advanced russian language and area studies program (rlasp)

The Advanced Russian Language & Area Studies Program (RLASP) combines intensive Russian language instruction with a wide range of extracurricular activities, including internships and community service, regional field study excursions, meetings with conversation partners, and discussion groups with local students.

Program Features

Offered in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladimir, Russia and Almaty, Kazakhstan. PLEASE NOTE:  SWARTHMORE DOES NOT APPROVE STUDY IN RUSSIA AT THIS TIME.

Available during Fall, Spring, Academic Year, and Summer (8 week) terms
 
20 hours per week of intensive coursework in Russian grammar, vocabulary, and phonetics; additional course topics include Russian history, literature, political science, and mass media. All classes taught in Russian by expert host-institution faculty

Russian language conversation partners for two hours per week
 
Participants earn 15-16 U.S. academic credits per semester (8-10 for summer) in Russian language and regional studies through Bryn Mawr College
 
Housing with carefully-selected, experienced host families or in university dorms; host families provide two meals per day

Weekly excursions led by U.S. resident directors to local sites of historical and cultural significance, such as theatres, museums, and national parks

Extended regional field study excursions outside the host city, led by U.S. resident directors; RLASP groups in Russia have visited sites such as Volgograd and Saratov, while groups in Almaty have traveled to Astana and Ust-Kamenogorsk

Comprehensive health, accident, and evacuation insurance for all participants abroad

Financial Aid

Financial aid from American Councils is available for RLASP. Please visit www.acstudyabroad.org/financialaid to learn more about available scholarships.

Eligibility Requirements

• 2 semesters of college-level Russian or the equivalent
• Minimum 2.7 GPA
• At least 18 years old by application deadline

Application Deadlines

Summer programs: February 15
Fall / Academic Year programs: March 15
Spring programs: October 15

Interested in learning more?

Complete program information, including an online application, is available on the RLASP website at www.acstudyabroad.org/rlasp. 
 
Read what past program participants have to say about their RLASP experience on our blog website. Check out our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for pictures of participants on-program, study abroad articles, and more!

Questions?

Contact American Councils at outbound@americancouncils.org

Advanced Russian Language & Area Studies Program (RLASP)

One of the longest-running and most respected Russian language and cultural immersion programs, RLASP combines intensive classroom instruction with a wide range of extracurricular activities, including internships and community service, regional field studies, conversation partners, and discussion groups with local students.

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 in Russia or Kazakhstan. Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, travel to other regions of Russia/Kazakhstan, conversation partners, and a wide range of opportunities to pursue internships, volunteering, hobbies, and personal interests in a Russian-language context. Credit for area studies coursework is offered in such subjects as literature and history, political science, and contemporary society. All courses are taught in Russian by expert faculty with experience teaching foreign students.

Location
Moscow International University in Moscow, Russia
Russian State Pedagogical University (Herzen Institute) in St. Petersburg, Russia
KORA Center for Russian Language in Vladimir, Russia
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Academics

American Councils semester, academic year, and summer programs maximize linguistic and cultural immersion into Russian society. All programs feature approximately twenty hours per week of in-class instruction; roughly sixteen hours of which are dedicated to Russian-language study. Students are placed according to proficiency level in groups of three-to-five for language classes. Course work typically includes classes in phonetics, grammar, and conversation, as well as composition, oral comprehension, and reading. Language courses also cover topics in literature, history, politics, culture, mass media, and area studies.

Academic year and semester students in Moscow and Almaty have the option of auditing classes at their host university. In recent years, RLASP participants completed courses at their host universities in Art History, Mathematics, Engineering, Sociology, Theater Studies, Russian History, Religion, Psychology, and Literature.

Academic year participants with advanced Russian skills may substitute an independent research project for one of the American Councils area studies courses while continuing their language classes during the second semester. Research projects culminate in a 15- to 20-page research paper written in Russian. Recent participants in the academic year RLASP program have completed research projects on topics such as Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Russian theater, Russian attitudes towards the Caucasus, nationalism in music history, the acquisition of listening skills in Russian, and contemporary urban youth movements.

Participants receive academic credit through Bryn Mawr College, an institutional member of American Councils. Upon successful completion of the program, Bryn Mawr College issues:

8 undergraduate/10 graduate credit hours for the summer program,
16 undergraduate/15 graduate credit hours for the fall or spring semesters, and
32 undergraduate/30 graduate credit hours for the academic year program.

Housing
Program participants have the option to live in a university dormitory or with a host family.

Living with a host family provides valuable cultural experience to complement the academic program. Host families expose participants to authentic, everyday life in the host country while also providing a supportive environment for students to practice their growing language skills. While staying with a host family, participants are provided with a private room, two meals per day, and keys to the apartment or house. All host families are screened, selected, and monitored by American Councils home-stay coordinators and resident directors.

Participants who choose the dormitory option share a room with other American Councils participants or with other international students. Two meals a day are provided.