Russian Studies and Scandinavian Studies

Russian studies and Scandinavian studies together offer a degree of remarkable geographical and cultural range, spanning two of Europe's most significant linguistic and literary regions. Russian literature, from Pushkin and Dostoevsky to Bulgakov and Akhmatova, represents one of the great traditions of world culture, while the Scandinavian countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, have their own rich literary and cultural heritage from the medieval sagas to contemporary crime fiction, and have exercised considerable political and social influence as laboratories for modern welfare states and progressive policy.

The University of Edinburgh's four-year full-time programme develops genuine competence in Russian and at least one Scandinavian language, combining linguistic study with the history, literature, politics, and culture of both regions. Edinburgh has particular strengths in both Russian and Scandinavian studies, and the programme benefits from the university's research environment and from connections with diplomatic, cultural, and business communities in the two regions. You will study language skills at an advanced level, engage with literary and cultural texts in the original, and examine the history and contemporary politics of Russia and the Nordic countries, including their relationships with each other and with the rest of Europe.

The geopolitical significance of both regions gives the degree considerable contemporary relevance.

Graduates in Russian studies and Scandinavian studies go on to work in diplomacy, the civil service, intelligence, international organisations, journalism, translation, business, education, and academia. The combination of two northern European regional expertises is genuinely unusual and highly valued in roles requiring knowledge of these areas. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in Slavonic studies, Scandinavian studies, or international relations, and the linguistic and analytical skills the degree develops are a strong foundation for doctoral research in either tradition.