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Secondary Fields

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures provides a broad array of courses in the languages, literatures, and cultures of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bosnia-Croatia-Serbia. For a secondary field, we offer two options: Central European Studies or Russian Studies. Both require students to take 5 related courses, and offer ample scope for interdisciplinary and comparative work. We offer students the chance to work closely with Slavic faculty in order to develop a program of study suited to their own interests, rather than just an accumulation of five loosely related courses.

Central European Studies Requirements: 

5 courses

  • At least three courses in Central European literature and culture (broadly speaking, Czech, Polish, Ukrainian, or Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian) in the Slavic Department.
  • Up to two thematically relevant courses offered by departments such as History, German, Government, Literature, Jewish Studies/NELC, Social Studies, and Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) may be counted with the approval of the Slavic Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • One language course in Czech, Polish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, or Ukrainian may be counted.

Russian Studies Requirements: 

5 courses

  • At least three courses in Russian literature and culture from the Slavic Department, including at least one survey course in Russian literature.
  • Up to two thematically relevant courses offered by departments such as History, German, Government, Literature, Jewish Studies/NELC, Social Studies, and Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) may be counted with the approval of the Slavic Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies.
  • One language course in Russian may be counted.

Other Information

All courses (except for Freshman Seminars) must be letter graded. Slavic-related Core courses, Gen Ed courses, and Freshman Seminars are permitted. Any number of relevant Core and Gen Ed courses and one Freshman Seminar may be counted. Students may use Harvard approved study abroad credit to count for up to two courses toward the secondary field. Students are required to take a minimum of two 100-level courses.

Advising Resources and Expectations

All students interested in pursuing a secondary field from the Slavic Department should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), as soon as possible once they have decided to take a secondary field in Slavic, to discuss their program of study. The DUS will be responsible for advising students, who will also be welcome to consult with other Slavic faculty, although the expectation will be that students will monitor their own progress towards fulfillment of the requirements.

Additional secondary field information can be found at the Harvard College website.