<p>Hello. I'm currently a high school sophomore, and I've been looking into majoring in Russian for the past year or so. I don't really have any major goals in mind beyond that, though, and I've got some questions.</p>
<p>The one I'm mainly wondering about is what can I do with a major in Russian? I'm not opposed to the idea of a minor or a double major, although I'd like to avoid math- that's a subject I tend not to get along with very well. Also (although it's probably a little early to start wondering about this one), what other sorts of opportunities would open up with a graduate degree in Russian?</p>
<p>What are some colleges with good Russian majors? I live in Texas, and although something in-state would probably be ideal, there just don't seem to be too many options. I'd like to go to a smaller college, with a decent faculty to student ratio. I don't really want to go to any of the big schools (UT, A&M, etc.), and Rice would probably be a stretch to get into for me, and it also lacks a proper Russian major. Trinity seems like another option, but I'm not sure how good the Russian program is or of it has any religious affiliation- any thoughts/knowledge there? Of course, that manages to pretty much eliminate most of the in-state options I'm aware of, so suggestions for out of state colleges are great too.</p>
<p>That got sort of long-winded, but... there you go. Any help would be very appreciated!</p>
<p>Your career options will completely depend upon how fluent you become in Russian. It’s a difficult language, so just a major won’t get you very far. You’ll need to practice outside of class too, do programs during the summer (i.e. Middlebury) and study abroad in Russia for at least a semester if you want to approach fluency. Otherwise, you’ll still be dabbling in greetings. If you do become fluent, then that opens a lot of doors. The most obvious ones are translation, interpretation, CIA/FBI/NSA work, and teaching. If you couple your language studies with something more practical like business, then you’re set up for even more jobs.
As far as colleges go, I doubt there are that many American universities with both undergrad and grad programs in Russian. So look into which ones offer both, and go from there based on the school itself. Middlebury is acknowledged as the best for languages, while Washington and Indiana also have extensive offerings. I think your success will depend just as much on your individual effort as it will on the strength of the program.</p>
<p>Russian is just like any other liberal arts major in terms of career opportunities. The writing, research, analytical skills, etc. will serve you well in any number of graduate, professional, or career fields. A double major of Russian + another field will enhance your prospects, however. Business, government, teaching, journalism, translation, tourism are more obvious career choices. For graduate studies, some choices besides a degree in Slavic languages, include librarianship, international studies, linguistics, comparative literature, film studies, law, etc.</p>
<p>You can check collegeboard.com to search for schools that offer a major in Russian. Don’t necessarily rule out larger schools. There are several federally-funded Russian/East European area studies centers, which tend to be located at larger universities. A list is found on the UT Slavic Dept. website. A larger school may offers some possible advantages including language houses; greater variety/frequency of courses in Russian, related languages, and area studies; a larger number of professors in your major (e.g., only 2 Russian profs at Trinity U); a larger number of majors and bigger/more active Russian language club; etc. Also, keep in mind that Russian programs tend to be smaller than other depts. at most schools, so a larger school doesn’t necessarily preclude small classes and contact with your teachers, at least in your major dept. You will probably want to spend at least one year studying in Russia, too, so look at foreign study options at any school that interests you. If you re-consider about bigger schools, besides UT and some of the Big 12 unis (e.g., Kansas), several of the Big 10 universities have good programs in Russian studies (e.g., Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio State). If you still don’t want to consider a bigger school, many of the better liberal arts colleges would have good programs, but I’m not sure how big of a stretch they might be for admission. Finally, check out the Russian Flagship program at Portland State University to see if that might interest you. The link is here: [Portland</a> State Russian Flagship Partner Program | Home](<a href=“http://www.pdx.edu/russian-flagship/]Portland”>Russian Flagship Program | Portland State University)</p>