The Ph.D. degree program in Slavic Languages and Literatures is characterized by an open structure, allowing students to design an individualized program of study, based on their interests and in consultation with the graduate advisor. A wide range of opportunities for individual specialization includes the languages, literatures and cultures of Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as Yiddish. Students may complement their coursework in language and literature with studies in critical theory, comparative literature, philosophy, cinema and related media, history, political science, and the visual and performing arts. Students may also choose to complete a graduate minor or a graduate certificate in another program, such as Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; Global Studies; European Union Studies; Jewish Culture and Society; Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies; Queer Studies; Gender & Women’s Studies; Cinema Studies; Translation Studies; the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory; or Museum Studies (among others).
Students are admitted to the Ph.D. program after the successful completion of an M.A. degree in Slavic studies or a related field. Ph.D. students design an program of study that includes a major field in one Slavic-area literature (any national literature currently offered by the department), study in a second Slavic or regional language, and a minor field.