English and Russian

English and Russian is a combination with a powerful intellectual coherence. English literature, from the medieval period through Shakespeare and the Romantics to the modernists and beyond, and Russian literature, encompassing Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Turgenev, Akhmatova, and Bulgakov, together represent two of the richest literary traditions in the world. Studying them side by side, in the original languages, allows you to develop a genuinely comparative perspective on how literature works and what it can do, encountering radically different approaches to narrative, character, tragedy, and the representation of social life.

At the University of St Andrews, this four-year programme carries a typical entry tariff of 200 points and includes a year abroad. You will be taught to close read texts across a range of genres and historical periods in both English and Russian, developing sensitivity to how language, form, and context shape meaning, and engaging with the ideas, human values, and historical forces that have shaped the literary traditions of both cultures. The Russian element requires you to develop the language to a high level of proficiency, which takes sustained effort but opens access to one of the great world literatures in its original form.

St Andrews has distinguished research traditions in both English and Russian studies, and the year abroad typically involves time studying in a Russian-speaking country, deepening both your linguistic competence and your first-hand understanding of Russian culture.

Graduates of English and Russian programmes go on to careers in journalism, the foreign service, international organisations, academia, publishing, translation, and any professional context where the combination of linguistic depth and critical analytical skills is distinctively valuable. Postgraduate study in English literature, Russian studies, or comparative literature is a natural further step.