Beginner and Intermediate Tracks in Russian

*Please note that these tracks are not available to Middlebury College students.

Want to earn a full year of Russian in just a semester? What about achieving that while living in Moscow, the political, financial, and cultural center of Russia? 

The School in Russia offers a Beginner Track and an Intermediate Track in Moscow. Russian language and content courses will allow students to learn the language intensively and explore the history and culture of Russia and the urban development of Moscow, one of the most foreigner-friendly cities in Russia. 

In both tracks, students take courses that are taught by local faculty from the Higher School of Economics (HSE), one of the leading and most rapidly developing universities in Russia. 

For housing, students may choose to live either with a Russian family or in an HSE student rental house.

The program for both beginner and intermediate students will include various cultural activities as well as short excursions to Saint Petersburg, Yaroslavl, and/or Nizhny Novgorod, which will allow for a deeper immersion into the local culture and language. 

Photo of Moscow

     

 

 

 

 

 

Beginner Track

Previous language experience: 0-1 semester of college-level Russian  

Students will receive a comprehensive orientation and will begin their studies with Introduction to Russian Language classes as well as two intensive content courses, which will begin in English. Increasingly, coursework will be held in Russian, and program-sponsored tutors will provide linguistic and academic support.

In addition to Introduction to Russian, students will take two of the following elective courses for a full load of four units of credit:

  • Russia in the Changing World
  • Explaining Contemporary Russian Politics: Institutions and Beyond
  • Media and Politics

Intermediate Track

Previous language experience: 2-3 semesters of college-level Russian  

Students will receive a comprehensive orientation and will begin their studies with Intermediate Russian Language classes as well as three content courses, in Russian, and program-sponsored tutors will provide linguistic and academic support. 

In addition to Russian Language classes, students will take three elective courses for a full load of four units of credit:

  • Post-Soviet Russian History 
  • Explaining Contemporary Russian Politics: Institutions and Beyond 
  • Russian Culture through Film