Study Abroad

[mananas.livejournal.com]

Have any of you tried any Summer study abroad programs in Russia? For instance, through AIFS or Projects Abroad? (These are actually the only two I know of, if there are any more it would be awesome). Thanks.

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Comments

[quem98.livejournal.com]

I'm going to Moscow this summer through ACTR (American Councils for the Teaching of Russian), and I've already gone to Petersburg with them for my Junior Year abroad a few years ago.

They're pretty solid.

actr.org

I know Middlebury has a language school on campus over the summer, but I don't know if they have any Summer study abroad.


Then there is the Smolny program in Petersburg, which I think has started offering Summer programs as well.

http://www.smolny.org/english/studyabroad/summer/

[logodaedaly.livejournal.com]

I recommend living outside Moscow and Petersburg. Your Russian will not improve as much if you live in a largely European city occupied by hundreds of thousands of English speakers.

You might check out the Krasnodar program, administered by Associated Colleges of the Midwest. It's a wonderful semester-long program, and they do let students from outside the ACM study on it.

[mananas.livejournal.com]

If I do study for a semester it will be through my school, although they don't have a summer program. I really don't believe living in a European city will affect me much, because I don't plan on speaking English or associating regularly with foreigners. But thanks for the suggestion!

[evaluna68.livejournal.com]

I did CIEE in Novosibirsk (Akademgorodok) - is it really almost 10 years ago now? I don't recommend that particular program, but I think it's moot beause they don't have it anymore. Akademgorodok is largely deserted in the summer - no Russian students to hang out with. (I did their Leningrad program in 1989, though, and it was great. Check out www.ciee.org, though it may be late to apply for this summer.)

Other tips: make sure the program has a critical mass of students at the right level for you. The Akademgorodok program was billed as an advanced program in Russian for natural and social sciences, but probably 3/4 of the students had 2 years of Russian or less, and I was pretty fluent and finishing my master's, so academically I was pretty bored.

Definitely the best things about the Leningrad program were a) having to sign a pledge not to speak English the whole semester unless it was a medical emergency; and b) living in a regular dorm with no American roommmates. (At the time, the Soviets still didn't allow family homestay placements for a program like this - there were only 2 American academic programs in the city at the time, and few enough Americans that the U.S. Consul could have them over for Thanksgiving dinner.)

[evaluna68.livejournal.com]

Or, if you're a little more brave, you could enroll directly in St. Petersburg State University - I don't know anyon myself who has done this, and if you're counting on financial aid or credit from your home institution, it could be a bit more complicated. But here's a link anyway:

http://www.crlc.pu.ru/index.shtml

[wortschatz.livejournal.com]

Bard College and Smolny offer a 1-month summer program including classes and cultural immersion, etc. I will be in Petersburg from June 9 to July 10. They also accept Russian students from other institutions.

[hello-nasty.livejournal.com]

I did AIFS in St. Petersburg. The program is pretty bad, as we got stranded in a Moscow airport and had a totally unhelpful guide.