The Program

The Five College Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Certificate Program (REEES) offers undergraduate students an opportunity to complement any academic major with multidisciplinary study of Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The program also sponsors special events of interest to students and faculty members working in the field.

Students pursuing the certificate consult with a REEES program advisor to develop a course of study drawing on the expertise and courses of more than twenty-five faculty members across the consortium. Students are also encouraged to pursue relevant language study as well as study abroad and international education opportunities. Students who wish to pursue the certificate can download the application form (MS Word .doc file) and submit it to a REEES advisor. Learn more about finding an advisor, courses and certificate information at www.fivecolleges.edu/reees.

Course Requirements:

A. The program's core course, normally taken in the first or second year. The core course will be offered every year on a rotating basis at one of the campuses and will introduce an interdisciplinary perspective on the historical and contemporary experiences of the peoples of Russia, Eurasia (here understood as the former republics of the Soviet Union) and East (and Central) Europe. The course will include guest lectures by noted specialists in the Five Colleges.

B. Five additional elective courses, distributed as indicated below. (Independent study courses may be included, assuming approval by the student's campus program advisor.)

C. At least four courses, including the core course, must be taken within the Five Colleges.

Language Requirement

Students receiving the certificate must possess proficiency in a language of one of the certificate regions equivalent to the level achieved after four semesters of post-secondary course work. This proficiency may be demonstrated by course work or examination.

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to study abroad in one of the certificate regions.

Elective Course Distribution

In electing the five courses satisfying the certificate requirements, the following guidelines should be observed:

Courses should be drawn from more than one of the three geographical areas: Russia, Eurasia (here understood as the former republics of the Soviet Union) and Eastern (and Central) Europe.

• At least one of the elective courses must focus on a period before the twentieth century.
• At least one course must be taken from each of the following disciplinary categories: history, social sciences and humanities/arts. No single course can fulfill more than one disciplinary distribution requirement. 
• Elementary or intermediate language courses cannot be included as one of the five electives. A language course beyond the intermediate level can be counted toward one of the electives.
• Credit for one-time courses, special topics courses and transfer or study abroad courses requires approval from the home campus faculty advisor to the program.

Courses applied to the certificate may also be used to fulfill major requirements.