AC Russia Abroad

Once you have been nominated for the program by the Illinois study abroad office, you should apply directly to American Councils. To start this, simply click the "apply now" button on their website.

You will see in the American Councils application that they require two letters of recommendation. They prefer students use their recommendation forms and not any recommendations submitted into the Illinois My Study Abroad system.

There is some information about scholarships on AC's website: http://www.acstudyabroad.org/rlasp/

In the past, Illinois students have applied for Boren scholarships and FLAS fellowships when applying to study in Russia.

Moscow and St. Petersburg Program Dates (same dates for both programs)

• • Summer 2021: tba

  • Fall Semester 2021: tba

  • Academic Year 2020-21: tba

Orientations

• • All program participants are required to attend a mandatory pre-departure orientation in Washington, D.C. 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 informative in-country orientation.

Arrival

• • Arrival information, including where to go for your airport pick-up on the scheduled days, and about the orientation schedule will come from American Councils. Therefore, do not book your airline tickets until first verifying the expected arrival and departure dates with them.

Program participants have the option to live in a university dormitory or with a host family. Below is a description of both options:

• • 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.

  • Dorms: 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.

Class structure

• • 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.

Transcripts

• • All programs' transcripts will be sent to Illinois automatically after the end of the program. However, the time for receipt and processing can take a few months. Be patient, and you can track to see when your transcript is received by the Office of the Registrar by when the digital copy is uploaded into your My Study Abroad documents.

Internships & Community Engagement

• • Upon arrival in the host country, American Councils staff can arrange internships or community service placements for academic year and semester RLASP participants. Summer participants are encouraged to pursue volunteer opportunities, such as sports and clubs. Internship placements depend significantly on the participant's Russian-proficiency level and the needs of the organization. Internships are unpaid and non-credit bearing.

Excursions

• • 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.

  • At approximately mid-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. RLASP groups in Russia have visited sites such as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-na-Donu, Samara, Sochi, Suzdal, Volgograd, and Yaroslavl.

St. Petersburg Student Voices

• • Everything in Russia was cheaper than I had realized. However, I did enjoy eating out and visiting museums frequently.

  • I tried a dorm, but I felt really lonely and isolated. I switched to a host family because it really immerses you in Russian culture and language. I lived with a host mother who really looked out for me and cared for me. I felt safer than I feel in the US.

  • My classes were with other Americans, but the faculty were very dedicated and I'm very grateful to Herzen University. Also the campus is in the center of the city.

  • There is very little campus involvement. I wish there were more opportunities to speak with college students. If students want more Russian friends, they must be more proactive.

  • Always push yourself to engage with locals, but being American will draw attention to you. You must be very careful with your words and opinions especially in political matters because you represent more than just yourself as an American in Russia.

American Councils also maintains a site with blogs from students, where you can gain additional student perspectives.