Junebugman

I just feel a little overwhelmed about what steps I should be taking, or really, what I should be thinking. I know people at my school discussing how getting published while a UG is an amazing way to gain admission...something I currently have no idea how to do. Right now, I'm working on second research peper. It's going to be around 23-25 pages and about the identity of the Soviet Partisans and how the nature of that identity is a major factor in their creation and vast growth during WW2. This is pretty much the extent of my abilities at least at this stage. Next to this, I seem to hear other people describe the "way too overdone" fields(Most history majors at my school study US history). But it seems European history isn't far off from this either. Does that mean even if I have an interest in Russian and Soviet history, it's an overdone interest? I don't mean to complain. This is a major life choice after all and the steps needed to be taken just seem confusing, if not daunting.

I'm currently in my third year at Cal State Northridge(Not a top tier school). I'm majoring in History and minoring in Russian. My interest has been in Russian/Soviet history(From the start of Nicholas to the death of Stalin). I'm interested in going to grad school to study this field and hopefully be able to teach and research the subject. I am already fluent in Russian and know a little Ukrainian. My GPA right now is about 3.7 and my history GPA is probably about the same, I think. I just from a school program sponsored by the US government where you get a certificate studying Russian at a university in Moscow. I'm curious as to what I path I should pursue. A friend of mine, who actually was just admitted for the PhD program at UIUC to study Russian history, told me I could either directly apply for a PhD, or apply for an MA and then a PhD. My school, CSUN, offers an MA program w/ thesis option, but the department is pretty much focused on US history. Also, while I was abroad, I met with someone at a university in Kiev where international students can study Ukrainian for an academic year. I have almost no work experience, and I saw this as a possible way to take a year off after my BA and learn a second foreign language. I'm not sure how helpful this might be since most Russian programs I see require Russian and either French or German. I was hoping some either people who might have been in the same situation could give me some advise about all of this. Thank you in advance!