About Russian

Why study Russian? With over 250 million speakers worldwide, Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world and is listed as an official language in eight countries! 

  • Russian is a critical language. Russian speakers are in high demand in both military and civilian agencies in the US government.
  • Russian is an important language for science, technology, business, ballet, theater, cinema, literature, and music.
  • Russian combines well with many other disciplines such as business, science, political science or history, engineering, mathematics, arts or music.
  • Specializing in Russian brings many benefits, both professional and personal ones.

Why study Russian at CCSF?

  • Students learn from native speakers.
  • California’s Russian-speaking community is concentrated in the San Francisco area. Learning Russian is the perfect opportunity to broaden your social circle (Community Center, Russian events, Russian Language Meetup Groups)
  • Many of our courses are CSU/UC transferable.
  • Tutoring services are available and free of charge for all students currently enrolled in a language course.

Explore Potential Careers

Studying Russian can lead to a variety of different jobs or career paths. Below are just some of the many options you will have!

  • International business
  • Foreign service
  • Travel and tourism
  • Translation and interpreting
  • Education

Program Options 

Click on the degree or certificate you're interested in earning to see a sample map of courses to take to complete your goal from start to finish.

Please note that the course maps provided are just an example to help you get started. Please meet with a counselor to personalize the plan to you and your Academic goals.

View Requirements in College Catalog

Choose 9 units from the following core courses:

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
RUSS 1 Elementary Russian 5  
or      
RUSS 1A Elementary Russian 3  
and      
RUSS 1B Elementary Russian 3  
RUSS 2 Elementary Russian 5  
or      
RUSS 2A Elementary Russian 3  
and      
RUSS 2B Elementary Russian 3  
RUSS 3A Intermediate Russian 3  
and      
RUSS 3B Intermediate Russian 3  
RUSS 4A Continuation of Intermediate Russian 3  
RUSS 21 Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 5  
or      
RUSS 21A Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 3  
and      
RUSS 21B Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 3  
RUSS 22 Continuation of Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 5  
or      
RUSS 22A  Continuation of Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 3  
and      
RUSS 22B Continuation of Elementary Russian for Bilingual Students 3  

Total Units: 9 

Choose 6 units from the following elective courses:

Course Number Course Title Units Notes
RUSS 10A Beginning Practical Spoken Russian 3  
RUSS 10B Continuation of Beginning Practical Spoken Russian 3  
RUSS 10C Intermediate Conversational Russian 3  
RUSS 15A Advanced Russian Conversation 3  
RUSS 15B Advanced Russian Conversation 3  
RUSS 16A Advanced Conversation through Russian Cinema 3  
RUSS 16B Advanced Conversation through Contemporary Russian Cinema 3  
RUSS 41 Russian Culture and Civilization 3  

Total Units: 6 

Overall Total Units: 15

Transfer Options

The program coursework you complete at City College will satisfy lower-division requirements for related majors at several colleges and universities. Start planning your transfer by exploring Russian programs at the following institutions: 

  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of California, Davis
  • Stanford University
  • Pomona College
  • University of Southern California

Have questions about transfer? Visit the Transfer Center for help, transfer information, and/or to speak with college representatives.