Regional Studies-Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia

General

The program in Regional Studies — Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia (REECA) is based on the premise that in the study of society and culture the integration of the various academic disciplines will produce insights unobtainable within the confines of any single discipline. The program seeks to produce area specialists with a sound knowledge of the Russian language and a broad background in the history, literature, government, and economics of Russia and other countries of the area.

The program offers preparation for careers in public service, business, journalism, or for more advanced academic programs. Each student’s career goals, as well as previous training, experience and academic qualifications, are taken into account in planning his or her course of study. A limited enrollment in the program facilitates individual guidance and personal attention.

Students in the program benefit from association with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard’s research institution on countries of the former USSR and Eastern Europe. There is considerable intellectual interchange between the center and the program, since the center’s faculty associates teach in the program, and students in the program have access to the center’s library, seminars, and other activities.

Requirements for Admission

All applicants to the program must meet the requirements of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. These include a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution (or an acceptable substitute) and a superior undergraduate record. The statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, and results of Graduate Record Examinations (GREs) are required for indications of promise and commitment. Three years (or the equivalent) of college-level Russian are strongly recommended. Foreign students must demonstrate proficiency in English by submitting results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Deferrals for admission are not allowed. Students accepted into the program but unable to enroll must reapply for admission for the year in which they expect to take up academic residence. The application deadline typically falls in late Decembe for the academic year beginning the following August; see http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/prospective_students/program_deadlines.php for this year’s deadline.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is administered under the direction of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Harvard grants are open to all students, regardless of citizenship, and are awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, as determined by documents submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Prospective students apply for financial aid at the same time they apply for admission.

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship program, sponsored by the US Department of Education, is designed to meet the critical need for American specialists in education, government, and other fields who have knowledge and understanding of non-Western languages and cultures. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

All eligible applicants should complete a FLAS application form, available online at www.gsas.harvard.edu/prospective_students/flas.php. Please note that the FLAS fellowship competition is conducted separately from the standard financial aid process and requires a separate application.

Degree Requirements

Academic Residence. Two years of full-time study while registered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are required.

Program of Study. Programs are designed individually in consultation with the program’s academic advisor to meet each student’s particular needs. The precise requirements depend upon the student’s background and preparation. Each student submits a two-year plan of study to the academic advisor before making final course selections for the first term in the program. At the beginning of each subsequent term, students meet with the program academic advisor to discuss the plan and make any necessary changes.

Language Requirement. All REECA students are required to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in Russian before graduating, either by exam or by completing a prescribed sequence of Russian language coursework. Please consult the REECA program office for details.

Course Requirements. Each student selects two or three disciplines from the social sciences (economics, government, and history) and one or two disciplines from the humanities (upper-level Russian language, a non-Russian regional language, linguistics, and literature), for a total of four. Over the course of the two-year program, students must successfully complete at least two approved courses concerning the region in each of the selected four disciplines. One half-course must address questions of national identity and state structure in Russia, Eastern Europe, and/or Central Asia. This half-course may also be counted toward one of the discipline requirements, where appropriate. Electives are selected in consultation with the academic advisor to round out the plan of study. Approved electives typically include theory courses in a discipline that do not directly address the region; additional language study; or courses at one of the professional schools that relate to future career plans.

Proseminar. In the fall of their first term in residence, students are required to attend the REECA Proseminar, an ungraded, not-for-credit workshop on how to develop and write a thesis prospectus, including developing a research question and designing a methodological approach.

Seminars. Students must take a minimum of two seminars, and are strongly urged to take more than two.

Thesis. Students are required to write a master’s thesis during the second year, which is counted as the equivalent of two half-courses. The thesis is to be an original paper showing evidence of advanced research in a particular field, and based on primary sources in at least one of the area languages. It is supervised by a member of the Harvard faculty.

Foreign Area Officers

Foreign Area Officers in the US Army who are completing a civilian master’s degree as part of their US Army service are subject to special requirements. Please consult the REECA program office for details.

Sample Thesis Topics

“Reconciling Reform with Reality: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Russia”

“Nation-Making in Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region: Initial Goals, Unwitting Contributions, and Surprising Results”

“A War of Laws: The Crimean Question, Tensions, and Ukrainian-Russian Relations”

“The Political Economy of Mass Privatization in Kazakhstan”

“The Re-emergence of Ethnic-Nationalistic Concepts in Modern Russian Philosophical and Political Thought”

“Russian Experimental Jury Trials: A Preliminary Examination”

“Questions of Identity: Islam and Ethnicity in St. Petersburg and Moscow”

“Claiming Autonomy in Russian Federalism: A Study of Conflict in Russia’s Main Oil and Gas Producing Region”

“Growing Against the Odds: Russian Small Business Development and the Role of External Finance”

Course Offerings

Course offerings vary from year to year. For specific details see Courses of Instruction, published by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In certain cases, students may cross-register in Harvard’s other professional schools (including the Kennedy School of Government, School of Public Health, Law School, and Business School), as well as in the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. You may browse Harvard course catalogs online at http://crossreg.harvard.edu/OASIS/CourseCat/index.

Further information regarding courses and the AM program in general may be obtained by contacting the Regional Studies Program, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, CGIS South Building, 3rd Floor, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 495-1194; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

To Apply

Application forms for admission and financial aid may be obtained from the Admissions Office, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Holyoke Center 350, 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 495-5396; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We encourage online submission of the application; see the website for links to more information about admissions and to the online application.

PhD Programs

This interdisciplinary program is for the master’s degree only. Some graduates of the program subsequently apply to PhD programs at Harvard or other universities. Students interested in obtaining a PhD may wish to consider one of the following programs.

PhD in Economics: see Higher Degrees under the Department of Economics.

PhD in History: see Higher Degrees in History.

PhD in History of Science: see History of Science.

PhD in Political Science: see Department of Government.

PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures: see Higher Degrees in Slavic Languages and Literatures.

PhD in Sociology: see Higher Degrees in Sociology.