UC Berkeley has a long tradition of scholarship on the region of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Russian language instruction was first offered in 1901 and is currently offered through the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. ISEEES has been a National Resource Center on Eastern Europe and Eurasia since its founding as the Center for Slavic and East European Studies in 1957. Today, ISEEES is the focal point at the University of California, Berkeley, for students and faculty who conduct research and teach on the region.
Faculty
Nearly fifty faculty members in more than a dozen academic departments and professional schools specialize in the region and are affiliated with ISEEES.
Degree programs
Being an organized research unit, ISEEES does not offer degree programs like academic departments and professional schools. The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures offers degrees in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian languages, literatures, and cultures, but other departments offer courses on our region or have faculty who specialize in our region.
Applying to Berkeley
Prospective students are encouraged to visit the campus Web page on applying to UC Berkeley. Information on application forms, procedures, and deadlines can be found there.
Area-related courses
Each semester, ISEEES compiles a list of selected courses being offered by our affiliated faculty members or on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This list is also available at the beginning of the semester at our office and is included in the ISEEES newsletter.
Funding opportunities
Library Resources
Doe Library, UC Berkeley’s main library, is notable for its Slavic and East European collections, which comprise approximately 750,000 volumes (including microfilms), some two-thirds of which are in the languages of the area. It also houses approximately 10,000 serial titles, including 3,500 current subscriptions in the languages of the area, as well as prominent collections of Western and English-language Slavica. The collections are complemented by holdings in a dozen branch libraries on campus, including the 18,000 volumes held in the graduate library of the Slavic Department, the ISEEES reading room collection, and nationally recognized area-related collections in law, life sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences.