Summer Deadline: February 15th
Fall Deadline: March 15th
Turkish Deadline: March 30th
The Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) in Almaty, Kazakhstan is a language-intensive, immersion-based program designed to help participants rapidly advance their Russian proficiency while living and studying in the cultural capital of Kazakhstan - Almaty.
Hosted by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), the program includes approximately 20 hours per week of intensive, in-class Russian language instruction focusing on grammar, phonetics, conversation, and cultural studies. Participants may join for a semester, summer, or full academic year.
In addition to Russian language coursework, students may choose supplementary history and culture classes of their host country or enroll in Kazakh language courses. RLASP welcomes undergraduate and graduate students as well as working professionals seeking intensive language training.
Program features include homestays, weekly excursions, regional travel, conversation partners, and opportunities to volunteer and engage with local communities in a Russian-language context. All instruction is conducted by experienced faculty, and academic credit is issued through Bryn Mawr College for Russian language study.
Improve your spoken, written, and overall comprehension of Russian language; you can opt to add Kazakh language studies as well.
Engage with local Russian-speaking host families, conversation partners, and teachers on a daily basis.
Experience Almaty: with sprawling parks, spirited nightlife, and some of the world's most stunning scenery.
Gain academic credit while refining skills in cross-cultural communication.
Join a community of curious, adventurous students ready to explore the world's 9th largest country.
Almaty combines the best of city life and with stunning natural beauty. Nestled at the base of the Tian Shan Mountains, it provides easy access to a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, skiing, and horseback riding in some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, ranging from vast steppes to the shores of scenic lakes to snow-capped mountain peaks. As Kazakhstan’s commercial and artistic capital, Almaty also offers a rich range of music venues, night clubs, restaurants, theaters, and cultural activities, including folk festivals, outdoor markets, local crafts fairs, and celebrations of nomadic heritage.
Through activities such as these, our program participants connect with Kazakhstan’s history and people, enriching both academic and personal growth while being immersed in the Russian language.
RLASP Almaty features approximately twenty hours per week of intensive, immersion-based instruction in Russian. Students are placed into groups of four to six students, based on proficiency levels. In-country coursework includes phonetics, grammar, and conversation, as well as composition, oral comprehension, and reading. Courses also cover topics in literature, history, politics, culture, mass media, and area studies. Combined, classes taught at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) meet requirements for U.S. academic credit issued by the American Councils school of record, Bryn Mawr College, which issues the following credit:
· 8 undergraduate/10 graduate credits for summer
· 16 undergraduate/15 graduate credits for semester
· 32 undergraduate/30 graduate credits for academic year
Academic year and semester students may audit classes at KazNU. Academic year participants with advanced Russian skills may also substitute an independent research project for one of the American Councils area studies courses while continuing their language classes during the second semester. Research projects culminate in a 15- to 20-page research paper written in Russian.
RUSS 350 | Advanced Topics in Russian Conversation | 1 Unit/4 Credits
RUSS 360 | Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study | 1 Unit/4 Credits
RUSS 350 | Advanced Topics in Russian Conversation | 1.5 Units/6 Credits
RUSS 360 | Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study | 1.5 Units/6 Credits
RUSS 339 | Eurasian History and Culture | 1 Unit/4 Credits
RUSS 351 | Practicum in Spoken Russian Norms | 1.5 Units/6 Credits
RUSS 361 | Analysis of Grammatical Categories in Russian | 1.5 Units/6 Credits
RUSS 340 | Topics in Eurasian History and Culture | 1 Unit/4 Credits
RUSS 550 | Advanced Topics in Russian Conversation | 1.25 Units/5 Credits
RUSS 560 | Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study | 1.25 Units/5Credits
RUSS 550 | Advanced Topics in Russian Conversation | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RUSS 560 | Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RUSS 339 | Eurasian History and Culture | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RUSS 551 | Advanced Topics in Russian Conversation | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RUSS 561 | Advanced Grammar and Lexical Study | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RUSS 540 | Eurasian History and Culture | 1 Unit/5 Credits
RLASP Almaty students live with specially selected host families who provide breakfast and dinner seven days per week. Participants reside in fully furnished, private rooms and are provided their own keys to the apartment. In addition to invaluable logistical support, host families offer unique insight into Russian and Kazakh daily life, ongoing language practice in a warm, supportive environment, regular advice and assistance, and wide-ranging discussions of cultural nuances as participants adapt. AC staff vet all host families, regularly visit program participants at home, and closely monitor participant housing throughout the program.
One day per week is set aside for travel to local sites of social, cultural, and historical significance. All excursions are conducted in Russian and include sites such as museums, churches, schools, research centers, theatres, and historical estates. Towards the middle of the semester, resident directors arrange extended regional field studies trips outside of the host city. For summer participants, these regional field studies take place at the end of their program.
Visit museums, monuments, and heritage sites.
Experience daily traditions through festivals, performances, and authentic community interactions.
Tour local museums to capture a true sense of Kazakhstan’s history
Travel beyond Almaty to discover unique regional landscapes and culture.
To aid cultural integration and support academic learning, participants have the opportunity to meet with conversation partners for two hours per week. Conversation partners introduce participants to locals, accompany participants on sightseeing tours, organize cultural activities (cinema, museum, etc.), and provide students with academic support. The conversation partners are expected to speak only the target language to provide extra language immersion.
Founded in 1933, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) is one of Central Asia’s oldest and most prestigious universities, offering degrees to more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students in over 140 academic fields, including the humanities, social sciences, law, medicine, and engineering. The 2022 QS World University Rankings list KazNU as 175th among the world’s top institutions of higher education. RLASP Almaty participants attend classes on the downtown campus at the Department of International Relations, conveniently located in the heart of Almaty while the sprawling, main campus is located in the southern part of the city, adjacent to Almaty's famous Botanical Gardens.
Multiple sources of funding are available to support participants in paying for programs abroad. Participants are encouraged to apply for private scholarships, federal aid and grants, college/university scholarships, and American Councils fellowships and scholarships.
Summer participants attend a two-day orientation program on site immediately upon arrival in Almaty (where they are met at the airport by AC Staff). Semester participants attend a two-day pre-departure orientation in Washington, D.C. before the start of their programs. Orientation sessions cover health and safety, academic culture, host-family life, cultural adjustment, onsite support, and strategies for maximizing language learning. Lodging and meals are provided.
While abroad, participants have access to full-time in-country staff who offer academic, administrative, and personal support, as well as 24/7 emergency assistance. The AC Study Abroad team in Washington, D.C. stays in close contact with study abroad offices, university partners, and family members throughout the program.
All participants are covered by Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) for the duration of the program. CISI provides up to $250,000 in medical coverage per accident or illness and full emergency medical evacuation coverage.
American Councils provides visa support for participants for the duration of the program in the host country. Students are responsible for obtaining any additional visas required by their travel plans. Visa instructions and forms are provided after acceptance.
