Coursework

Coursework is one component of the Russian Flagship’s rigorous, flexible curriculum. The program is designed to enable students of any major, even those entering UW-Madison with no prior experience studying Russian, to reach a professional level of language proficiency by graduation. For a typical student, this means condensing four years of Russian language coursework into two academic years and two summers, which includes a summer study abroad program to a Russian-speaking country. Students then spend an additional 1-2 academic years completing advanced Russian language coursework at UW-Madison before embarking on a capstone year abroad, the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF), located in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

It is possible for students to complete the program, including the ROF capstone year abroad, in four years, but the majority of students who begin their study of Russian at UW-Madison need five years to complete the program. Factors that influence this timeline include the student’s prior experience studying Russian, other fields of study, number of majors or certificates, credit load per semester, extracurricular activities, work commitments, etc.

Students work with Russian Flagship advisors to build individualized study plans for meeting coursework and other requirements. Plans can be adjusted, on a case-by-case basis, to accommodate a student’s major, course schedule during a given semester, or other individual needs. Early planning is an important factor in ensuring that students are able to progress through the program in a timely manner.

Kazakhstan is a multilingual and multiethnic country in which both Russian and Kazakh are widely used, in addition to many other languages, including English. Although Russian is widely spoken in Almaty, the city where the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) is located, both Russian and Kazakh are official languages of Kazakhstan, and knowing some basic Kazakh can go a long way in showing respect for and interest in Kazakh culture.
As part of their linguistic and cultural preparation for the ROF, Russian Flagship students must complete a series of introductory, non-credit Kazakh language lessons, and pass the end-of-lesson quizzes, in Salem, Kazakhstan, an online Kazakh language course for Russian Flagship students. Students must complete this requirement by August 1, before they depart for the ROF.
The required Salem, Kazakhstan lessons are:

• Вводный урок (Introductory lesson)
• Тема 1: Все обо мне (All about me)
• Тема 2: Где я живу (Where I live)
• Тема 3: Едим дома или идем в ресторан? (Do we eat at home or go out to eat?)

A link to the Salem, Kazakhstan course is in the Russian Flagship’s Canvas site. The course is hosted by the Language Flagship Technology Innovation Center at the University of Hawai’i.
Students interested in studying Kazakh for credit at any point before the capstone ROF are encouraged to take advantage of one or both of the following opportunities at UW-Madison:

• Kazakh language courses are offered during the academic year through the Department of German, Nordic, & Slavic+. The first course in the sequence, offered in the fall, is GNS 331: First Semester Kazakh, 4 credits.
• Intensive summer instruction in Kazakh, 8 credits, is offered through the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute (CESSI).

Students on the ROF take an introductory course in Kazakh in the fall semester. Kazakh language is offered on the ROF in the spring semester as well, as an optional course.