Russian Language Study

Russian continues to be the 4th most important language in the world. Russian is a crucial language for students of science and math, as well as those interested in national security, foreign service, film and cultural studies, and the arts. We have one of the richest course offerings in Russian language and culture in the United States, and we run the oldest student-faculty exchange program with a Russian university in the U.S.

How long does it take to learn the Cyrillic alphabet? Students easily learn the Cyrillic alphabet in the first 2 class periods. It takes about one hour of memorization.

Satisfying the Foreign Language Requirement through Russian

The Duke Slavic & Eurasian Studies Department offers students 4 ways to complete the language proficiency requirement in Russian at the beginning level:

If you have not studied Russian before:

  • Three semesters: RUSSIAN 101, RUSSIAN 102, RUSSIAN 203 (1 credit each), OR
  • Two semesters: RUSSIAN 111 (intensive, 2 credits), RUSSIAN 203 (1 credit)

If you have some prior study of Russian:

  • One summer & one semester: RUSSIAN 101, RUSSIAN 102 (Duke in Russia program), RUSSIAN 203 (at Duke), OR
  • One semester & one summer: RUSSIAN 101 or RUSSIAN 111 (at Duke), RUSSIAN 102, RUSSIAN 203 (Duke in Russia program)

We require an oral and written proficiency test in Russian language. For first time matriculating students, the placement test must be taken before the beginning of the fall semester in order to determine appropriate registration.

Our Courses

These are courses taught in Russian that meet the Foreign Language requirement for graduation with a bachelor degree at Duke.