Ranging from language and cultural immersion to business and current events, our study abroad programs allow participants to become deeply acquainted with daily Russian life. Choose from the following programs:
Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP)
RLASP serves both graduate and undergraduate students as well as working professionals. The academic year, semester, and summer programs provide approximately 20 hours per week of in-class instruction in Russian grammar, phonetics, conversation, and cultural studies at Moscow International University, the Russian State Pedagogical University (Herzen Institute) in St. Petersburg, and the KORA Center for Russian Language in Vladimir.
Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, travel to other regions of Russia, conversation partners, and a wide range of opportunities to pursue internships, volunteering, hobbies and personal interests in a Russian context. Content courses for area studies credit are offered in subjects such as Russian literature and history, political science, and contemporary Russian society. All courses are taught in Russian by expert faculty with experience teaching foreign students.
One day per week of the academic program is set aside for local cultural excursions. Excursions and travel include major sites such as art galleries and churches, but also include destinations off the beaten path. Students also participate on an extended regional field studies outside their host city.
Participants have the option of living with host families or in university dormitories. Host families provide private rooms and engage students in conversation and culture. All participants receive two meals per day.
Contemporary Russia
While events in Russia since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union have often filled headlines and captured the attention of western observes, few have a full understanding of their meaning, their causes, and their larger social and historical contexts. This four-week summer program is designed to give participants new insights into Russia today. Through readings and intensive coursework in the form of lectures, seminars, and discussions conducted with faculty of Moscow International University, program participants gain a fuller understanding of the complex factors that have shaped Russia’s evolution since the Gorbachev regime and the final days of the USSR. Topics include Russia under Putin; the conflict with Ukraine; sanctions and the Russian economy; the role of mass media; elections and opposition figures. All content courses are conducted in English.
Business Russian Language and Internship (BRLI) Program
BRLI combines a specially designed curriculum focusing on the language of Russian business with an internship averaging ten to fifteen hours per week at a multinational company, business, or non-governmental organization agency in Russia. Moscow International University and the Russian State Pedagogical (Herzen) University in St. Petersburg host this program; students may apply to study for a semester, academic year, or summer. BRLI participants are granted U.S. academic credit through Bryn Mawr College. Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, travel to other regions of Russia, conversation partners, and a wide range of opportunities to pursue hobbies and personal interests in a Russian context.
The highly individualized BRLI curriculum can be tailored to serve students ranging from intermediate to near native speakers of Russian; however, less advanced students should consider whether their language proficiency will enable them to engage in substantive internships and benefit from instruction in the style and lexicon of business speech. (Students lacking a strong command of Russian grammar, for example, should consider enrolling in RLASP before applying to the BRLI program.) Peer tutoring, Russian-American discussion clubs, and a broad range of extra-curricular activities provide unique opportunities for BRLI students to connect with Russian friends and immerse themselves in daily Russian life.
One day per week of the academic program is set aside for local cultural excursions. Excursions and travel include major sites such as art galleries and churches, but also include destinations off the beaten path.Students also participate on an extended regional field studies outside their host city.
Participants have the option of living with host families or in university dormitories. Host families provide private rooms and engage students in conversation and culture. All participants receive two meals per day.
Russian Heritage Speakers Program
The Individualized Russian Language Program for Heritage Speakers is intended to address the specific needs of students who speak Russian at home or with relatives, or who grew up speaking Russian and wish to strengthen their Russian skills. Program participants work with American Councils staff and host university faculty to develop a tutorial program serving their unique needs as language learners. All individualized programs focus on the development of Russian language skills, including grammar, conversation, and phonetics; courses in literature, history, and area studies are available for advanced students. Participants attend a minimum of twelve hours of tutorials per week. Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, travel to other regions of Russia, conversation partners, and a wide range of opportunities to pursue hobbies and personal interests in a Russian context.
Summer Russian Language Teachers Program
Are you working as a K-12 or university-level Russian teacher? Are you a graduate student studying to become a Russian teacher? The Summer Russian Language Teachers Program provides fellowship support for Russian teachers and graduate students to study Russian language, pedagogy, and culture at the Russian State Pedagogical University (Herzen) in St. Petersburg for a six week summer session.
The Summer Russian Language Teachers Program offers qualified U.S. pre- and in-service teachers of Russian language and culture from elementary schools, high schools, and universities the opportunity to improve Russian language skills while developing a portfolio of authentic teaching materials for use in the classroom. Courses on Russian language, pedagogy, and culture are led by distinguished faculty from the Russian State Pedagogical University’s Department of Philology. The program is six-weeks long, and takes place from late-June to mid-August.