Study Abroad
Learn
From everyday conversation to specialized professional terminology, overseas coursework drives professional proficiency while embedding students in local life with a supportive network of peers.
Explore
Students venture beyond the classroom with excursions in the host city and regional travel, expanding their cultural horizon together.
Connect
The Russian Flagship overseas experience pairs deep cultural immersion with a supportive community, connecting you to new perspectives and local cultures.
The opportunity to study abroad is a hallmark of the Russian Flagship experience. Russian Flagship students study abroad twice, typically during a summer term and then again for an entire academic year. Students are required to participate in the Russian Overseas Flagship capstone program — an academic year program in Almaty, Kazakhstan that serves as the culminating experience of the Russian Flagship. Students are also strongly encouraged to participate in a “pre-capstone” study abroad program for at least six weeks, typically during the summer term, through which they complete the equivalent of a full academic year of Russian language coursework.
Russian Flagship students are strongly encouraged to complete a minimum of 6 weeks of study abroad in an approved intensive Russian-language program at the secondary or post-secondary level prior to applying to the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) capstone program. This pre-capstone program should include at least 20 hours per week of formal academic instruction in Russian and a homestay with a Russian-speaking family.
Most students participate in one of two UW–Madison-approved summer programs in a country where Russian is widely spoken:
- The Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP), offered by American Councils for International Education in partnership with UW–Madison, provides summer, semester, and academic year options in Almaty, Kazakhstan and Yerevan, Armenia.
- The UGA Immersion in Russian Language, Culture, and Communities in the Baltics (IRLCCB), offered through the University of Georgia as an approved UW affiliate program, is a summer program based in Riga, Latvia.
Both of these programs are designed to maximize linguistic and cultural immersion in a Russian-speaking society, with an emphasis on the development of practical speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
The Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) Capstone Program, located in Almaty, Kazakhstan and administered by American Councils for International Education, is a rigorous, yearlong academic program for qualifying Russian Flagship students from across the United States who have reached an Advanced (ILR 2) level of Russian proficiency and seek to attain Superior (ILR 3). The ROF provides intensive professional language training and development through advanced Russian-language coursework targeting the Superior level, discipline-specific courses in students’ major fields of study, individual and small-group tutoring, a professional internship, and a homestay with a Russian-speaking family.
UW–Madison Russian Flagship students must apply directly for admission to the ROF. Applications are typically due in mid-January for the following academic year, so students should plan well in advance to meet both application requirements and the necessary language proficiency threshold.
Note: Applicants must submit materials through both the UW–Madison Office of International Academic Programs (IAP) and the Institute of International Education (IIE).
The Language Flagship recognizes three levels of program completion:
Flagship Certification with Distinction: Awarded to students who complete all program components — the Domestic Flagship Program and the Overseas Capstone experience, including direct enrollment and an internship — and achieve at least ILR 3 proficiency in speaking, reading, and listening. ILR 3 or higher must be demonstrated in all three modalities to be certified with distinction.
Flagship Certification: Awarded to students who complete all program components and achieve at least ILR 3 in speaking and ILR 2+ in reading and listening.
Flagship Completion: Awarded to students who complete all program components but demonstrate post-capstone speaking proficiency below ILR 3.
Russian Overseas Flagship
“The program helped transform Russian from a simple academic subject to an actual second language. My summer study abroad initiated that transition, and since then, Russian feels much more like a way of thinking than some classroom exercise, not only in reading and writing, but as a conversation tool.”