Note on Russian 103 and 104

Taking Russian for language requirement: fast & slow tracks

To satisfy the foreign language requirement at Cornell, a student must achieve qualification in any two foreign languages or proficiency in one. Some students achieve qualification in one language in high school; at Cornell, these students must achieve proficiency in this language or qualification in another language.

The Russian program offers two ways to achieve qualification:

Slow track: Russian 121 + 122 + 123 = 12 credits in 3 semesters
Qualification can be achieved by taking and completing Russian 121 in the fall, Russian 122 in the spring, and Russian 123 the following fall. Each of these three courses meets five times a week for fifty minutes and contributes 4 credit hours towards graduation.

Fast track: Russian 121/103 + 122/104 = 12 credits in 2 semesters
Qualification can be achieved by taking and completing two concurrent courses in the fall and spring semesters: Russian 121 & 103 in the fall, then Russian 122 & 104 in the spring.

If you are not taking Russian because of the language requirement (and very few people do), then it is really a good idea to take both 103 and 121 in the fall, and both 104 and 122 in the spring, especially if you think you might want to major in Russian.

Russian 103 is a more important course than the "main" course, Russian 121. After all, in 121 you learn to speak Russian, but in 103 you speak it.

Beginning Russian Through Film: Course Description

The Russian Language Program

e-mail box for the Russian Language Program

Russian Language Program
Department of Modern Languages
Cornell University
Morrill Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-4701, USA
tel. 607/255-8350
fax 607/255-7491