What does the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme offer?
The Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme is the most recent out of the six to have been introduced at the Faculty of Philology. The curriculum of the study programme currently taught at the bachelor level includes numerous courses dealing with contemporary Russian and Serbian, as well as courses on the history of the two languages. It also lists courses related to Russian and Serbian culture, along with those on the subjects of Russian and Serbian literature. Besides, in the final years of the programme, students take didactics-related courses, which provide them with the opportunity and make it easier for them to put into practice what they had learned by then. The Russian and Serbian Language and Literature curriculum contains 53 obligatory courses and 2 electives taught over eight terms, or four academic years. Also, students are required to write a bachelor thesis, whose public defence is the final exam in the programme.
Enrolment in the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme
Before candidates can enrol in the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme, they are required to take an entrance examination. The entrance examination includes three sets of questions, those related to the Serbian language (20 points), to literature (20 points), and to Russian culture (10 points). Preceding the entrance examination, the Faculty of Philology organises preparatory classes over a period of two days. Candidates who register for preparatory classes do exercises and cover all the topics to be tested in the exam with the teaching assistants working at this Department.
What are the employment opportunities for Russian and Serbian Language and Literature graduates?
After completing the programme, students are awarded the title of Teacher of Serbian and Russian Language and Literature. The four-year study programme qualifies them to work as teachers of Russian and Serbian languages and literature in primary and secondary schools, as translators/ interpreters, and also for a range of jobs in cultural and public information institutions.
What are the pros of studying the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology in Banja Luka?
All forms of educational activity of the faculty teaching this study programme – lectures, exercises/small group-discussion sessions and office hours, as well as recommendations of and assistance with set and additional literature – are carried out with the aim of helping students to acquire a knowledge of Serbian and Russian grammar, translation and interpretation skills, the knowledge of how to teach the Serbian and Russian language and literature, the necessary pedagogical and psychological knowledge, as well as the knowledge of Russian and Serbian literature and culture. Over a period of four years, which is the duration of this bachelor study programme, students continuously improve their Russian reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.
The Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme is an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their knowledge of Serbian by learning another Slavic language (which is also an official language of the United Nations). Learning Russian also means the possibility of reading some of the world’s greatest works of literature in the original version, and learning first hand and in depth about various aspects of Russian culture.
Are study grants available and what is the procedure for getting one?
A very important aspect of studying at the Department of the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature is the opportunity to spend a period of time in Russia on a scholarship, which puts students in direct contact with native speakers of the language they chose as their major. Currently, students enrolled in the Russian and Serbian Language and Literature Study Programme are eligible for grants from three Russian universities, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Belgorod. A total of fourteen grants are awarded every year. Out of those, ten grants awarded by the V. G. Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University for its one-month summer school cover the costs of tuition, board and lodging, with students covering the travel cost. The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute in Moscow offers two three-month grants to our students, which cover the costs of tuition and accommodation, and where students can attend classes of the Russian language, culture and literature. Two grants are available from the N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. Students can attend lessons of the Russian language, literature and culture free of charge, and board and lodging are also covered. Also, after completing their bachelor studies, students can choose to continue their education at a range of postgraduate levels at a great number of universities across Russia, and are also eligible for scholarships from the Russian Government.
Students of the Faculty of Philology are eligible for several types of grants awarded by the Government of the Republic of Srpska. Every year, at the end of October, the Ministry of Education and Culture runs five different scholarship programmes, namely:
- A scholarship programme for successful bachelor, master and doctoral students enrolled in the Republic of Srpska;
- A scholarship programme for bachelor students in the category of other students;
- A scholarship programme for bachelor, master and doctoral students studying abroad;
- A scholarship programme for bachelor, master and doctoral students with disabilities, who are also beneficiaries of the Disability Allowance;
- A scholarship programme for bachelor students domiciled in one of the Republic of Srpska’s underdeveloped municipalities.
The scholarship competitions are advertised in the Independent Newspaper daily and on the web portal of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, more specifically, on the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture, www.vladars.net.
Exceptionally successful students are eligible for the Dr Milan Jelić Foundation grants, which are offered annually. The Foundation awards grants to especially gifted undergraduate and postgraduate students, enrolled in a first, second or third-cycle study programme at a local or foreign university. The competition opens at the end of October. For more information, please visit the official web page of the Foundation, www.fondmilanjelic.org.
In addition to these scholarships, students are eligible for so-called city or municipal grants, awarded by their local city or municipal administrations.