South Slavonic and Balkan Studies

Bachelor’s degree program South Slavonic and Balkan Studies offers complex education in the field of history and current state, culture and society, literature and languages of the lively region of South-Eastern Europe. Program consists of two linked parts that are present in its two-part title:

1) South Slavonic Studies – in line with the focus of mother department (Department of Slavonic Studies) and predominant profile of lecturers, the core of this program lies in South Slavonic languages (Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovenian and Macedonian), as well as literatures, cultures, history and current state of South Slavonic countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria).

2) Balkan Studies – in line with the tradition of Brno’s Balkan studies, the study of South Slavonic area at the crossroads of Balkans, Central Europe and Mediterranean is set to a wider (including non-Slavic) context. It is evident in including many courses about history, present culture and ethnology of South-Eastern Europe as a whole, including areas of today’s Albania, Kosovo, Greece and partially Turkey, Cyprus, Romania and Moldova.

Study of this program is suitable for gifted and curious students that will resolutely start unraveling disparate and history-laden relations between Balkan nations, and at the same time will courageously sink into the mysteries of South Slavonic languages. It is realized in three forms:

1) Major – multi-disciplinary area study with accent on culture and history, suitable for collegians that want to gain complex education on history and current state, culture and society, literature and languages of the Balkan peninsula;

2) Major with specialization (Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, Serbian) – multi-disciplinary area study with accent on philological part, suitable for collegians that (apart from the above) want to focus on deeper study of an individual Balkan language;

3) Minor – non-philological minor program suitable for students of history, ethnology, political science, journalism, geography and other fields, that would like to upgrade their study with knowledge on Balkans.

Students that will choose maior form of study will learn one South Slavonic language on level A2 (students can choose from Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovenian and Serbian), that will – along with the anticipated knowledge of at least one foreign (world) language – significantly help students to find employement in the preferred part of the South Slavonic area. Students choosing maior with specialization will gain exceptional knowledge of one of the four offered languages (level B1-B2) and at the same time basic knowledge of a second language (level A1). There is no language training necessitated in the minor form of study.

There is also a follow-up master program Slavonic Studies with specialization South Slavonic and Balkan Studies available.

The Balkans. The Cradle of Europe and the Crossroads of Civilizations.
Discover the Balkans before others make it to you!

Practical training

Optional practical training is included in curriculum.

Bachelor’s degree program South Slavonic and Balkan Studies offers complex philological and historic-regional education suitable for creative work in cultural institutions, journalism, specialized work in editor’s offices, at a level of lower or middle-level company management, in translation of specialized and artistic texts, in interpretation and expert fields. Another possibility of employment is in commercial and economic sphere including tourist industry (Czech companies and travel agencies that focus on individual South Slavonic countries, Balkan or parts of it, and Czech offices of international companies focused on South-Eastern Europe). Graduates will be able to use their language competence for common or specialized, oral or written communication with individual South Slavonic nations (Slovenes, Croats, Bosniaks, Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Bulgarians).

This programme is accredited in Czech and requires students to have at least B1/B2 knowledge of Czech or Slovak.

The criteria for admission for studies are the results of the oral Field of Study Examination. The Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University disregards the results of SCIO National Comparative Examinations.

You can file your e-applications for studies from 1 November to 28 February.
Field of Study Examinations will be held from 22 April to 27 April.
The date and time of the examination will be stated in the electronic invitation for the examination, which will be uploaded to your e-application. The faculty will not be sending paper invitations. Applicants applying for the major study plan and minor study plan in a combined study must comply with the conditions for admission into both plans.

Learning Potential Test (TSP)

For admission for studies in this degree programme, you do not need to take the TSP.

Field of Study Examination

This examination is only in Czech. It is intended to check the applicants’ knowledge of the given field of study. It is done in the form of an oral interview.

Basic description of the Field of Study Examination:
The main objective of the admissions interview is to determine the applicant’s motivation for studying in the South Slavic and Balkan studies programme, experience with the South Slavic and Balkan countries, nations, culture, language, etc., and their related elementary knowledge of the Balkan or South Slavic countries (i.e. countries of the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria). In the admissions interview, we do not intend to check the knowledge learnt in any way and, therefore, orientation towards a pre-determined scholarly literature is not required. However, knowledge of such literature will naturally be appreciated and will be reflected in the applicant’s final evaluation.

Admission without the entrance examination

For admission for studies in this degree programme, you cannot be exempted from taking the entrance examination.

Criteria for evaluation

Applicants will be sorted into the admission order based on the evaluations of their oral interviews.

• Total number of points in the field of study examination: 100
• Level and plausibility of motivation: 40 points
• Direct or personal experience with the South Slavic and Balkan countries, nations, culture, language, etc. and related elementary knowledge of the Balkan or South Slavic countries: 40 points
• Experience with scholarly or popular scientific literature on the region: 20 points
• Limit for successfully passing the Field of Study Examination: 50 points

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Minimum score and numbers of accepted applicants in past years

Graduate from bachelor's degree program South Slavonic and Balkan Studies can (after completing conditions of acceptance) continue in the study of follow-up master's program Slavonic Studies with specialization South Slavonic and Balkan Studies.