Grad Program: MA in Russian and Slavic Studies, University of Arizona

Deadline: March 1, 2022

The University of Arizona’s Department of Russian and Slavic Studies invites applications to our MA degree program. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with a final deadline of March 1, 2022, to be considered for financial aid. Early applications are encouraged.

The Master of Arts in Russian and Slavic Studies offers a diversified program of study with courses in language, literature, linguistics, and culture. The MA Program has two tracks that offer students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to gain expertise in their specific fields of interest. Students in the Language, Literature, and Linguistics (LLL) track complete a rigorous program of study that culminates in MA Exams; graduates on the Russian and East European Studies (REES) track develop a specific area of focus and complete a MA thesis.


In years past, the department has been able to fund or partially fund eligible graduate students’ study through teaching assistantships and fellowships. Generous funding packages for qualified students include tuition remission, health insurance, and a monthly stipend during the academic year. Students who are residents of Arizona, Nevada, Utah or New Mexico are eligible for in-state tuition.

While Russia continues to be the focus of our program, the department also has specialists with research and teaching interests in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia. Russian and Slavic Studies faculty work closely with graduate students as mentors in the acquisition of practical research and teaching skills as well as preparing students for careers in academia and beyond. Students are encouraged to collaborate with faculty and units across campus, including the Center for Digital Humanities and the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA, affiliated with the UA College of Humanities since 2019).

After receiving a Master of Arts degree in Russian and Slavic Studies from our program, our department’s graduates have found work in finance, government service, the NGO sector, translation, teaching, and other fields. A number of our graduates have gone on to competitive doctoral programs in Slavic language, literature, and linguistics; others have entered the University of Arizona’s interdisciplinary Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) doctoral program and continued teaching Russian. A partial list of our alumni is available at: https://russian.arizona.edu/people/alumni.

Further information about our program is available at: https://russian.arizona.edu/graduate/general-information.

For more information contact:

Dr. John Leafgren
Department Head, Russian and Slavic Studies
Director, Graduate Studies
leafgren@arizona.edu
520-621-5825