The Faculty of Slavic Studies prepares bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral students in the fields of Bulgarian Philology, Slavic Philology, Balkan Studies, and Russian Philology.
Mission, Vision, Goals and Objectives
Throughout its history, spanning over 130 years, the Faculty of Slavic Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” has brought together generations of students and scholars in a mission to preserve and advance knowledge of the Bulgarian language, literature, and culture.
Today, the Faculty offers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes in four main fields:
Bulgarian Studies
Slavic Studies
Balkan Studies
Russian Studies
The Faculty’s mission is closely linked to its relationship with Bulgarian schools and educational centres abroad. Consequently, an important aspect of its work is the training of highly qualified language and literature teachers. In pursuit of that public mission, a new degree programme, Teacher of Bulgarian Language, Literature, and History, was introduced in 2025 in response to contemporary labour market demands.
A guiding principle of the Faculty’s academic staff is that high-quality education is a direct result of outstanding research in the contemporary humanities. This commitment is reflected in Sofia University’s consistent first-place ranking since 2012 in the professional fields of Philology and Pedagogy of Teaching in Bulgaria’s Higher Education Ranking System.
In partnership with the University’s other academic units, the Faculty actively contributes to the advancement of Bulgarian science and the strengthening of its international reputation.
A strategic objective of the Faculty is to research and promote the Bulgarian language, literature, and culture as an integral part of Europe’s and the world’s cultural heritage. To achieve this goal, it develops contemporary educational programmes for philologists, teachers, translators, editors, journalists, and researchers. The Faculty’s academic community plays a direct role in shaping national language policy, developing school curricula, and providing expertise to governmental and cultural institutions. The Faculty also aids the development of Bulgarian Studies abroad and maintains intensive international exchange programmes for students and scholars.
Another major priority is establishing the Faculty as a leading international research centre. The advancement of both theoretical and applied research in linguistics, literary studies, folklore studies, cultural anthropology, and semiotics is supported through targeted institutional initiatives. Specific objectives in this area include promoting Slavic cultures in Bulgaria and presenting Bulgarian culture within a broader European context through academic conferences, creative events, and public lectures.
Among the Faculty’s primary goals is the modernisation of language education through the integration of digital tools into teaching and research. The expansion of the digital humanities is pursued by building databases and online learning platforms, providing open access to scholarly publications, and granting technical support for online forms of education.
Research Activities
Faculty members and students participate in university, national, and international research projects, covering a wide range of topics in the field of modern humanities.
Every year, the faculty holds conferences on the issues related to Slavic Studies, including the Cyril and Methodius Readings, the Slavic Studies Readings, the Annual Conference of the Faculty of Slavic Philology, and the Bulgarian Linguistics Readings.
The faculty houses the scientific and educational Center for Bulgarian Language and The Prof. Stoyko Stoykov Research Center for Dialectology
International Activities
The Faculty of Slavic Philology is engaged in international cooperation on multiple levels. Through inter-university agreements, it participates in joint programmes with universities in Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine, Romania, and other countries.
The faculty has agreements under international programmes such as SOCRATES/ERASMUS and actively participates in the CEEPUS international network.
As a result of these agreements, students from the Faculty of Slavic Philology specialize or participate annually in internships at universities and cultural institutions in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Albania, and Greece. Faculty students also actively partake in international competitions and conferences.
As one of Bulgaria’s key centers for the development of Bulgarian Studies, Slavic Studies, Balkan Studies, and Russian Studies, the faculty fosters partnerships with a number of foreign universities. Faculty members regularly lecture at institutions in Romania, Albania, Greece, France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and the USA, while the faculty’s academic calendar includes lectures, presentations, and discussions featuring scholars from various countries.
Faculty members have held or currently hold lecturing positions in Łódź (Poland), Cologne (Germany), Naples (Italy), Saarbrücken (Germany), Madrid (Spain), London (UK), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zagreb (Croatia), and Delhi (India).
The faculty also hosts lecturers from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia.
Scholars from the Faculty of Slavic Philology are members of international organizations and associations.
Tuition
Since 1997, the faculty’s curricula have been aligned with the National Regulations for Higher Education Requirements for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philology. Since 2003, they have been updated to meet the requirements of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
By a decision on April 22, 2021, the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency granted programme accreditation to the professional field of Philology at the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, with an overall score of 9.54 out of 10 (nine point fifty-four):
Bachelor’s Programmes
- Bulgarian Philology (Full-time and Part-time)
- Graduates earn a Bachelor’s degree in Bulgarian Philology.
- Those who choose the pedagogical module receive a qualification as a teacher of Bulgarian language and literature.
- Those who choose the language technologies module earn a specialization in linguistic technologies.
- Russian Philology (Full-time)
- Graduates earn a Bachelor’s degree in Russian Philology with two specialization options:
- Teacher of Russian language
- Translator with Russian language
- Bulgarian Language, Literature, and History (Full-time)
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- This program is jointly taught by faculty members from the Faculty of Slavic Philology and the Faculty of History at Sofia University.
- Graduates earn a qualification as a teacher of Bulgarian language, literature, and history.
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Master’s Programmes (Post-secondary Education)
- Slavic Philology (Full-time)
- Graduates earn a Master’s degree in Slavic Studies, specializing in one of five areas: Polish, Slovak, Serbian and Croatian, Ukrainian, or Czech, and Bulgarian Studies.
- Those choosing the pedagogical module receive an additional qualification as a teacher of Bulgarian language and literature.
- Balkan Studies (Full-time)
- Graduates receive a Master’s degree in Balkan languages and cultures.
Master’s Programmes (Post-Bachelor’s Degree)
- Master’s Programs for Specialists
- Master’s Programs for Non-Specialists
- Master’s Programs for Graduates of Three-Year Bachelor’s Degrees
The Faculty of Slavic Philology offers one-year postgraduate courses for obtaining professional teaching qualifications:
- Teacher of Bulgarian Language and Literature
- Teacher of Russian Language and Literature
History
The Faculty of Slavic Studies (FSS) is as old as Sofia University itself. In 1888, the Higher Pedagogical Course was established, which became the Higher Pedagogical School in 1889. Initially, it had 28 students in History and 15 in Slavic philology.
With the simultaneous development of both science and education, the original Faculty of History and Philology, founded in 1889, was divided into the Faculty of History and the Faculty of Philology in 1950. In 1953, Slavic Studies was further divided into three independent specializations: Bulgarian Philology, Russian Philology, and Slavic Philology.
In 1965, the Faculty of Slavic Studies was established as an independent unit within Sofia University, encompassing these three specializations. In 1994, a Balkan Studies programme was introduced to address new academic and societal demands, resulting from the changing political landscape and transformations in the Balkans.
In 2024, a new academic programme, Bulgarian Language, Literature and History, was developed within the field of Pedagogy of Teaching specialisation to meet the growing and changing needs of Bulgarian public, private, and Sunday schools.
In the same year, two research centers were established:
- The Center for Bulgarian Language
- The Prof. Stoyko Stoykov Center for Dialectology
Number of Enrolled Students
- Bulgarian Philology – 680 students
- Russian Philology – 139 students
- Slavic Philology – 259 students
- Balkan Studies – 77 students
- Master’s Programmes – 92 students