Slavonic Studies

Abbreviations: credit points (ECTS )

• Free choice of languages: You determine your own linguistic focus and are not restricted to any set language combination. Even smaller and rarely taught languages can be incorporated into your degree programme through the recognition of external qualifications.
• Related subjects found only here: There are two disciplinesdirectly linked to Slavonic Studies that exist in this form only in Jena: the only professorship of Romanian Language and Literature in Germany, and the Professorship of Caucasus Studies, which is unique in Europe.
• Have a say and receive support: We place great emphasis onthe opportunity to get involved – for example, in organising events. At the same time, you will receive individual support and an advisory service|consultations throughout your studies.
• Seminar-style field trips|study trips: Regular seminar-style field trips|study trips, some of which take the form of block seminars in the respective country, ground your studies in the lived reality of language and culture. These are largely co-organised by the students themselves – from applying for funds through to planning and implementation – and thus help develop important key qualifications.
• A community: The institute offers an excellent student-teacher ratio and scope for individual growth. Students form a vibrant community with their own student common room and close personal relationships with one another and with the teaching staff.
• A cross-disciplinary, comparative approach: Slavic Studies in Jena focuses on broader linguistic and cultural regions and their specific characteristics. Through the study of individual subjects, students practise and examine broader concepts: the similarities and differences between Slavic linguistic and cultural areas, and their position within Europe.

A diverse institute

The institute brings together different disciplinary and regional areas of focus – ranging from West and East Slavic linguistics and literary studies, through South Slavic and Balkan cultural studies (closely interlinked with South-Eastern European Studies), to Polish studies – whilst pursuing a comparative approach that relates the languages, literatures and cultures of the Slavic world in relation to one another and to their neighbours.

Numerous partnerships with universities in the region enable students to spend a semester abroad, for example in Poland (Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań), Bulgaria (University of Veliko Tărnovo, University of Sofia), Serbia (University of Belgrade), Romania (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași), Moldova (State University of the Republic of Moldova, Chișinău) and Kazakhstan (Nazarbayev University, Astana). We work closely with Ukrainian partners and hope that exchange programmes will also become possible there; the activities of the Aleksander Brückner Centre, which is jointly run with Halle, offer a rich, interdisciplinary field of study focusing on our neighbouring country, Poland. Regular cultural field trips to the respective countries further anchor the course in the lived reality of language and culture.

Areas of employment for graduates

A degree in Slavonic Studies equips graduates for a wide range of career fields in which language, cultural and regional expertise are in demand:

• cultural and educational institutions,
• media and journalism,
• publishing and translation,
• international organisations and non-governmental organisations,
• businesses,
• science and research, as well as
• the public sector and foreign relations.

As a minor subject , you combine Slavonic Studies with a major subject of your choice, enhancing it with linguistic, cultural and regional expertise relating to the Slavic world. Particularly obvious combinations include neighbouring philological disciplines, German as a Foreign and Second Language, History, Art History and Film Studies, Sociology, Political Science and Economics and Business Administration—Focus: Business Analytics, Educational Science or South-Eastern European Studies – though, in principle, Slavic Studies can be usefully combined with a wide range of major subjects.

As is usual in the humanities, a Bachelor’s degree rarely leads directly to a specific career path. What matters far more is your individual combination of subjects, the focuses you choose during your degree, internships and experience abroad, as well as – in many cases – a subsequent master's programme, which deepens and refines your academic profile. Above all, however, this applies: for those who are enthusiastic about learning Slavic languages intensively and engaging with the culture, History and contemporary life of the respective countries, a wide range of international opportunities will open up.