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Undergraduate Admission
Graduate Admission
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How to Apply
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Graduate Program in Slavic Studies
at University of Southern California, Los Angeles


Please announce to interested students:
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, invites applications to its Graduate Program for the Master and Ph.D. degrees. The Program emphasizes an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, offering courses in Russian literature, language, linguistics, and the visual and performing arts.
Generous financial support packages in the form of fellowships and teaching and research assistantships are available for qualified candidates. International students are eligible for support and are encouraged to apply.
Located in a dynamic metropolitan area with a large and vibrant Russian community, the University of Southern California benefits from the presence of the J. Paul Getty Research Center and Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Huntington Library, the Hollywood community, and other major academic institutions, a combination of forces that makes for a rich and stimulating environment for the advanced study of Russian culture. The professional schools at USC in cinema, communications and journalism, music, and theater, are also especially strong, forming a valuable resource for the comparative study of Russian language, literature, and culture.
Faculty are: Tatiana Akishina (language pedagogy), John E. Bowlt (visual arts, especially the avant-garde), Sharon Carnicke (theater and dance), Kirill Postoutenko (verse theory), Marcus Levitt (18th century Russian literature), Roumyana Pancheva (linguistics), Sarah Pratt (19th century poetry), Thomas Seifrid (20th-century prose; philosophy of language), and Alexander Zholkovsky (Russian and comparative literature and literary theory).

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For further information and applications contact:


Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures
The University of Southern California
Taper Hall of the Humanities 255
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4353
U.S.A.
tel. (213) 740-2735
fax (213) 740-8550
slavic@usc.edu

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How to Apply to the Graduate Program in Slavic Studies


To be admitted to graduate studies in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures you generally need an undergraduate degree in Russian language and literature which must include at least four courses in language and four in literature at the upper division level. If your background does not include this training, please be aware that, even if you are accepted into the graduate program, you may be required to do supplemental study in addition to graduate course work.
Click here to download Application Forms. Note that you may also submit your application on-line, but please also follow the steps outlined below.

Application Checklist:

To apply to USC, you need to send in to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1) The application form (obtainable from the Office of Graduate Admissions, from the Slavic Department, or directly downloadable from this link).
2) An application fee (payment of $65 for U.S. students/$75 for international students).
3) GRE examination results (GRE should send this directly to USC Graduate Admissions).
4) Undergraduate and (where applicable) previous graduate transcripts (These should be mailed to USC's Office of Graduate Admissions). International students should also send a English translation of their transcripts.
To the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures (THH 255, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-4353)
5) A copy of your filled out application form.
6) A xerox copy of your check.
7) A copy of your GRE transcript.
8) A copy of your undergraduate and (where applicable) graduate transcripts.
9) Three letters of recommendation.
10) A writing sample; if possible, a paper you wrote for a university course.
11) A statement of interest. This should describe your scholarly interests, how our program fits in with these interests, and your future academic and professional plans.

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When to Apply


Applicants who wish to start graduate studies in the Fall should have begun the application process by the end of the previous semester. In January, faculty will be reading files and requesting any missing materials. Financial aid decisions will probably be made in February. We will still accept applications during January, and even later, but if you let it go too long you risk cutting yourself out of the running for a fellowship.

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Financial Support


We aim to support everyone that we accept with a package that combines fellowship support with teaching assistantships. For students entering the program with a BA degree, these packages often consist of two years of fellowship and three years of teaching, and their distribution will be somewhat flexible. For those entering with a MA, the package will usually cover three years - one of fellowship and two of teaching. The first-year fellowship for 2002-2003 will be approximately $16,000 stipend plus tuition remission and health insurance coverage. Teaching assistants receive tuition remission plus a stipend and health benefits, and they generally teach one section of a language course. Our graduate students also regularly hold assistantships in the university's Writing Program and the undergraduate Thematic Option program. International students should be aware that U.S. student visas may be dependent on special financial conditions.

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When Will I Hear From USC?


Fellowship nominations will be decided upon in late February; we will let you know as soon as a decision has been made.
Teaching assistantships are decided upon in March; again, we will inform applicants as soon as a decision has been made.

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Contact Information


With questions about application procedures, contact our Administrative Assistant, Susan Kechekian:
Dept. of Slavic Languages and Literatures
University of Southern California
Taper Hall of the Humanities 255
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4353
U.S.A.
Phone: (213) 740-2735
Fax: (213) 740-8550
E-mail: susan@usc.edu