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General: Our PhD graduate program is designed to train future scholars and teachers of Slavic languages and literatures. Students specialize either in literature or linguistics, combining a core curriculum with independent research early in their graduate career.

More information:

• Graduate Student Handbook

Department Forms:

Independent Study Form

Pre-TeleBEAR Advising Worksheet

Meet our Students: Meet our current graduate students. They participate in the life of the Department (studying, teaching, running the library, organizing film series, performances, colloquia, conferences), in the life of the University (there is a community of students in the humanities, including interdisciplinary Working Groups at The Doreen Townsend Center for the Humanities), and in the profession (reading papers at national and international conferences and organizing conferences at Berkeley).
For alumni and dissertation information, please visit the people page.

Graduate Program in literature and culture: The program in literature and culture provides a thorough knowledge of the evolving literary canon with historical context, while encouraging students to acquire expertise in literary and cultural theory. Students begin with courses leading to a Master's examination, then progress to articulating an individuated program which leads to an independent research paper, the Ph.D. qualifying examination, individually-designed qualifying examinations, and finally a dissertation.

Berkeley welcomes students with interdisciplinary interests. Slavic students pursue minors in film, drama, gender studies, etc., and we encourage students who wish to focus on the diverse literary and cultural traditions that make up Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia. The Slavic Department works in collaboration with the departments of Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Anthropology, History, Theater, Music, Art History, and with the Institute of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies, which houses The Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies and The Caucasus and Central Asia Program. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for academic requirements and more detailed program information.

Graduate Program in Linguistics: The program in linguistics integrates systemic and contextual linguistics (the study of language in its historical, sociological, textual context). Linguistic students pursue research on topics as varied as synchronic and historical syntax, Slavic dialectology, cognitive linguistics, and language acquisition. The program encourages work in general linguistics and in language pedagogy. Students begin and progress through stages of the program as described above under literature. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for a complete description of academic requirements, and program progression for both the Literature and Linguistic specializations.

Graduate Admissions: The graduate application deadline for Fall 2012 Admission is December 14, 2011. Our department office will be closed December 24-January 2. Email inquiries will not be answered during this break. Note that we do not accept applications for an MA-only degree. It is important to also note that University policy prevents us from considering applicants who already hold a doctoral degree in any subject, whether obtained at a US institution or abroad.

We select our graduate students on the basis of their record of academic achievement in the past, and their promise of future success in scholarship and teaching. A bachelor's degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures or Slavic Studies is preferred but not absolutely required for admission; however, applicants with degrees in other fields must have already undertaken significant coursework in Slavic Studies.

Before you begin your application, be sure you have reviewed the faculty research specialties. These are the individuals who will supervise your graduate education and research; it is important to find a good intellectual fit before undertaking any graduate program

Each section of the graduate application has specific and detailed instructions to help you successfully navigate. In general though, the complete application will include:
a Statement of Purpose and a Personal History statement. (These are not the same thing, nor do they have a set length.)
3 letters of recommendation
a writing sample
scanned transcripts of all schools attended
your GRE or TOEFL exam registration number

Berkeley’s code is 4833--department codes are no longer necessary. Also, be sure to fill out the domestic or International fellowship information sections.

You are not required to complete the whole application in one sitting. Answers are saved and you may return to edit them or finish other sections until you actually submit the application. We strongly advise that you review everything after a good night sleep before submitting the application and paying the fee. Once the application is submitted, you are not allowed to go back and edit your efforts.

Applicant files are reviewed for completion, sorted and summarized after the December deadline by the graduate assistant. The faculty admission committee reads and evaluates applications throughout January into early February. Decisions regarding admissions will be announced later in February through mid March. We usually invite prospective admits to visit the department in order to meet the faculty and current students early in March.

Support: In recent years the department has been successful at supporting all our graduate students for six years, and, when necessary, for an additional year or two. Support comes from a variety of sources: competitive university fellowships; department funds; teaching and research appointments. We do not, as a rule, admit students we can not support. This is another reason it is important for all potential students to fill out the financial sections of the application.

Teaching: Graduate students regularly teach (as "graduate student instructors," or "GSIs"). GSIs teach Russian and other Slavic languages and individually-designed courses in literature through the University's Reading and Composition program. Students receive ongoing training in pedagogy. Slavic students have also taught in the departments of Comparative Literature, Linguistics, Women's Studies and in the Film Studies programs.

Travel: Students have the opportunity to travel to Russia, Eastern and Central Europe and to the Caucasus and Central Asia to study in language programs and do research in the summer, and, with Fulbright, IREX or ACLS grants, for year-long study and research projects. The Department and the University fund students' travel to participate in professional conferences and travel for research projects and language study.

Contact information: For clarification on application procedures, please email the devoted application address, slavicadmit@berkeley.edu. If you have specific questions about the academic program, please contact the faculty graduate adviser for either literature or linguistics (contact information for current faculty advisers is available through the front office). Prospective students are also encouraged to contact any of our current or former students (see "Meet our Students".)