Mathematics and Russian

Mathematics and Russian is a degree that combines two disciplines requiring sustained intellectual discipline and the willingness to engage with complex systems on their own terms. Mathematics at degree level is the study of structure, pattern and proof, developing the ability to understand complex mathematical phenomena and to reason rigorously about them. Russian is one of the world's great literary and intellectual languages, the language of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov, of the Soviet avant-garde and contemporary Russian culture, spoken by over 150 million people and strategically significant in global affairs.

At St Andrews, this four-year MA programme gives you the time and academic support to develop genuine depth in both disciplines. You will develop your mathematical understanding across pure and applied mathematics, building the rigorous analytical skills and abstract thinking that the discipline demands. In Russian, you will develop your language skills from the level at which you arrive to advanced proficiency, studying Russian literature, culture and history across different periods and genres.

A year abroad is built into the programme, giving you immersive language experience in a Russian-speaking environment and the opportunity to deepen your cultural understanding through direct engagement with the world your language opens up to you.

The combination of mathematical precision and linguistic and cultural depth produces graduates with an unusual and genuinely distinctive skill set.

Graduates of mathematics and Russian programmes move into finance, data science, technology, academic research, translation and interpreting, the civil service, intelligence work, international business and any field that values the combination of quantitative rigour and rare language expertise. Postgraduate study in mathematics, Russian studies, finance or linguistics is a natural option.