Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

The University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (U-M CREES), founded in 1961, is one of the nation's foremost institutes for interdisciplinary research and training on Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia. A constituent unit of the International Institute since 1993 and affiliate of the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia since 2008, CREES is a long-time recipient of federal education funding as a National Resource Center and FLAS-granting institution for this broad world area.

CREES's outstanding faculty of over 55 area specialists come from 18 liberal arts departments and 8 professional schools. In addition to long-standing breadth and depth in the core area studies disciplines of History, Political Science, Slavic Languages and Literatures, as well as Anthropology. CREES has an unusually high concentration of faculty in Film Studies, Islamic Studies, Judaic Studies, and Sociology. Regional strengths include Russian, Polish, Czech/Slovak, Southeast European, and Central Eurasian studies. Faculty teach over 200 courses each year on the cultures, economies, histories, languages, literatures, politics, social organization, business, law, and public policy of the region. Language offerings, including 10 modern area languages, are supplemented by distance Central Asian language courses. The University's library contains over one million items on the region.

Around 200 students are currently enrolled in U-M's REEE-focused degree programs. CREES offers undergraduate minors in Russian and in East European Studies and BA, MA, and graduate certificate programs in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. The Slavic Department offers BAs in Russian and Polish; undergraduate minors in Czech, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian language, literature and culture and in Cultures and Literatures of Eastern Europe; and MA and PhD degrees in Slavic Languages and Literatures. To meet the expanding need for REEE professional expertise, CREES has developed graduate-level joint degree programs with the Stephen M. Ross Business School, Law School, and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

CREES provides instructional and informational services to K-12 schools, 2- and 4-year colleges and universities, media and business in Michigan and the Midwest. To increase understanding and appreciation of the region's histories, cultures, and current challenges, CREES organizes 40-50 public events each year, including lectures, conferences, films, and mini-courses, as well as major collaborative projects with U-M units.