Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Russian and East European Studies
College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Website: https://coss.fsu.edu/rees/
Director: Lee Metcalf (Social Sciences)
Director of Internships and Professional Development: Na'ama Nagar (Political Science)
Russian and East European Studies is an interdepartmental program leading to the degree of Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS). The program is designed to give students a well-rounded understanding of the language, culture, history, and contemporary political and economic conditions in Russia and/or Eastern Europe. The approach is broad, interdisciplinary, multinational, and comparative. Courses are offered in the areas of political science, economics, public administration, geography, history, language, literature, religion, philosophy, urban and regional planning, and art history. Many students in the program anticipate careers in government, business, international organizations, journalism, or teaching. Other students use the program as a stepping stone into more specialized doctoral programs by developing a language and area competence and exposure to graduate coursework prior to entering a PhD program in one of the disciplines represented by the participating Russian and East European Studies faculty.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: A candidate is admitted to the degree program by meeting the University's general requirements for graduate admission and by recommendation of the director and executive committee of the degree program. It is recommended that the student have undergraduate preparation in those fields where graduate work is contemplated. A candidate is admitted to the program by meeting the general requirements for graduate study. All applicants must take the verbal and quantitative portions of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) or equivalent prior to admission to the program. International Students must submit official English Proficiency Test scores (TOEFL or IELTS) if their native language is not English.
Program Requirements: The program is a total of thirty-one (31) credit hours, where students choose between completing a comprehensive exam or thesis route. Students selecting the first option will undergo comprehensive examination on the coursework taken for their degree during their last semester in the program. With the advice and consent of the director and the participating faculty, the student selects a three-person committee from among the Russian and East European Studies faculty to supervise the student's degree program. The committee members must be drawn from at least two different disciplines.
The student's supervisory committee will administer the exam. Students selecting the thesis option will designate one of their committee members to serve as their major professor at least two semesters prior to completing their degree program. Students will then work closely with this major professor throughout the stages of outlining, researching, and writing their thesis, and six of their required thirty semester hours are to be taken as thesis hours. In lieu of a comprehensive written examination, students selecting this option will be examined by an oral defense of their thesis before their supervising committee.
Course Requirements: Students are required to take INR 5935r Special Topics (Colloquium) or an approved equivalent. This is a one credit pass/fail course that is designed to foster knowledge about the career field. Students may select courses broadly from the listing of coursework below, so long as they take a minimum of six semester hours in history and six semester hours each from the social science and arts and humanities tracks. However, students are encouraged to concentrate their coursework as much as possible to develop a particular country and language competence. Moreover, while it is required to take coursework from both the social science and the arts and humanities tracks, students should select one of these two broad areas for greater concentration, generally around one or several related disciplines. While students can take undergraduate courses as a graduate student, undergraduate coursework will not be eligible to count toward the thirty-one (31) credit hours. All thirty-one (31) credit hours must be 5000 and above.
Language Requirement: All students must satisfy the foreign language requirement for the MA degree, even if they choose to graduate with the MS degree. Students prove proficiency in Russian, Serbo-Croatian, or some other east European language by either: 1) the completion of twelve semester hours of college level coursework in the chosen language with an average grade of at least 3.0 ("B"); or 2) passage of a reading comprehension test administered by the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics at Florida State University; or 3) four years of a single language in high school; or 4) if first language is not English: TOEFL or IELTS. Students however, are encouraged to go much further in their language training to gain an effective competency in their chosen area language.
Note: German may be substituted with permission from the director.
Study Abroad Opportunities
Master's candidates are encouraged to participate in one of the University's summer programs in Moscow, Prague, or Dubrovnik. These summer programs allow students to immerse themselves in the cultures they are studying. See https://international.fsu.edu/ for more information on the various options available through Florida State International Programs. Students should consult with the Russian and East European Studies director about any other study abroad programs they wish to pursue. Coursework taken in overseas locations must be approved in advance for credit toward the major.
Internships
Russian and East European Studies students have the opportunity to complete an internship designed to provide practical experience, develop professional skills, cultivate valuable contacts, and investigate career options. The internship allows students to receive academic credit for internship placement in approved agencies and organizations. Information and application materials are available on the International Studies Organization site. Applications must be submitted and all internships must be approved the semester before the internship takes place. See the Russian and East European Studies program advisor in 211 Bellamy for further information. All internships must be approved in advance by the program director.
Course Requirements
Note: Descriptions of individual courses can be found under the departmental listings. In addition to the courses listed below, special topics courses may be approved by the program director in any particular term. These courses appear on the term course lists and are available at the International Studies Organization site as well as the program office in 211 Bellamy.
Russian and East European History
Minimum of six semester hours
EUH 5246 World War I: Europe, 1900–1918 (3)
EUH 5285 Europe since 1945 (3)
EUH 5338 History of East Central Europe, 1815 to the Present (3)
EUH 5365 The Balkans Since 1700 (3)
EUH 5458 Napoleonic Europe, 1795–1815 (3)
EUH 5578 19th-Century Russia (3)
EUH 5579 20th-Century Russia (3)
HIS 5256 War and the Nation State (3)
HIS 5265 War and Society in the Age of Revolution (3)
WOH 5246 World War II (3)
Social Science Track
Minimum of six semester hours
CPO 5740 Comparative Political Economy (3)
CPO 5934r Selected Topics (3)
ECO 5005 Economic Principles for International Affairs (3)
ECO 5208 Global Macroeconomics (3)*
ECO 5305 History of Economic Thought (3)
ECO 5706 Seminar in International Trade Theory and Policy (3)
ECO 5707 International Trade (3)*
ECO 5715 International Finance (3)*
ECO 5716 Seminar in Theory and Policy of International Finance (3)
ECP 5115 Seminar in the Economics of Population (3)
ECS 5005 Seminar in Comparative Economic Systems (3)
ECS 5015 Economic Development: Theory and Problems (3)
GEA 5195r Advanced Area Studies (3)
GEO 5305 Biogeography (3)
GEO 5358 Environmental Conflict and Economic Development (3)
GEO 5425 Cultural Geography (3)
GEO 5453 Global Health (3)
GEO 5472 Political Geography (3)
GEO 5704 Transport Geography (3)
INR 5036 International Political Economy (3)
INR 5088 International Conflict (3)
INR 5934r Selected Topics (3)
INR 5938 Joint Seminar in International Affairs (3)
PAD 5376 Introduction to Terrorism: Preparedness and Response (3)
PAD 5377 Advanced Topics in Terrorism (3)
PAD 5837 International Terrorism Policy
PAD 5898 Global Security and Fusion (3)
SYA 5018 Classical Social Theory (3)
SYD 5046 International Population Dynamics (3)
SYD 5105 Population Theory (3)
SYD 5135 Techniques of Population Analysis (3)
SYD 5215 Health and Survival (3)
SYD 5225 Fertility (3)
SYO 5306 Political Sociology (3)
SYO 5335 Sociology of Political Economy (3)
SYP 5105 Sociology of National Development (3)
SYP 5305 Collective Behavior and Social Movements (3)
URP 5610 Introduction to Development Planning (3)
URP 5611 Strategies for Urban and Regional Development in Less Developed Countries (3)
URP 5847 Growth and Development of Cities (3)
*Consult with instructor and/or see course description for required prerequisite coursework.
Arts and Humanities Track
Minimum of six semester hours
ANG 5137 Nautical Archaeology: Global View (3)
ANG 5172 Historic Archaeology (3)
ANG 5240 Anthropology of Religion (3)
ANG 5242 Symbol and Ritual (3)
ANG 5266 Economic and Ecological Approaches in Anthropology (3)
ANG 5275 Human Conflict: Theory and Resolution (3)
ANG 5426 Kinship and Social Organization (3)
ANG 5471 Technology and Social Change (3)
ANG 5478 Cultural Evolution (3)
ARH 5220 Early Christian and Byzantine Art (3)
ARH 5445 Modern European Art: Post-Impressionism through Surrealism (3)
ARH 5648 Art after 1940 (3)
MMC 5305 Comparative Systems of Mass Communication (3)
MUT 5587 Classic, Romantic and 20th Century Styles (3)
PHH 5405r Modern Philosophy (3)
PHH 5505r 19th-Century Philosophy (3)
PHH 5609r Contemporary Philosophy (3)
PHH 6425r Philosophy of Social Sciences (3)
PHH 6607r Ethics (3)
PHM 6205r Social and Political Philosophy (3)
RLG 5195r Seminar: Religion and Culture (3)
RLG 5305r Seminar: History of Religions (3)
RUS 5415r Graduate Russian Conversation and Comprehension (3) (S/U grade only).
RUS 5845 History of the Russian Language and Reading of Old Russian Texts (3)
RUT 5115 Seminar: Russian Literature in English Translation (3)
RUW 5335 Russian Poetry (3)
RUW 5375 Russian Short Story (3)
RUW 5559r Seminar in 19th-Century Russian Literature (3)
RUW 5579 Modern Russian Literature (3)
RUW 5930r Special Topics (3)
Note: Each of the participating departments periodically offer courses in selected or special topics, or as directed individual studies, which allows a student the opportunity for greater concentration in selected areas of specialization relevant to his or her country focus.
Definition of Prefix
EUS—European Studies
Graduate Courses
EUS 5906r. Directed Individual Study (1–3). (S/U grade only). Subject varies with each student. May be repeated to a maximum of twelve hours.
EUS 5910r. Supervised Research (1–3). (S/U grade only). Subject varies with each student. May be repeated to a maximum of three hours.
EUS 5971r. Thesis (1–6). (S/U grade only). Topic varies with student. A minimum of six semester hours is required.
EUS 8966r. Master's Comprehensive Examination (0). (P/F grade only.)
EUS 8976r. Master's Thesis Defense (0). (P/F grade only.)