Is this program right for you?

This program is designed for students with two years of college-level Russian who wish to improve their proficiency with the Russian language. This is an intensive program that focuses on all language skills.

Academics

Program Snapshot

• Intensive Russian language program; the longest running study abroad program in Russia
• Participate in optional volunteer projects organized through a well developed network of contacts that facilitate integration into Russian society
• Beautiful St. Petersburg, three hundred years of history in one city
• Cultural program including local excursions and field trips
• Class-related field trips in and around St. Petersburg,The Siege of Leningrad, The Russian Museum, The Menshikov Palace, St. Petersburg Cathedrals, Petrodvorets, Pavlovsk, and Yusopovskii Palace
• Excursions to Moscow, Novgorod, and Tallinn, Estonia (fall) or the Pskov region (spring)
• Peer language partners

The Russian Language Program is offered in both the fall and spring semesters and includes 14 weeks of language study at St.Petersburg State University and field trips to other Russian cities. The curriculum for this program includes required courses in grammar, phonetics, and conversation as well as elective courses. Academic year students in the spring semester may take advanced sections of grammar and conversation, translation, and one course in analytical readings, if they have the necessary Russian language ability.

Oral Proficiency Interviews--A digitally recorded oral interview is conducted with each student at the beginning and end of each semester. The interviews are conducted by the Resident Director and follow American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language (ACTFL) guidelines. These interviews provide students with easily accessible language "snapshots" of their pre- and post-program language proficiency.

All students take Russian Grammar, Phonetics, and Conversation, and two elective courses. Participants are placed at the appropriate language level based on proficiency testing conducted at the beginning of the program.

Credit: Recommended credit for the semester is 17 semester credit hours.

Academic Culture

Students attend classes five days a week, with one afternoon reserved for cultural excursions and one afternoon for choral rehearsal or film viewing each week. Classes are 90 minutes in length. Grammar and conversation courses meet three times a week; phonetics and the two elective courses meet twice each week.

All courses are taught in Russian. Students are grouped by language level based on the results of an on-site placement test conducted at the beginning of the program. Class size ranges from 7 to 10 students for core language and analytical reading courses, with larger groups of 10-15 for literature and area studies lectures. Students are expected to be prepared for class. Much of the material used is written by the teachers themselves, and exercises are often taken directly from the teacher's texts.

Student Life

Where You'll Study - St. Petersburg State University

Founded in the 18th century, St. Petersburg State University is one of Russia's leading institutions of higher learning. The University's 16 departments provide instruction for more than 20,000 students. The campus has expanded from its original site on the Neva River, and now includes over 400 buildings around the city center and the suburb of Peterhoff. CIEE students receive instruction through the University's Center of Russian Language and Culture on the Smolny campus, in a quiet neighborhood approximately 20 minutes from central St. Petersburg.

Orientation

Students begin their study abroad experience by participating in a CIEE Online Pre-Departure Orientation before departing the United States. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, all students participate in an intensive three-day introduction to Russia, the culture, health and safety, and the academic program. The orientation is supported by Russian assistants in order to facilitate students' entry into their new culture.

Housing and Meals

All students live in Russian homestays. Housing and most meals are included in the program fee. Participants have their own room with a Russian family in a private apartment. Two meals daily are included with the family (three on weekends). Students are responsible for weekday lunches except during the first two weeks of the program when CIEE arranges group lunches at the campus café.

Internet

Free wireless is available at the CIEE Study Center for students who bring wireless-enabled laptops. Additionally, there is a fee-for-service Internet classroom maintained by the Center for Russian Language and Culture. There are also many inexpensive Internet cafés throughout St. Petersburg.

Cultural Activities and Field Trips

The academic program is supplemented with excursions, study tours, and field trips.

Students begin their study abroad experience by participating in a CIEE Online Pre-Departure Orientation before departing the United States. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, all students participate in an intensive three-day introduction to Russia, the culture, health and safety, and the academic program. The orientation is supported by Russian assistants in order to facilitate students' entry into their new culture.

Housing and Meals All students live in Russian homestays. Housing and most meals are included in the program fee. Participants have their own room with a Russian family in a private apartment. Two meals daily are included with the family (three on weekends). Students are responsible for weekday lunches.

Internet Free wireless is available at the CIEE Study Center for students who bring wireless-enabled laptops. Additionally, there is a fee-for-service Internet classroom maintained by the Center for Russian Language and Culture. There are also many inexpensive Internet cafés throughout St. Petersburg.

The academic program is supplemented with excursions and field trips arranged by CIEE staff. Discussion of excursions is an integral part of class work. Although the schedule changes somewhat from year to year, typical excursions include a city bus tour, the Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Fortress, Pavlovsk, Peterhof, the Yusupov Palace, a walking tour of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Pushkin's Apartment Museum, and the Baltika Brewery. Additionally, CIEE staff arranges boat tours, a group cooking class in Russian cuisine, visits to the Russian bathhouse, and tickets to activities such as concerts, ballets, and sports events. Weekends are mostly free with the exception of overnight weekend field trips and possible Saturday excursions.

The program also offers three overnight field trips each semester and two in the summer: Moscow, Novgorod, and Tallinn, Estonia (fall semester) or the Pskov region (spring semester). These trips include excursions to places of educational, cultural, and historic significance, while still allowing some time for students to explore the sites on their own. The trips are coordinated with the academic program, through preparation in class prior to the trip and through discussions of experiences and impressions upon return to St. Petersburg.

There is also an Independent Russian Travel Week each semester. Students are encouraged to visit areas outside of St. Petersburg on their own. Students travel independently and the cost of this travel is not included in the program fee. In past semesters students have camped on Lake Baikal, visited Vladivostok, taken in the sites of the Tatar Republic, and visited the shores of the Black Sea.

Volunteering

CIEE students are offered the opportunity to conduct English conversation lessons at St. Petersburg State University. In addition, students may take advantage of a range of volunteer projects. Past students have volunteered at after-school programs for children, local art galleries, and private libraries. CIEE staff organize an information fair each semester to introduce students to available opportunities with local businesses, agencies,and schools.

Sobesedniki--Peer Language Partners

CIEE students are paired with local students for a variety of language and cultural exchange activities. These students help provide CIEE participants with additional language support and a firsthand look at the lifestyle of their Russian peers.

Target Language Meals

Students are invited to participate in regularly scheduled lunch discussions with CIEE staff, language faculty, and local students. CIEE participants attending these optional meals are required to speak only Russian with their teachers and peers.

Cultural Reimbursement Program

As a means of encouraging students to enrich their study abroad experience in St Petersburg, CIEE offers a Cultural Reimbursement Program, allowing students to be reimbursed for some of their participation in local cultural activities such as movie screenings, theater performances, concerts, and visits to local museums and places of historic interest.

Film and Music

CIEE students have the opportunity to screen recent Russian films throughout the semester. In addition, they can participate in the CIEE Choir once a week. The CIEE Choir has become a tradition in recent years, and the group has been invited to perform on national radio in past semesters.