American Councils semester, academic year, and summer programs maximize linguistic and cultural immersion into Russian society. All programs feature approximately twenty hours per week of in-class instruction; roughly sixteen hours of which are dedicated to Russian-language study. Students are placed according to proficiency level in groups of three-to-five for language classes. Course work typically includes classes in phonetics, grammar, and conversation, as well as composition, oral comprehension, and reading. Language courses also cover topics in literature, history, politics, culture, mass media, and area studies.
Academic year and semester students in Moscow and Almaty have the option of auditing classes at their host university. In recent years, RLASP participants completed courses at their host universities in Art History, Mathematics, Engineering, Sociology, Theater Studies, Russian History, Religion, Psychology, and Literature.
Academic year participants with advanced Russian skills may 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. Recent participants in the academic year RLASP program have completed research projects on topics such as Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Russian theater, Russian attitudes towards the Caucasus, nationalism in music history, the acquisition of listening skills in Russian, and contemporary urban youth movements.
Participants receive academic credit through Bryn Mawr College, an institutional member of American Councils. Upon successful completion of the program, Bryn Mawr College issues:
- 8 undergraduate/10 graduate credit hours for the summer program,
- 16 undergraduate/15 graduate credit hours for the fall or spring semesters, and
- 32 undergraduate/30 graduate credit hours for the academic year program.
