Smolny College, The First Liberal Arts in Russia

  Russia

• St. Petersburg: 
St. Petersburg

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer 
Dates: inquire for specific dates

Description: Designed for the needs of students who have two years of college-level Russian or more - including heritage speakers - the Bard-Smolny Study Abroad Program in St. Petersburg offers an academically rich environment for students from North American colleges and universities wishing to study abroad in Russia for a single semester or the full year.

Highlights: In the Bard-Smolny Program students enroll side by side with Russian students in classes at Smolny College, the first liberal arts college in Russia. The program enables students to advance their level of competency in the Russian language in our Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program while simultaneously taking other academic courses that meet requirements for their B.A. degree at their home colleges or university.

The unique and long-standing partnership between Smolny College and Bard College enables students enrolled in the program to immerse themselves fully in Russian academic life. At Smolny, there are innumerable opportunities for meaningful cross-cultural exchange and dialogue. Students from North American institutions sit side-by-side with Russian studnets in the classroom, participate in student clubs, organizations, and volunteer opportunities with their fellow Smolny classmates, and interact directly with the College's faculty members. As a result, students are challenges academically, linguistically, and culturally in our rigorous and rewarding program.

The Bard-Smolny Program has much more to offer students than a traditional study abroad program. In fact, the program is at the center of a truly remarkable process: the evolution of a new kind of international education and the democratization of Russian higher education.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Please visit our website for more information.

Experience Required: yes

Students must have taken 2 or more years of college-level Russian (or its equivalent). All applicants are required to take a Russian language assessment as part of the application process.

Participants Travel to Russia in Groups

Scholarships are Available.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Resume
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

Bard College's Mission Statement: The Institute for International Liberal Education was formed at Bard in 1998. Its mission is to advance the theory and practice of international liberal arts education. We believe that in the post-Cold War era international educational partnerships must be based on mutuality and equality, and that it is important for international exchange to occur at the undergraduate level. Our long-term partnerships are characterized by the exchange of students, faculty, and curricular elements. Comprehensive exchanges afford the best possibility for the participants, both in and out of the classroom, to enter into direct, sustained dialogue on intellectual and cultural issuesprecisely the kind of international dialogue that is needed to respond to the global challenges of the 21st century. Unlike the unilateral "exchanges" of the past, substantive academic partnerships based on mutual respect and understanding enrich learning and teaching for all the students and faculty involved. The IILE does not seek to export American models and methods. Rather, our aim is to create dynamic relationships through which we and our partner institutions can learn from each others' ideas and experience. The Institute's projects are located in regions undergoing rapid political and economic transformation (currently Russia, East Central Europe, and South Africa). Our partners are leading universities with an interest in educational reform.

Year Founded: 1860