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Bard Abroad
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Academics Overview
Visiting North American students take between 14 and 17 credits per semester at Smolny, 11 of which are completed in the Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program. Heritage and other high-proficiency speakers may have the RSL requirement reduced or waived, and can replace these credits with academic courses. Smolny has 12 main areas of study and there are over 130 courses offered each semester. Course lists for upcoming semesters are usually posted by Smolny near the end of the preceding semester. 
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Areas of Study

Areas of Study

Courses are offered in the following subject areas: Art History; Cognitive Studies; Complex Systems; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence; Economics; Film and Video; History of Civilizations; International Relations, Political Science, and Human Rights; Literature; Music and Theater; Philosophy; and Sociology and Anthropology. Courses related to American Studies, French Studies, Life Sciences, Religion Studies, and Russian, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Studies are also offered.

View Course List

Russian as a Second Language

The Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program boosts the development of students’ speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. The program aims to facilitate students' adjustment to everyday life in Russia, and to the Smolny academic environment. Students who are attending Smolny for the fall semester are encouraged to enroll in our Summer Language Intensive (SLI). The SLI program is designed to provide the equivalent of one year of Russian language study, and it offers a comprehensive introduction to Smolny as an academic institution.

Russian as a Second Language

Smolny’s RSL faculty are experts in working with international students. Most students find that our instructors' teaching style blends grammar-based methods (most commonly found in the classrooms of Europe and the former Soviet Union) with the more communicative methods popular in the United States. The RSL program at Smolny offers many unique features, some of which are listed below.  

Two-Week Intensive
Prior to the start of the semester, students are required to participate in a two-week Russian Language Intensive that is composed of 20 academic hours of language instruction per week. The intensive has the dual focus of improving students’ conversational skills and preparing them for exposure to academic Russian.

Basic Structure
During the semester, students take three 3-credit Russian language courses that meet twice per week for 1.5 hours per session. Students will also enroll in an additional 2-credit phonetics course that meets 1.5 hours per week. The RSL course of study includes a wide variety of language components, such as grammar, phonetics, conversational Russian, academic reading, and composition. Specific courses will vary depending on students’ language skills.

A Supplement to Academics
In addition to the RSL program, North American students are directly enrolled in academic courses at Smolny, the majority of which are taught in Russian. Students taking courses for credit can expect to read 100–200 pages per week in Russian for each class, to contribute to class discussion in Russian, and to write academic papers in Russian.

As this is often no easy task for students in their first few weeks, RSL at Smolny is designed to closely correspond with the academic courses in which individual students are enrolled. The program will support students’ Russian language coursework, and all instructors have regular office hours for individual consultations in academic reading and writing. Students are encouraged to use these individual meetings to review content and homework from any of their classes.

Individualized Attention
The RSL program employs Smolny students as peer tutors to help North American students prepare their reading and writing assignments for academic courses. Generally, each student has the option of meeting with a tutor for up to two hours a week. Tutors are available to help go over points of particular difficulty, including grammar and linguistic questions.

Heritage speakers of Russian may also find components of the RSL program beneficial. We offer a special language course for heritage speakers, and the RSL team is happy to help them choose the best mixture of Russian language with other Smolny courses.

Cultural Program

Cultural Program

The program begins during orientation with an introduction to the city. Excursions typically include walking tours, visits to museums, and a welcome dinner with Smolny classmates. The cultural program continues throughout the semester, with an average of one excursion every two weeks to a museum, opera, ballet, theater, or palace; social activities, including bowling and dinners; and several weekend excursions outside of St. Petersburg. All events are conducted in Russian, and Smolny classmates are invited along on excursions. In the past, students have visited the Hermitage, Russian State Museum, and Tsarskoye Selo, to name just a few.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Bard-Smolny program encourages interested students to pursue volunteer service during their time in St. Petersburg. Volunteer opportunities are available at various organizations and cultural institutions throughout the city. Faculty and staff at Smolny have a wealth of contacts in the NGO, artistic, and media fields and can help organize these opportunities. North American students in the Bard-Smolny Program have volunteered at the State Hermitage Museum, State Museum of Russian Political History,and Big Choral Synagogue, as well as other cultural organizations. 

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