Location:

Moscow, Russia; Saint Petersburg, Russia

Program Type:

Intern Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Academic Year, Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer

Work Types:

Business, Social Sciences

Program Overview

Program Description:

The American Councils Business Russian Language and Internship (BRLI) Program combines a specially designed curriculum focusing on the language of Russian business with an internship averaging ten to fifteen hours per week at a multinational company, business, or non-governmental organization agency in Russia. A full-time U.S. resident director provides ongoing logistical support and emergency assistance to participants. Peer tutoring, Russian-American discussion clubs, and a broad range of extra-curricular activities provide unique opportunities for BRLI students to connect with Russian friends and immerse themselves in daily Russian life.

The highly individualized BRLI curriculum can be tailored to serve students ranging from intermediate to near native speakers of Russian; however, less advanced students should consider whether their language proficiency will enable them to engage in substantive internships and benefit from instruction in the style and lexicon of business speech. (Students lacking a strong command of Russian grammar, for example, should consider enrolling in RLASP before applying to the BRLI program.) Moscow International University and the Russian State Pedagogical (Gertsen) University in St. Petersburg are hosts of this program. BRLI participants are granted U.S. academic credit through Bryn Mawr College.

For more than 35 years, American Councils has operated comprehensive language immersion programs in Russia for thousands of students and scholars. Participants greatly benefit from individual attention in our small classes and from interaction with host faculty who have extensive experience in second language acquisition. In addition to classroom learning, American Councils emphasizes language immersion outside of the academic program through: - volunteer opportunities at sites such as local public schools, charity organizations, and international NGOs; - cultural excursions, discussion groups, and extracurricular activities; and - life with Russian host-families where they can become fully immersed in the language, culture and cuisine of Russia.