Slavic Awards & Honors

Senior Honors Program

Requirements
Students may request nomination for the senior honors program by filing an application form, or they may be nominated by faculty. Qualifying requirements include an overall grade-point average of at least 3.0, with 3.5 in the Slavic languages and literatures major, and at least 105 units completed, including at least two upper-division courses in Slavic.

Description
To earn departmental senior honors, students will work with a professor of choice for two quarters to complete a senior thesis, while receiving course credit for Slavic 197. No more than 4 units of 197 credit may be applied to the major requirements. Students who complete departmental honors will receive the notation of "Distinction in the Major" on both official transcripts and their diploma. Students interested in departmental honors should consult with their advisor in Slavic.

Department Awards

D. Barton Johnson Award for Academic Excellence and Best Critical Scholarly Essay in Russian, East European or Eurasian Literature, Art and Culture.

Given annually in honor of the exemplary literary scholarship of Professor Emeritus of Russian, D. Barton Johnson, renowned linguist and scholar of Vladimir Nabokov.
Selection: Submissions accepted in early spring.
 
Past recipients include:
 
2024 Sergei Ortega (Undergraduate) and Anna Lechintan (Graduate)
2023 Ekaterina Lopatko 
2022 Rodion Viduetsky (Undergraduate) and Margarita Delcheva (Graduate)
2021 Maddie Eventov and Andrew Zanazanian
2019 Clare Stokes and Ruby Bruder
2018 Kathryn Hunt
2017 Arpi Movsesian (Graduate) and Mitchell Wright (Undergraduate)
 
Randell Magee Memorial Award
Given annually to an outstanding senior in Slavic Studies in memory of Randell Magee, lecturer of Russian language and literature (1984-95).
Criteria: Outstanding graduating Slavic major
Selection: Selected by the Slavic instructors
 

Past recipients include:

2024 Joshua Cenzano
2023 Viktoria Korotchenko and Ryan Patton
2022 Lyndon Requena
2021 Ruby Bruder and Andrew Zanazanian
2020 Katie Smith
2019 Cynthia Corl and Ani Tokhmakhian
2018 Edward Severy
2017 Kristina Krasnikova
2016 Anastasia Nevyakina
2015 Hasmik Baghdasaryan and Nicole Montenero
2014 David Low and Nastacia Schmoll
2013 Alexandra Lototsky
2012 Erika Nauman
2011 Ryan Smart
2010 Igor Hiller
2009 Justine Miller
2008 Edward Manoukyan and Michael Nielsen
2007 Gabriela Mirejovsky
2006 Dominic Johnson
2005 Brandon Rice
2004 Joey Tartakovsky and Julie Thomasson
2003 Alina Barton
2002 Natasha Zaharova
2001 Alla Vorobets
2000 Stacy Gordon
1999 Alexei Klestoff, Julie Kravets, Anahit Simonyan
1998 no recipient
1997 Tori Grannemann
1996 Frank Harton
 
Certificate of Excellence
Awarded annually to students who have been recognized by the Slavic Studies faculty for their outstanding scholastic achievement in Slavic Studies.
Criteria: Awarded to UCSB student(s), regardless of standing or major, who have worked exceptionally hard or who have produced outstanding work in Russian.
Selection: Selected from faculty nominations.
 

American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR) National Post-Secondary Russian Essay Contest
Annual essay-writing contest
Description: Contact Larry McLellan for more information

For additional information about these awards, please contact or visit the Department office.