Undergraduate Extended Accelerator Pathway (3-Term) - Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies

at Shorelight Group - American University USA

There is no better place to learn how to report the news than in the nation's capital, where news is made every minute of every day. At American University School of Communication, students regularly report on Capitol Hill, the DC government, federal agencies, and the policies forged here that have impact around the world. You'll gain valuable experience and earn bylines and credits through internships at major national and international news outlets including The Washington Post, USA TODAY, Politico, NBC4, and National Public Radio.

Our journalism program helps you hone your skills with courses in various forms of writing, advanced reporting, digital media, journalism ethics, and communication law as you learn from the School of Communication's richly experienced faculty. Our students take advantage of the most advanced video, audio, and film equipment in our Media Innovation Lab as they gain confidence being behind and in front of the camera. You'll graduate with strong writing and reporting abilities, an impressive multimedia portfolio, and connections throughout the industry that will help you build a successful career in journalism.

If you’re interested in how power works and how societies are governed, DC is the place to be. Our program provides a foundation in American politics, comparative politics, and political theory. AU is one of the nation’s most politically-active campuses. A short Metro ride away are internships with organizations like the Brookings Institution, Human Rights Campaign, and Emily’s List.

Position yourself for public policy success with our MPP degree. Located in DC, the epicenter of public affairs, you’ll receive world-class instruction from top faculty as you train to advance the quality of policy making in a variety of institutional settings. Gain insights from leading policy professionals and deepen your understanding with the many experiential learning opportunities available here.

A more integrated world has raised the living standards of millions of people, yet it is blamed for causing all sorts of damages to societies, the environment, national cultures, and domestic sovereignty. In the Global Economy Thematic Area, students will study the political economy of this evolving international landscape and analyze economic growth, winners and losers, and the legitimacy of these changes. They explore how globalization changes the world and alters the political, economic, and social prospects of nations and their citizens. They also consider how international organizations struggle to manage this complex process and create governance structures to adapt to these changes, and how national governments attempt to balance their sovereign mandate to govern and protect their people with the frequently disrupting financial and trade-related impacts of global competition.

Our master’s in chemistry emphasizes student research as they  learn to design, conduct, and analyze in our modern and specialized laboratories. First, you’ll build a solid foundation in methods, statistics, and research design. Then, you’ll choose a track that will prepare you for a career in clinical labs, pharmaceuticals, and biodefense, or you can customize your program for further graduate study. 

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its accelerated bachelor's/master's programs. Undergraduate students may complete up to 3 credits for every 9 credits required for the graduate degree that may be applied to the requirements for both degree programs. The department that oversees the graduate program the student enters will determine if the courses the undergraduate student completes will satisfy master's degree requirements. Bachelor's/master's students must complete at least 18 in-residence credit hours at the graduate level after the bachelor's degree is earned and maintain continuous, sequential enrollment in the two programs.

This program allows qualified students to complete both the BA in Anthropology and the MA in Public Anthropology.

Our master’s degree centers around the real-world application of economics. Whether you’re gaining practical experience in leading organizations in the nation’s capital, or learning current applications by esteemed economist faculty, your curriculum will give you a head start on your career. From applied economics to gender analysis in economics, our program prepares for you a career that fits your interests.

The Peace, Global Security, and Conflict Resolution Thematic Area explores the causes and consequences of war as they relate to competing understandings of peace and security. Courses in this area help students assess the choices as well as challenges involved in preventing, resolving, and managing conflict. Students engage theories and historical cases from international security, strategic studies, human security, peace studies, and conflict resolution to conceptualize war and insecurity. The gateway course begins this journey by establishing the broader philosophical traditions associated with competing schools of thought. Students examine the different definitions of peace, security, and conflict as well as general patterns of violence and insecurity in the world. The course builds on this foundation by introducing students to the dynamics of political violence and different peacebuilding and conflict resolution mechanisms.

Issues of identity, whether avowed or ascribed and socially constructed or naturally derived, fundamentally shape people's lives and society. In particular, race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and nationality are determinate identities for many, though in reality, everyone holds multiple identities at the same time. Although these identities often appear to be static and fixed from the outside, they are dynamic and ever-changing, driven by the broader cultural and social influences in which they arise and exist. Courses in this Thematic Area examine the nature of these identities in a world in transition. Our courses, embodying both theoretical and grounded approaches, explore each of these identities in their own right, as well as in a historical and an intersectional manner that explores the relationship between them.

The US State Department has designated Russian a “critical need language,” and Russia’s political and economic transformation has opened exciting new career paths. Our Russian studies program gives you a solid footing in the region’s language, culture, economics, politics, and history. Deepen your understanding by studying in AU’s programs in Russia or Kazakhstan.