Although "campus life" as we know it in the United States does not exist in Russia, and the network of clubs and activities at a Russian university can appear limited to American students, a wide variety of opportunities are indeed available at facilities throughout each city.

The School in Russia, with help from its host universities, maintains contacts at a variety of facilities in each host city and can advise students on particular pursuits. However, ultimate responsibility for arranging extracurricular events, once they are identified, lies with the student. The School in Russia will help participants to locate activities, but expects that students will follow through independently once those activities have been found.

Travel:The School in Russia organizes one or two out-of-town trips for program participants each semester, to cities and regions of historical and cultural interest. A limited number of city excursions are also organized each semester, at each site.

Except in situations where an excursion is a required component of a particular course, all trips and excursions are optional. Students may choose to not participate on group events, at their discretion. However, the program cannot reimburse or otherwise compensate students for events missed.

Destinations for trips vary from site to site and from year to year. Past groups have traveled on short trips to Nizhnyi Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Vladimir/Suzdal, Tver'/Torzhok, Tula/Yasnaya Polyana, (western Russia), and Ulan-Ude, Krasnoyarsk, and a variety of sites on Lake Baikal (Irkutsk). Longer trips have taken students to Arkhangelsk, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Sochi, Kazan, and the Lapland areas of the Murmansk region.

City excursions and events generally focus on non-tourist sites and have included things like:

Irkutsk: Limnological Museum at Lake Baikal; the Decembrist's Museum; Sibskana hockey games; Ice fishing on the Angara;
Moscow: Visit to local grammar school; Tour of the Space Flight Control Center; the New Jerusalem Monastery; the KGB museum.
Yaroslavl: Visit to local television station; meeting with local small businessman; Tolga Women's Monastery tour; local cemetery (during study of religious and social rites)
All group trips and excursions are open only to program participants and designated chaperones.

Visit the latest photos from an excursion in Irkutsk.

Independent Student Travel

We encourage program participants to take full advantage of travel opportunities in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Travel which is not part of the School in Russia program is permitted on holidays, weekends and during official fall and spring breaks, but not during any period in which classes are in session. Students are required to inform the School in Russia of any travel plans which will take them away from their host family overnight, by filling out a Travel Notification form.

Guidebooks to Russia and the former Soviet Union are kept in all School in Russia offices for student reference, and on-site staff can advise students on individual travel plans. However, as part of their immersion experience, all details of independent travel are the responsibility of the student and the School in Russia cannot offer any assistance in purchasing individual tickets, arranging accommodations, obtaining additional visas, etc.

Safety:Detailed information on personal safety and conduct is presented to students before departure and throughout the program. All American citizen participants are encouraged to register with the US Embassy in Moscow through the State Department online at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp 
The School in Russia has developed detailed Emergency Procedures of its own, based on over 20 years of program management experience in Russia.