The department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers a wide range of interdisciplinary courses in Russian and East European literature, film, history and culture, as well as excellent language training in Russian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Polish and Czech. Our program provides customized courses of study, which you design in conjunction with faculty members, in order to support you as you find new ways to explore the REES region. We enthusiastically encourage study abroad experiences, and will help you take advantage of the vast array of REES-specific grant and funding opportunities available on the University, National and International level. Some of our students have gone on to careers in academia—our alumni currently teach at Princeton, UC Berkeley and UNC, among other universities—while others have embarked on career paths in translation, publishing, journalism, library studies, international business, international law and communications. Whatever path you choose, our program equips you with specialized regional knowledge that will allow you to become an expert on Russia and Eastern Europe.

Why study Russian and Eastern European Studies?

"As I near the end of my time at UChicago, I finally realize the true purpose of a liberal arts education: the narratives we use, the stories we tell, the lenses through which we view events-–they matter. Their consequences are far-reaching, emotionally and materially. That is what I have learned from the entirety of my education at UChicago, but most especially from the Slavic Department. The Slavic courses have been those where I learned the most and where I had professors who were always excited about the material and passionate about teaching it to others. I was always excited to come to class and always left feeling like I had really learned something and gained a new perspective."

–Shelbey Senger