The Slavic Department encourages all language students to study abroad for at least a semester or a summer session. Though it is no longer possible for students to study in the Russian Federation, there are many opportunities for study in nearby Russophone environments.
A group of students studying abroad in Almaty, Kazakhstan on the American Councils RLASP program in spring 2023.
Even in the changing political environment, Georgetown places a high priority on making it possible (and safe!) for our students to study abroad. We currently recommend the following programs in the Russophone world. As other programs and study-abroad sites arise, we vet them thoroughly, and coordinate with the Office of Global Education (OGE) to add them to our list of recommended programs.
Almaty, Kazakhstan
American Councils for International Education
Georgetown students Lilly Horrigan (Col 2024) and Christopher Walker (Col 2024) at the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yesevi in southern Kazakhstan, spring 2024.
American Councils for International Education runs one of the most rigorous, safest, and longest-running study-abroad programs in the Russian-speaking working. The Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) ran in the Russian Federation from the early 1990s through 2020. Currently this program operates in the exciting cosmopolitan capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty. This program is sponsored by Georgetown’s Office of Global Education, which means that all Georgetown financial aid will transfer to the program and credits will automatically transfer back for Georgetown credit.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Critical Language Scholarships
A break from a hike in mountain meadow in Kyrgyzstan. Photo credit: Lilly Horrigan (Col 2024)
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is run and funded by the U.S. Department of State and admits a limited number of students annually on a competitive basis. The Russian-language CLS program is currently hosted by the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. It is an intensive summer program designed to cover the equivalent of one academic year of university-level Russian study over 8 weeks. Though admission to the program is competitive, students are admitted at various levels, from those just mastering the use of grammatical cases to students polishing their command of the language for use in a professional sphere.
Other Programs
Amelia Bejamin (SFS 2025) in Narva, Estonia, pointing across the border to Russia.
Other study abroad programs do exist that can take you to other Russophone countries as well as Poland and other Eastern European locales. Some of our students have pursued opportunities in Estonia, Armenia, and elsewhere. If you are interested in pursuing an independent study abroad option, it will take a bit more work from you. You will have to do the research, petition the Office of Global Education, and make sure all your credits transfer back home. It takes some work, but you can do it. If you are interested, please talk to your advisor in the Slavic Department or the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Prof. George Mihaychuk.