Russian Studies and Classics

Many of the basic concepts underlying Western society were expressed for the first time in ancient Greek or Latin. Together with Russian, an East Slavic language, they are also the languages of many highly influential literary and cultural works.

Studying Russian and Classics helps us understand the contemporary world, while shedding light on the past. Beyond Europe, our flexible joint honours programme is your gateway to communities of Russian speakers in China, Central Asia and the United States.

Russian

On this joint honours programme, you have the opportunity to develop advanced speaking, writing, reading, listening and translating skills in Russian.

Our Year 1 Russian courses are streamed according to how much of the language you already know, so it does not matter if you are a complete beginner.

You will explore Russian and Russian-speaking (Russophone) literature and culture, past and present. You will also develop an awareness of Russia's international political and historical contexts.

Classics

You will explore the highly influential scholarship and literature of the classical world that gave rise to Western society. You will take either an Ancient Greek, Latin or non-language pathway through Classics study.

Why Edinburgh

As a world-leading festival city and home of two World Heritage Sites, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study ancient and modern languages in their cultural context.

The first lecture in Russian was given at the University in 1919, and Russian Studies was introduced as an undergraduate degree programme in 1949, the first of its kind in Scotland.

Studying over four years enables you to choose courses, including from other disciplines, that match your own interests, expertise and employability needs.

When you graduate, you will have the combination of broad cultural education and specialist knowledge valued by employers worldwide.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is studied over 4 years, including a Year Abroad. This enables us to build choice and flexibility into your studies, giving you time to explore options, find what you like and build your skills.

Your first two years will be your pre-honours years. They will give you a good grounding in your subjects. In addition to your core courses, you will broaden your education and skill set by choosing option courses from a range of disciplines. This gives you the chance to build your intercultural awareness in other areas of the arts, humanities, social sciences and beyond.

Your final two years will be your honours years. You will spend Year 3 studying abroad, gaining lived experience of Russophone culture. Year 4 will be tailored to your interests in specific topics or approaches to Russian studies and Classics.

Programme benefits

• Take the oldest programme of its kind in Scotland.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in one or more languages.

• Try out different subjects in your first two years.

• Join societies related to what you are studying.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.