Masters in Russian/Eastern European Studies

[tlowe]

Hi all:

I'm applying to a few masters programs overseas in Russian and Eastern European Studies for fall 2014 admission. I'm wondering if anyone has done these or has a general opinion of the programs?

MA Russian Studies--UCL

MSc Russian and East European Studies--Oxford

MPhil European Studies--Trinity College Dublin.

Any feedback is much appreciated!

[annieca]

I can't offer much advice on specifics on any of the programs. However, I can offer a few ideas on the different types of degrees.

 

An MA is very similar to what you are going to get as an MA in the US - it's less scientific driven.

 

A MSc is more scientific-based but that doesn't particularly mean anything for Master's, as far as I know. 

 

So here's the big difference - a MPhil is more research based (as opposed to class based) and you might take doctoral classes in addition to your master's classes. 

 

I hope that helps! What are you looking at studying within Russia/Eastern Europe? I can recommend a few more programs if you're interested in Czechoslovakia, the Russian Revolution (the first one), or transitional justice within Eastern Europe.

[tlowe]

Thanks for the info! I'm not entirely sure why each of the universities has a different type of Master's as the only difference I can see on the prospectus is the thesis length.

I'm particularly fascinated by Russian history and literature, including the Bolshevik revolution. I started looking in the UK/ Ireland because I don't speak a Slavic language and all the US programs seemed to require a language component. There's also the price difference and the lack of GRE. I really liked UCL's program, but considering the cost I may end up at Trinity.

As for post-grad, I'd like to do something in foreign policy. Ideally related to Russia/ Eastern Europe, but considering my lack of language skills (only French), I don't know how realistic that is.

[annieca]

Ah yeah, I understand the language awful-ness. I do modern (really postmodern) Eastern Europe, specifically Czechoslovakia and I'm starting to do Romania. When I met with my advisor he said, "So, you're learning Romanian this summer." Yep, no idea where that money is coming from but apparently, I'm learning Romanian this summer!

 

Russian is not the easiest language to learn but there are some great summer institutes for it - Middlebury in Vermont is one of the best, as is SWSEEL at Indiana University. With both of those I believe you can get a year's worth of Russian done in six-nine weeks.

 

The problem with languages and working in a region you don't know the language is the limits in research. Foreign policy is definitely one you're probably going to need Russian for. And not just what we historians call "knowing a language" which is just for reading. That being said, UK degrees are only 1 year long (most are 1 calendar year as opposed to one academic year) so it's entirely possible that you could write your thesis without knowledge of Russian.

 

Do you want to stay in the UK/Ireland for a job or move back to the US? If you want to go back to the US I would highly advise sticking with only the three you mentioned. Newcastle, for example, has some great researchers on Eastern Europe but nobody in the US is going to recognize Newcastle.

 

I don't know about the programs themselves, but yes, UCL is incredibly expensive. I read an article the other day that said it's actually cheaper to live in Barcelona and commute from Barcelona to London than to live in London. 

 

I wish you luck!

[tlowe]

Thanks again for all the advice. I agree that Russian proficiency would be a necessity to work in a policy realm. Unfortunately, most of the humanities programs in the UK and Ireland (if not all) have very little funding possibilities for Americans. In light of that, and after doing some loan calculations, I think I'm pretty set on Trinity-I don't think I can live with the debt from the pound!

As to jobs, I'm open to both EU and US locations, and I am keeping in mind name recognition back in the US. Hopefully Trinity still carries the same weight it used to, although I've seen very little discussion on here of others considering programs there. I think, however, cost reigns supreme and considering the struggling economic conditions, I'd rather not be drowning post MA.

Where are you doing your program? And what are your plans post-grad? Are you looking into options overseas as well?

Best of luck to you as well, especially with Romanian! Sounds like quite a challenge, but I'm sure it will be well worth the cost.

[annieca]

I'm at the University of Maryland doing a double masters in History and Library Science. I had applied to both Aberystwyth (Wales) and St Andrews for two different programs but ended up staying in the U.S. It's a 3 year program but afterwards... my plan is a PhD in Political Science focusing on Transitional Justice. Post that, I'm debating. I want to work in an NGO archive but since I'm also planning on immigrating to the UK for my PhD, there's a question of how many places I can work. Ultimately I'll be happy just about anywhere where I can combine human rights, history, research and maybe archives.

 

So far my PhD searching has been very limited. (I'm only in my first year of my program!) But I have been looking at Newcastle and Sheffield.