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Russian Studies Program

ДОБРО ПОЖАЛОВАТЬ Welcome

Related Links

Matryoshka Dolls

Get to know some of our students from prior study-abroad cohorts.

Why Study Russian?

Red Plaza

Russia's intricate history and rich culture have yielded unparalleled arts, literature, and scientific achievements. The Russian Federation remains an ever-relevant national force, boasting the planet's largest landmass, vast natural energy holdings, and the eighth largest population in the world. CSUN Russian Studies brings this world power into perspective with contextual experiences in its language and culture.

Russian is designated as a "critical need" language by the U.S. government, with speakers increasingly in demand in the global workplace. It is among the 10 most commonly spoken languages worldwide and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. U.S. residents fluent in less commonly studied languages like Russian gain a significant edge in hiring and expand their career opportunities in such areas as international business, diplomatic relations, national security, and interpretation and translation.

Los Angeles is home to the fifth largest Russian American community in the U.S. and the largest on the West coast, positioning CSUN to service both native Russian speakers seeking continued education and locally headquartered Russian businesses in need of bilingual employees.

Russian Studies Minor

St. Michael's Castle

The Russian Studies minor is available to students majoring in other academic fields. It includes 26 course units in Russian grammar, conversation, civilization, and history for a well-rounded, holistic study of Russian language and culture. The Russian Studies minor is ideal to complement degrees in business, linguistics, engineering, history, political science, economics, or any other field in which knowledge of Russian language and culture enriches academic depth and expands career options.

Russian Language & Culture Immersion Programs

Our Russian Language & Culture Immersion Programs are designed to meet the needs of motivated, career-minded students who want to expand their international professional options in an increasingly global workplace. Depending on entrance language proficiency and individual goals, students will begin at varying levels and work toward advancing their own knowledge and fluencies. We welcome applications from heritage and non-heritage speakers at all levels of Russian language proficiency from across the United States. We have two different summer immersion programs, detailed below.

Cyrillic KeyboardThe STARTALK Russian Language & Culture Immersion Program, funded by the National Security Language Initiative, is designed to accelerate students' Russian language development and cultivate deep knowledge of culture, arts, and national identity in modern Russia. During the six-week residential summer program, students interact in the target language 100% of the time, with in-class language instruction; evening and weekend cultural activities; mentorship with native Russian speakers; seminars with experts on Russian culture; and field excursions to Russian cultural venues, businesses, and communities.
Russian Cafe Students with at least mid-intermediate level Russian proficiency are invited to apply for a study-abroad experience in Moscow designed to further advance language proficiency and broaden cross-cultural knowledge. Participants are obliged to interact in Russian at all times. Beyond formal study at the Russian State University for the Humanities and participation in cultural excursions, students will design independent field study projects specific to their academic and/or career aspirations, providing them with in-depth perspectives of Russian culture relevant to their interests. While in Russia, students will make formal presentations of their projects in the target language.



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