Slavic studies

Slavic studies is divided into three groups: 

• Eastern Slavic Studies (Ruthenian, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian)
• Western Slavic Studies (Kashubian, Lower/Upper Sorbian, Polish, Slovakian and Czech)
• South Slavic studies (Bulgarian, Burgenland-Croatian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian/Bosnian and Slovenian). This group also includes Old Church Slavonic, which is of great importance in terms of language history.

When studying Slavic Studies, students acquire linguistic knowledge about the respective language group. On the other hand, they also familiarise themselves with the respective culture and literature. They also generally take practical language modules. For example, they can choose to specialise in the areas of ‘Current Problems in Slavic Linguistics’, ‘Synchronous Slavic Linguistics’ or other Slavic languages such as Polish, Czech or Serbian/Croatian. Stays abroad and internships are usually compulsory.

To study Slavic studies, it is helpful if you have knowledge of the following school subjects: German, history, English, French, Russian, Greek and Latin.

Depending on the university, a local selection procedure may also be used. In some cases, language skills are required.

Slavic studies degree programmes are only offered at universities. In addition to degree programmes such as ‘Russian’ or ‘Polish Studies’, there are also those that go by the names of Slavic Languages, Sorabian Studies or South Slavic Philology.