Russian Studies and Social Policy

Around 150 million people in the world speak Russian. It is the official language of four countries and is widely understood throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There are also large communities of Russian-speakers in China, the United States, Israel and Western Europe.

As the world's largest country, Russia plays an important role in global cultural and political contexts. This makes Russian Studies and Social Policy an ideal joint honours combination.

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.

You will spend Year 3 in a country where Russian is spoken.

Social Policy

You will focus on social and economic change, what causes it, and its consequences for society.

Our programme reflects on how policies are developed; for example, you will learn about the policy-making process in the UK. You will also study the influence of international bodies, such as the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

We deal with a wide array of policy areas, including:

• health and welfare

• education and labour markets

• family and childhood

We work closely with:

• governments

• NGOs

• third sector and interest representation groups

• international organisations and other external actors

International comparative analyses are one of our main strengths, and we place a strong emphasis on providing our students with empirical research skills.

Why Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a world-leading festival city filled with cinemas, theatres, galleries, libraries and collections.

A cultural powerhouse, it is also a political city; seat of the Scottish Parliament, and home to a range of embassies and consulates.

We have built time abroad into the programme, giving you lived experience of how social policies impact on different cultures.

When you graduate, you will have the combination of language and humanities skills and international perspective 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 the Russian language and in the study of Russia and of Social Policy. 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 Social Policy. You will also further develop your Russian language and translation skills.

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.