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
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
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Questions?
Contact American Councils at
outbound@americancouncils.org
LOCATIONSt. Petersburg, Russia's most western city, is a monument to the country's past imperial grandeur. A work of art in itself, St. Petersburg remains the center of Russia's artistic life. The Russian State Pedagogical (Gertsen) University serves as the host institution to RLASP participants in St. Petersburg. Located just behind the Kazan Cathedral in downtown St. Petersburg, the Gertsen University is one of the leading educational institutions in all of Russia. American Councils places students in the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language.
ACADEMICS Program 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. Core Russian language classes include Russian Conversation, Phonetics, Russian Grammar, and Lexical Studies. Area studies offerings include (but are not limited to) Studies in Mass Media, Russian Literature, Russian History and Politics, and Contemporary Russian Society; all area studies and literature courses are taught in Russian.
Host University Faculty
All courses are conducted by host university faculty with extensive experience in teaching Russian as a foreign language to American students. Faculty at our partner universities also attend regular development seminars sponsored by American Councils and led by U.S. experts in Russian-language pedagogy. Recent seminars have addressed American academic culture, the American idea of a liberal arts education, student-centered learning, and communicative teaching strategies.
