Russian Studies and History

Studying Russian and History sheds light on the past to help us understand the contemporary world. Today, around 150 million people in the world speak Russian, and it is widely used in global cultural and political contexts.

Russian is the official language of four countries and is understood throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There are also large communities of Russian-speakers in China, the United States, Israel and Western Europe.

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.

History

In History, you will study the human past more broadly, interacting with evidence in primary form, and through critical reading of a wide body of historical writing.

History at Edinburgh is distinctive for its range of historical themes, chronological periods and geographical areas. You can choose from courses covering:

• the early Middle Ages to the most recent past

• Britain and Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas

Further, our courses offer a rich variety of approaches to the past, including:

• political history

• cultural history

• social history

• economic history

• intellectual history

• gender history

• global and transnational history

Why Edinburgh

As a world-leading festival and capital city, Edinburgh is a fantastic place to study a language in its cultural context.

From the winding streets of the medieval Old Town to the Georgian squares and terraces of the New Town, it is also a history lover's paradise.

History has been taught at the University of Edinburgh since its foundation in 1583. The first lecture in Russian was given in 1919, and Russian Studies was introduced as an undergraduate degree programme in 1949, the first of its kind in Scotland.

Today, graduating with a degree in Russian Studies and History from Edinburgh gives you the blend of specialist knowledge and and intercultural skills valued in a range of careers around the globe.

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, periods, or approaches to Russian Studies and History. You will also further develop your Russian language and translation skills and write a dissertation.

Programme benefits

• Take the oldest programme of its kind in Scotland.

• Study over four years, including one abroad.

• Become fluent in a language.

• Try out different subjects in your first two years.

• Join societies related to what you are studying.

• Delve into fantastic libraries and collections.