Minor Tracks

The Department offers minors in: (a) Armenian Studies, (b) Russian culture, (c) Russian language, (d) Russian literature, (e) East European/Eurasian Languages and/or Cultures.

Requirements: The minor is in a field academically distinct from the student’s major. An overall grade-point average of 2.0 in upper-division courses applied to the minor program is required. At least three of the required upper division courses must be taken at Berkeley.

All courses fulfilling minor requirements must be taken for a letter grade.

Update: December 9, 2022: Slavic Languages & Literatures will allow a Pass grade for major/minor requirements for Fall 2022 only, per L&S’s Fall ’22 P/NP late grade option modification due to the strike.

To declare the minor, please review the requirements of your chosen plan, below, and contact Amanda Minafo, Undergraduate Advisor, at issaug@berkeley.edu.

Effective for Summer 2023 graduates and forward: You must declare your minor prior to the first day of classes of your Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If your EGT is a Summer term, the deadline to declare a minor is anytime prior to the first day of classes for Summer Session A.

In your final semester, complete the College of Letters & Science Minor Completion form and return it to issaug@berkeley.edu.

This policy has been updated as of December 2022.

 

 

Minor in Armenian Studies

The minor in Armenian Studies provides students with a broad knowledge of Armenian language, history, literature, and culture. The minor is academically distinct from the student’s major. The program is offered by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures in cooperation with the Armenian Studies Program administered by the Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ISEEES).

Requirements:

An overall grade-point average of 2.0 in upper-division courses applied to the minor program is required. At least three of the required upper-division courses must be taken at UC Berkeley. All courses fulfilling minor requirements must be taken for a letter grade. Students may declare the minor after the completion of two semesters of Armenian language (or equivalent).

Prerequisite:

Two semesters of Introductory Armenian (Armenian 1A and 1B, 3 units each) or equivalent as determined by examination.
Students with prior knowledge of the language should register for a placement examination  for language placement. Click here for the Armenian Language Study and Placement page.

Upper-division requirements: 5 courses, 18 units.

  • Armenian 101A and 101B: Continuing Armenian. 3 units each or equivalent as determined by examination.*
  • Three upper-division courses to be chosen from the University’s offerings in Armenian literature, culture, and history, including:
    • Armenian 124: Armenian Literature in a Social Context. 4 units
    • Armenian 126: Armenian Culture and Film, 4 units
    • Armenian 128: Arts and Culture in the Armenia and the Diaspora since 1991, 3 units (Summers only)
    • History 177A: Armenia from Ethnogenesis to the Dark Ages, 4 units
    • History 177B: Armenia: From Pre-modern Empires to the Present, 4 units

Other area-relevant courses can be used to satisfy the three upper- division courses requirement by permission of the Slavic Department’s Undergraduate Adviser.

*If the upper-division language requirements (Armenian 101A and 101B) are passed by examination: 2 additional courses relevant to the minor should be added, to be determined in discussion with the Undergraduate Adviser.  

 

Minor in Russian Culture

Prerequisite:

Four semesters of elementary/intermediate Russian (Russian 1, 2, 3, & 4 or equivalent). Russian heritage speakers should see language placement approval instructions.

Upper-division requirements: 5 courses, 15-20 units:

  • Five upper-division courses (3 or 4 units each) in Russian language and/or Russian and other Slavic literatures and cultures.
    • These courses may be chosen in any combination by the student, in consultation with the Major Advisor.
    • A course from another related program (for example, Comparative Literature) may be substituted with approval of the Major Advisor.

 

Minor in Russian Language

Prerequisite:

Four semesters of elementary/intermediate Russian (Russian 1, 2, 3, & 4 or equivalent). Students with prior knowledge of the language should consult the Major Adviser for language placement.

Upper-division requirements: 5 courses, 17-20 units

  • Russian 103A and B: Advanced Russian. 4 units each.
  • Three courses with advanced readings in Russian, to be chosen from:
    • Russian 102: Readings in Specialized Russian. 3 units
    • Russian 105: Advanced Russian/English/Russian Translation. 3 units
    • Slavic 180: Studies in Russian Literature. 4 units
    • Slavic 181: Readings in Russian Literature. 4 units
    • Slavic 182: Pushkin. 4 units
    • Slavic 188: Russian Prose. 4 units
    • Slavic 190: Russian Culture Taught in Russian: Country, Identity, and Language. 4 units

 

Minor in Russian Literature

Prerequisite:

  • Slavic 45: Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature. 4 units

or

  • Slavic 46: Twentieth-Century Russian Literature. 4 units

Upper-division Requirements: 5 courses, 15-20 units.

  • Five upper-division courses on the literature or culture of Russia, selected from the Department offerings.

 

Minor in East European/Eurasian Languages and/or Cultures with Concentrations in Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, or Polish

Prerequisites:

Two semesters of language at the introductory level, or equivalent as determined by examination. 8 units

  • Armenian 1A-B
  • Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 27A-B
  • Czech 26A-B
  • Hungarian 1A-B
  • Polish 25A-B

Upper-Division Requirements: 5 courses, 17-20 units.

  • Two semesters of language at the continuing level.* 8 units.
    • Armenian 101A-B
    • Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 117A-B
    • Czech 116A-B
    • Hungarian 100
    • Polish 115A-B
  • Three courses in the relevant literatures or cultures, or substitutes approved by the major advisor. 9-12 units.
  • *If upper-division language requirements are passed by examination: 5 courses in the relevant literatures or cultures chosen from the Slavic department offerings and area-relevant courses from other departments and programs, such as Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Global Studies, History, Journalism, Legal Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies. 15-20 units