Slavic and East European Studies

Slavic and East European Studies
The Slavic and East European Studies (SEES) area studies program encourages students to develop integrated, wide-ranging, and connected understanding of one of the world’s most dynamic, diverse and critical regions. Students may pursue a major, secondary major, or, as of AY 2026-27, a minor in SEES.

What are the regions of SEES area studies? 
The region encompasses geographical territories known as the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during much of the 20th Century--nations that today stretch from Central Europe northeast through the Baltic republics, southeast to Georgia and Armenia, and eastward through Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.

Why study Slavic and East European Studies at Baylor?
Baylor’s SEES faculty members prioritize undergraduate research and mentorship with their students. Mentorship begins when students enroll in a SEES course or declare their intention to study SEES. Even beginning students are invited into thoughtful discussions and policy-relevant research questions and projects that they pursue with faculty. Four SEES-affiliated faculty have been honored with Baylor University’s Elizabeth Vardaman Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduates Award.

Baylor University houses the Keston Archive for Religion, Politics, and Society which preserves the world’s most comprehensive collection of materials on religious persecution under communist and other totalitarian regimes: https://library.web.baylor.edu/kestoncenter Faculty incorporate artifacts--original documents, rare journals, and stunning propaganda posters--into their classrooms. Students use these primary sources in their own original research and may be chosen to receive a funded internship at Keston on campus. The Keston Center also hosts international scholars and funds several significant lecture series and forums annually.

As an interdisciplinary field, three departments provide the core offerings for the program with new additions drawing expert faculty from another three. 

Available courses include:

• The Cold War
• History of East-Central Europe
• History of Ukraine
• Introduction to East European Film and Culture
• Introduction to Russian Film
• Introduction to Slavic Studies
• Russia and the World
• Russian History
• Russian Literature
• Ukraine in Europe
• Introductory variable hour courses in Czech and Georgian

Baylor University offers several Living-Learning Centers--housing opportunities designed to place students of common interests together in living and learning environments. The Global Community LLC within the Baylor and Beyond Living-Learning Center might be of particular interest to Slavic and East European Studies students. Additionally, the Center for Global Engagement offers study abroad programs specific to Slavic and East European Studies. 

Graduates of SEES study are successful as knowledge of this region is unique and highly valued in today’s global world. Recent SEES students have found career success in international business and organizations, the foreign service and other government positions, the military, education, economics, law, and medicine. Many SEES graduates also are granted Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) and Fulbright Awards to further their language and professional goals. 

To learn more about SEES, please contact Adrienne Harris, Associate Professor of Russian and co-Director of SEES.