Boston College

Department of
Slavic & Eastern Languages

BC/SEL graduate study program requirements

MA Russian requirements

MA Slavic Studies requirements

MA Linguistics requirements
 

General standards

The MA in Russian: Program requirements

Eligibility:
Russian language abilities in all aspects must be at least beyond the third-year college/advanced level before beginning degree candidacy.
Language expectations: Students should be able to show, over the course of their studies, a reading knowledge of French, German, Old Church Slavonic, and, for programs with a linguistic emphasis, a second Slavic language.
Students concentrating in early Slavic should also be prepared to work with Latin and Classical Greek.
The Department does not require but welcomes GRE scores.

Course work (residency):
ten approved courses (30 credits), usually with the following distribution:

A student may apply up to two courses (6 credits) from advanced work at other universities or research institutes toward program requirements as long as the work has not previously applied to another degree.

Thesis: Covered by Sector III of the comprehensive examinations.

Comprehensive examinations:
 

Sector I (General qualifying examinations):
 

1. Russian language: phonology, grammar and basic history.

2. Russian literature: history, significant figures, works, movements and dates for the early, classical, and modern periods.

3. Slavic linguistics: analysis of early texts, basic philological techniques, application of the principles of linguistic analysis to the problems of Slavic linguistics. sample
 

A student should complete Sector I during the first year of degree study or the equivalent thereof.
 

Sector II (Special field examinations):
Students choose any two of the following:
 

1. Early Slavic linguistics and culture.

2. A literary genre (poetry, drama, short prose, the novel--any one)

3. A specific period, author, or movement in literature or philosophy

4. The Russian language--advanced proficiency and specific problem areas.

5. A special approved topic (e.g. Linguistic theory, Russian history, Soviet ideology, etc.)
 

Sector III: A research paper on an approved topic.

For further information contact:

Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer, Director of Graduate Studies

Dept of Slavic and Eastern Languages

Boston College / Lyons 210

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3804

617 / 552.3911

shrayerm@bc.edu

The MA in Slavic Studies: Program requirements

An integrative area-studies degree administered by the Department of Slavic and Eastern Languages with the cooperation of the Center for East Europe, Russia and Asia (CEERA).

Eligibility:
Students must have a working familiarity with Russian, including practical abilities, before beginning degree candidacy.
Language expectations: Students should be able to show, over the course of their studies, a reading knowledge of French, German, Old Church Slavonic or Old Russian, and a second Slavic language.
Students concentrating in early Slavic should also be prepared to work with Latin and Classical Greek.
The Department expects students to have sufficient background to work successfully in graduate-level courses from other departments associated with their degree program. The Department does not require but welcomes GRE scores.

Course work (residency):
ten approved courses (30 credits) on an advanced level from Slavic and East European offerings, normally from three (3) of the following areas:

• Economics
• History
• Philosophy/Theology
• Political Science
• Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures
• Sociology.

At least four of the ten courses courses should come from the major 'emphasis' area and normally two from each minor area.
A student may apply up to two courses (6 credits) from advanced work at other universities or research institutes if this work has not been previously applied to another degree.

Thesis: Covered by Sector III of the comprehensive examinations.

Comprehensive examinations:
 

Sector I (General qualifying examinations):
 

1. Major emphasis area: a written qualifying examination.

2. Minor emphasis area: a written qualifying examination.

3. A written review, with critical bibliography, of a problem in the history of Slavic Studies.
 

A student should complete Sector I during the first year of degree study or the equivalent thereof.
 

Sector II (Special field examinations, integrative):
Students choose any two of the following:
 

1. Oral colloquium on an assigned topic.

2. Written review / critique of a work in the special field

3. A specific period, author, or movement in literature or philosophy

4. The Russian language--advanced proficiency and specific problem areas.

5. A special approved topic (e.g. Linguistic theory, Russian history, Soviet ideology, etc.)
 

Sector III: A research paper on an approved topic.

For further information contact:

Prof. Maxim D. Shrayer, Director of Graduate Studies

Dept of Slavic and Eastern Languages

Boston College / Lyons 210

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3804

617 / 552.3911

shrayerm@bc.edu

The MA in Linguistics: Program requirements

Eligibility:
Language expectations: Students should be able to show, over the course of their studies, a working knowledge of one classical and one modern language and to have some familiarity with one additional classical lanhguage and one additional modern language.
SThe Department expects students to have sufficient background to work successfully in graduate-level courses from other departments associated with their degree program. The Department does not require but welcomes GRE scores.

Course work (residency):
ten (10) approved courses at graduate level(30 credits), with a distribution suited to the student's major study interests

Thesis: Covered by Sector III of the comprehensive examinations.

Comprehensive examinations:
 

Sector I (General qualifying examinations):
 

1. a written review or critique of a general linguistic article

2. a description of a limited linguistic corpus

3. an oral colloquium on an assigned topic
 

Sector II (Special field examinations):
 

1. a written review or critique of a monograph work in a specialized field

2. teaching scripta for three lectures on a special-field topic

 

Sector III: A research paper on an approved topic.

For further information contact:

Prof. Margaret Thomas, Chair

Dept of Slavic and Eastern Languages

Boston College / Lyons 210

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3804

617 / 552.3910, 617 / 552.3697

thomasm@bc.edu

Exemptions from specific program or examination requirements

A student having sufficient reason to request exemption from one or more specifications in MA(T) requirements published by the Department should after consultation with the Chair, file separate petition for each provision concerned and which presents at least the following information:

1. the item from which exemption is requested
2. the reason why such exemption should be granted
3. a proposed study or examination area which would substitute for the otherwise required area
4. a demonstration of the relevance of the area proposed under (c) to the nature of the degree sought
5. the names of the persons with whom the applicant has consulted and any additional considerations

The Department will rule on all such requests made during the academic year within two weeks of receipt. The chair will arrange an interview where the Department either tends to a negative decision or where more information is required.

The Department intends the fullest possible implementation of its requirements, since the professional and academic quality of SEL degrees depends upon well-observed standards; this, of course, directly benefits students in the value accruing. to their degree.
The faculty, for its part, commits itself to commensurate instructional effort, fair administration of degree requirements, and an open attitude toward all considerations and evaluations reasonably presented by its students, whether individually or as a body.