Bulgarian language will be taught at the University of Illinois

This will be the first Bulgarian language lectureship in the USA in decades

published on 5/19/25 11:57 AM

Photo: Ministry of Education

The Bulgarian Studies program at the University of Illinois – one of the most prestigious in the United States – will include Bulgarian language, Bulgarian history, folklore and traditions as of the next academic year, Bulgaria's Ministry of Education and Science announced last week.

This will be the first Bulgarian language lectureship in the USA in decades, as until now it has been taught only in weekend schools.

The teaching of Bulgarian language at the university level in the United States is being restored thanks to the two-year efforts of the Bulgarian Consulate General in Chicago.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which once taught Bulgarian, has been chosen as a partner for the initiative, and a memorandum of understanding has been signed between it and the Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo Universities.

The state of Illinois and Chicago are also home to the largest Bulgarian community in America.

A Bulgarian Parade was held in Chicago to mark the Day of Bulgarian Culture

The 2025/2026 academic year will be the first year in which the Bulgarian Studies program will be taught. Bulgaria's Ministry of Education is about to announce a procedure for selecting a guest lecturer, who will work in collaboration with the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Thanks to the Bulgarian lectureship, many Bulgarians living in the USA - including students and scholars - will be able to maintain contact with their homeland. In addition, it will strengthen the positions of Bulgarian studies and contribute to the restoration of its institutional presence in America.

The Bulgarian studies program will support scientific research in the field of Slavic and Balkan studies, giving American students and scholars the opportunity to become closely acquainted with the Bulgarian language, literature and history, the Ministry of Education added.

Editor: Diana Tsankova
English version: Rositsa Petkova
Photo: BTA

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