Department strongly encourages students desiring to attain fluency in Russian to spend a semester or year studying in Russia or one of the former Soviet republics.
Students generally apply to one of several approved foreign study programs.
Russian 104 or the equivalent and junior standing are normally prerequisite for study abroad.