Academics

• Russian as a Second Language Program
• Academics at Smolny

While at Smolny, visiting North American students typically take between 12 and 18 credits per semester, nine of which are normally in the Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program.  Heritage and other high proficiency speakers may have the RSL requirement reduced or waived. 

Students choose a mixture of classes taught in Russian and English, with the help of their academic advisor.  The majority of courses offered at Smolny are in Russian. Students taking courses in Russian 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.  Each semester, a handful of courses are offered in English; Russian Smolny students also enroll in these courses.

Those students who opt to spend the entire academic year at Smolny often report that their second semester is especially rewarding, as their Russian language has reached a level that enables them to take a full academic course load in Russian.  Such students have the freedom to choose almost any academic course offered, and often conduct independent research in Russian.

For a better idea of how previous participants of varying language abilities have organized their studies at Smolny, we invite you to review and download sample course plans and review the recent list of course offerings:

• Sample Student Course Plan
• Sample RSL Course Plan
• Recent Course Listings