http://www.princeton.edu/~slavic/index.html
The Princeton Slavic Department offers the Ph.D. degree in either Russian
Literature or Russian and Slavic Linguistics. The program provides students
with a firm foundation in their major area as well as the opportunity to
explore related fields, for example: comparative literature, literary
theory, linguistic theory, and other Slavic languages and literatures.
Princeton's Ph.D. program is small: this enables us to offer graduate
students accepted into the program a support package for the entire four or
five years required to complete the degree. Princeton provides a scholarly,
small-town atmosphere in close proximity to both New York City and
Philadelphia.
INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS:
The following guidelines are intended to answer some of the most common
questions asked by prospective graduate students. More detailed information
on the program itself can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook.
If you cannot find the answer to your question, feel free to contact the
Director of Graduate Studies at any point in the application process.
Princeton's graduate program is small, with three or four students entering
each year. Graduate students receive a stipend of full tuition and fees as
well as a five-year fellowship that includes summer salary.
The faculty prides itself on its accessibility and responsibility. Meetings
with professors - both formal and informal - are frequent. Advanced graduate
students work closely with their dissertation advisor and generally receive
their dissertation chapters back (well annotated) within a week.
The faculty is eager to meet with prospective graduate students before they
submit their applications. Such visits can be organized by contacting the
Department Manager. If this is not possible, the faculty may wish to arrange
a telephone interview after receiving your application.
The program of study is flexible enough to allow students with different
backgrounds and preparations the opportunity to explore areas of special
interest (which may extend beyond the Slavic Department and even beyond
Princeton).
The backbone of the program is the Russian language, which entering students
are expected to read easily and speak fluently. Beyond that, students are
required, by the third year, to achieve a level of reading competency in two
other languages; for literature students this means any combination of
French, German, or other Slavic languages, and for linguists it means two
other Slavic languages (Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian are offered with
regularity).
For the program in Russian literature, the faculty generally selects from
three types of students:
1) native speakers of English who have a solid command of Russian
(usually through coursework in America as well as study abroad) and who are
committed to the study of Russian literature and culture.
2) native speakers of Russian who have a superb command of the English
language (writing as well as speaking) and of Russian literature, as well as
significant experience in a non-Russian academic environment.
3) native speakers of neither English nor Russian who are fluent in
both those languages and can demonstrate excellence in literary study.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Russian students who have not spent prior time at Western
universities are encouraged to contact the Director of Studies before
applying.
Applicants should realize that the writing sample plays an extremely
important part in the decision-making process. It is essential that
applicants send a text that represents their best work.
The following points are desirable in a writing sample for literature
applicants:
1) it is written in lucid English.
2) it is devoted to a Russian literary text, with quotations (and
interpretation) that demonstrates the text has been read in Russian.
3) It is 10-20 pages long. (It is permissible to send two samples if
the combined length does not exceed twenty pages.)
However, not all successful applications fulfill these criteria. If your
very best work does not fit one of these categories, you should submit it
nonetheless. If it does not fulfill two of them (or if you are uncertain),
contact the Director of Graduate Studies for advice.
For the program in Slavic and Theoretical linguistics, the faculty strongly
recommends a background in theoretical (generative) linguistics as well as
Slavic. Regardless of native language, students must have a fluent command
of both English and Russian.
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