OUR PROGRAMS
Advanced Russian Language and 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 volunteer opportunities and community service, regional field studies, conversation partners, and discussion groups with local students.
About The Program
The Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) provides intensive, immersion-based language instruction in several of the world’s most dynamic and exciting countries. Hosted by faculty from world-leading universities in Almaty, Kazakhstan; Tbilisi, Georgia; Tallinn, Estonia; and Yerevan, Armenia; the program provides approximately 20 hours per week of in-class instruction in Russian grammar, phonetics, conversation, and cultural studies for a semester, summer or academic year. Participants also complete coursework in the history and culture of their host country and may elect to enroll in Armenian, Estonian, Georgian, or Kazakh language study. RLASP serves both graduate and undergraduate students as well as working professionals. Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, travel to other regions outside the host city, conversation partners, and a wide range of opportunities to volunteer, pursue hobbies and personal interests in a Russian-language context. Participants receive academic credit for the program through Bryn Mawr College. Credited coursework may include such subjects as literature, history, political science, and contemporary society. All courses are taught in Russian by expert faculty with experience teaching foreign students.
Academics and Courses
RLASP is designed to provide intensive, immersion-based instruction in Russian while also providing unique opportunities to explore the language, history and culture of Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, or Kazakhstan. The program features approximately twenty hours per week of in-class instruction. Students are placed according to proficiency level in groups of three-to-five for language classes. Course work typically includes 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 may audit classes at their host university.
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.
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.
Locations and Host Institutions
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Tallinn University in Tallinn, Estonia*
American Language Center Tbilisi (with faculty from Tbilisi State University) in Tbilisi, Georgia*
Yerevan State University in Yerevan, Armenia
*Program currently offered in summer only
Conversation Partners
To aid cultural integration and support academic learning, participants have the opportunity to meet with conversation partners two hours per week. Conversation partners introduce participants to local people, accompany participants on sightseeing tours, organize cultural activities (cinema, museum, etc.), and provide students with academic support. The conversation partners are expected to speak only the target language.
Excursions & Cultural Activities
One day a week of the academic program is set aside for travel to local sites of social, cultural and historical significance. All excursions are conducted in Russian and include sites such as museums, churches, schools, research centers, theatres, and historical estates. Towards the middle of the semester, resident directors arrange a week-long regional field studies trip outside of the host city. For summer participants, these regional field studies take place at the end of their program.
Volunteer Opportunities
Upon arrival in the host country, American Councils staff can arrange volunteering or community service placements for academic year and semester RLASP participants. Volunteering placements depend significantly on the participant's Russian-proficiency level and the needs of the organization. Volunteer opportunities are unpaid and non-credit bearing.
Past program participants have volunteered at the following organizations:
Academy of Sciences, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Carnegie Moscow Center, Center of International Cooperation, Eurasia Foundation in Central Asia, Hermitage Museum, Institute for Cultural Programs, International Banking Institute, The Moscow Times, Museum of the Bolshoi Theatre, Museum of the Political History of Russia, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Housing and Meals
Program participants live with local, Russian-speaking host families.
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.
Financial Aid
Multiple sources of financial aid are available to prospective study abroad participants to help pay for programs abroad, including private, federal, university, and American Councils scholarships. Learn more here.
Support Services
All program participants are required to attend a mandatory pre-departure orientation at the start of the program. Orientation sessions address health and safety, academic culture, host-family life, culture shock, and strategies to maximize language gain. Students will also have a chance to meet and get to know their resident directors, fellow participants, and alumni during the orientation. Lodging and meals will be provided. Upon arrival in the host country, participants attend an in-country orientation.
While overseas, participants have access to in-country program staff that provide around-the-clock emergency support. A full-time resident director/overseas staff person monitors the academic and cultural program; assists participants in academic, administrative, and personal matters; and coordinates activities with the host institution faculty. During the program, the AC Study Abroad Team in Washington, D.C. stays in close contact via email and telephone with in-country program staff and provides updates as needed to study abroad offices, university partners, and family members.
Participants are enrolled in comprehensive overseas health, accident, and evacuation insurance through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) for the duration of the program. CISI provides medical coverage of up to $250,000 per accident or illness. Enrollment in the CISI plan also provides full coverage for emergency medical evacuation.
All participants are provided with a single-entry visa to the host-country for the duration of the academic program. It is the student's responsibility to obtain any other visas required by their individual itineraries. Visa application information and forms are provided upon acceptance to the program.
Program Snapshot
Program Focus
Intensive Russian language study and cultural immersion; area studies
Language of Instruction
Russian
Program Eligibility
At least two semesters of college-level Russian language instruction or the equivalent
Minimum GPA of 2.7
Applicants must be at least 18 years old by the application deadline
Program Locations
Almaty (Kazakhstan)
Tallinn (Estonia, summer only)
Tbilisi (Georgia, summer only)
Yerevan (Armenia)
Program Dates
Spring 2024
January 22 - May 10, 2024
Summer 2024
Armenia: June 10 - August 2, 2024
Estonia : June 10 - August 2, 2024
Georgia: June 17 - August 9, 2024
Kazakhstan: June 17 - August 9, 2024
Fall 2024
September 2 - December 13, 2024
Spring 2025
January 27 - May 9, 2025
Dates are approximate and may vary slightly depending on country. Start dates mark the two-day orientation before departure.
Program Cost
Summer: $8,750 for Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan; $9,200 for Estonia
Semester: $19,500
Academic Year: $36,000
*If obtaining a host country visa requires an in-person interview at the host country embassy or consulate in the U.S., students will be responsible for the cost of travel and lodging.
Applications Deadlines
Summer: February 15
Fall & Academic Year: March 15
Spring Semester: October 15
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