Introduction
The two-year master’s program prepares to teach Russian as a foreign language. Upon completion of the program, the graduates acquire knowledge and skills that meet the requirements of contemporary philological and pedagogical sciences and needs of teaching Russian as a foreign language; the graduates can apply the acquired knowledge and skills in teaching students of different age groups who speak other mother tongues and represent various cultures.
This program is aimed at developing the subject and multicultural competencies, communicative, methodological, reflective, managerial-administrative, and entrepreneurial skills. It also forms and supports the professional identity of a future teacher. The program includes traditional as well as innovative philological and pedagogical courses created by leading specialists of the University of Tartu. During the pedagogical internship, students acquire real-life experience of teaching Russian as a foreign language to a mixed age group of non-native speaker students with various cultural backgrounds.
What are the advantages of the program?
An opportunity to receive philological and pedagogical education in 2 years.
An opportunity to improve the mastery of the Russian language as a foreign language and to reach the proficiency level of C1.
An opportunity to choose different courses of any program of the University of Tartu and to study in a group with native speakers of Russian.
An opportunity to go for an Erasmus exchange semester abroad at a partner university.
A flexible mode of study with e-learning support for every course of the program.
Upon completion of the program, an opportunity to pass a proficiency test of Russian as a foreign language (TORFL) and receive an internationally accepted certificate.
What opportunities does this program provide?
A diploma from the University of Tartu opens multiple possible career paths anywhere in the EU, the USA, or other foreign countries. However, please keep in mind that in order to qualify for the position of school teacher you might need to follow additional requirements, which are different for every country.
Studying for an Erasmus exchange semester at one of the European partner universities enriches the learning experience, broadens outlook on practices and methodology of teaching Russian abroad, and allows to develop a better understanding of employment opportunities for teachers of Russian as a foreign language in the EU.
Studying in mixed groups of students from the EU, the CIS, and other countries allows you to make business contacts and to become a part of the international community of teachers of Russian as a foreign language.
The learning outcomes of this program presuppose that a graduate:
Is familiar with the modern linguistic vocabulary system, has a profound theoretical knowledge of structure and grammar of the Russian language, and capable to apply this knowledge in teaching;
Has mastered the basic methods of linguistic analysis of language units such as sound analysis, morphological analysis, analysis of word combinations, simple and compound sentence analysis, etc;
Keeps track of changes in modern Russian;
Has acquired the knowledge of certain aspects of the Russian national culture and can utilize it as a source of the teaching material and can evaluate language phenomena in the context of national culture;
Is capable to predict and prevent typical errors related to the mother tongue of their students (English) on the basis of knowledge of the Russian and English language;
Speaks Estonian at the A1 level;
Is capable to work in groups online and offline under a supervision of a teacher.
Why choose to study at the University of Tartu?
One of the oldest universities in Northern and Eastern Europe (founded in 1632).
It belongs to the top 1.2% of the world's best universities (QS World University Rankings, 2020).
The world-known Tartu School of philology, cultural studies, and semiotics (The Tartu-Moscow School of Semiotics).
The largest research library in Estonia (4 000 000 items).
14 000 students, incl. 1 800 foreign students.
More than 3 600 employees. 69% of the academic staff hold doctoral degrees (Ph.D.).
The only classical university in Estonia that includes 26 institutions and colleges.
What makes studying at Narva College of University Of Tartu so attractive?
Narva College, a regional college of the University of Tartu (founded in 1999), follows all academic and research traditions of the University of Tartu.
The College has a highly qualified academic staff of teachers of Russian language, culture, and literature who conduct research and provide methodological support in teaching Russian as a foreign language, and who have 10-20 year experience of teaching Russian as a foreign language (incl. on-line language teaching).
Narva College is a member of the Consortium of the University of Tartu (the Consortium of the University of Tartu) that administers tests of Russian as a foreign language (TOREL) by offering tests to foreign students upon completion of which they can receive internationally recognized certificates.
The student body includes more than 500 students (incl. 136 foreign students from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and other countries).
The College offers 12 study programs at bachelor’s, master’s, and applied higher education levels.
The campus building of Narva College is a modern building constructed in 2012 according to the unique architectural project that combines an innovative study environment with present-day requirements to it.
The University dormitory was built in 2020; it offers a comfortable environment for studies, sport, and leisure. The dormitory also houses a library and a swimming pool.
Why study in Russian in Narva?
The Estonian city of Narva is located on the border of the European Union and the Russian Federation, just 130 km away from the “cultural capital” of Russia — Saint-Petersburg. Such a favorable geographical location allows applying for a short-term e-visa to visit Saint-Petersburg on weekends or holidays.
Narva is a Russian-speaking city, with Russian being a home language for almost 95% of its inhabitants. Studying in Narva gives an opportunity to improve the Russian language as a foreign language in everyday and socio-cultural communication in the city environment. This is one of the reasons why every year Narva College is chosen as a place for short-term and long-term studies of Russian by about 100 students from the USA, France, Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Republic of Taiwan, and other countries.
Narva is a small city (about 60 000 residents) that is convenient for living and studies (the University study building and its dormitory are located at working distances).
What are the housing options?
The dormitory of Narva College is situated in the new building, which is shared with the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences. The building is unique in its layout and ergonomics: the first floor is concrete and the remaining three are made out of wood. The lower space of the dormitory houses a swimming pool. The prices vary between 125 and 250 EUR. Please, keep in mind that only the Kerese 14 building is in Narva, the rest of the dormitories are situated in Tartu. You can visit the website of our dormitory via this link.
For those preferring lower-budget options, the College has an agreement with the Sillamäe vocational school (the city is situated 20 km from Narva). The Sillamäe dormitory has also been renovated quite recently, but has a stricter set of rules, as its primary inhabitants (the vocational school students) are younger than 18. The prices for this dormitory start from 30 EUR. You can reach Narva via regular, free of charge busses from Sillamäe.
Concerning the accommodation in town, it is possible to rent a single room apartment for 50-100 EUR. The standard price for a two-room apartment is around 150 EUR. However, utilities are usually also covered by a tenant and vary approximately from 30-50 EUR in summer and 60-100 EUR in winter. The final utility costs depend on your consumer habits.
