MSc in Russian and East European Studies

About the course

The MSc in Russian and East European Studies is a nine-month programme for graduates who are interested in gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding of Russia and Eastern Europe through the study of the region across a range of disciplines including history, economics, politics, international relations and sociology.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA).

In the case of students who require specific help to adjust to an academic programme or to a new range of skills, the supervisor will work with them to ensure that they have additional support.

Students will meet with their supervisor two to three times per term.

Assessment

In order to receive the MSc degree, you must obtain pass marks in two 3-hour written examinations and an extended essay (for the three core courses) and for the 15,000-word thesis.

In addition, you must also pass on a pass/fail basis each section of the methodology requirement (qualitative and quantitative). Whilst you must pass the methods component of the degree programme, any marks obtained are not part of the determination of your overall results but are only recorded as pass/fail grades on your transcript. The skills you learn will be used in the development of your thesis work.

Graduate destinations

A large proportion of REES graduates proceed to further research and to careers in academia. Graduates have also gone on to successful careers in many different countries in diverse areas of employment such as international organisations, the media, government, business and finance.

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours. The qualification above should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines: politics; economics; international relations; history; sociology; Slavic languages. Students with degrees in other subjects are eligible to apply. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.6 out of 4.0.