After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• communicate in the Bulgarian language in written and an oral form at B2 level
• appraise the development of Bulgarian literature and culture in the European context
• analyse and comment on the current political, social, and cultural affairs in Bulgaria
• translate and interpret from/into Bulgarian
• apply the knowledge, skills, and methodological approaches obtained in the course of his/her studies in practice or in further studies

Graduates can find employment in cultural institutions, tourism, companies doing business with Bulgaria, journalism, publishing houses, lower-level and middle management, translation of technical and literary texts, in interpreting, or in working as an expert on the Balkans.

The regular length of study is six semesters. To be allowed to sit for the Bachelor's final state exam, students have to obtain at least 180 credits for compulsory, selective, and elective courses. Students in single-subject studies must gain 80 credits for compulsory courses, 71 credits for elective courses, 15 credits for the Bachelor's thesis seminar, 4 credits for an exam in another Slavonic language, 4 credits for an exam in a world language (language for academic purposes), 4 credits for an exam in philosophy (for students of non-philosophical study programmes), and 2 credits for physical education.

Students in double-subject studies are obliged to obtain at least 180 credits in both their subjects together (95 credits in their primary, and 85 credits in their secondary study programme).

The Bachelor's studies are concluded by the Bachelor's thesis defence (or by submitting the Bachelor's minor thesis if Bulgarian Language and Literature is the secondary study programme) and passing the final state exam.

During their study, students follow the course catalogue from the year of their matriculation. These course catalogues are available on the faculty website.

No practical training is required in this study programme.

The Bachelor's final state exam consists of the Bachelor's thesis defence and the final state exam itself. The main body of the Bachelor's thesis has to contain at least 70,000 characters and its objective is to prove the student's ability to write an academic text on a topic which is related to the study programme and that the student is capable of scientific reasoning, analysis and synthesis of the acquired knowledge, and critical thinking.

The Bachelor's final state exam tests the knowledge obtained during the studies, in four basic fields: 1) language competence (written part of the exam – translation and an essay; oral part of the exam – a dialogue with the examiner on various topics), 2) linguistic competence (knowledge of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax of the Bulgarian language), 3) literary theoretical competence (knowledge of the history of Bulgarian literature, the ability to interpret and analyse works of literature), 4) cultural-historical competence (knowledge of Bulgarian history, culture, and national characteristics).

The graduates of this study programme can continue their education in follow-up Master’s degree studies of Combined South-Slavonic Studies.