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Bard-Smolny Study Abroad Program 
Institution name: Bard College & Smolny College
Address: Bard College
PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Telephone: (845) 758-7110
Extension:
Fax:
Web address: http://smolny.bard.edu/
 
Name: Helen Zincavage
Title: International Programs Coordinator
Address: Bard College, PO Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson,  NY  12504
Email: smolny@bard.edu
Telephone: (845) 758-7110
Extension:
Fax:
Purposes and goals of the program:
Designed to meet the demands of those who have completed two years of
college-level Russian or more (including heritage speakers, who can have special curricula tailored to their unique needs), the Bard-Smolny Program in St. Petersburg offers a rich academic environment for students from North American colleges and universities who wish to study in Russia for a semester or full academic year. Bard-Smolny students directly enroll in academic courses and sit side by side with Russian students in the classroom.  The program enables students to advance their competency of Russian by two means: through our Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program, and through Smolny's academic courses (the majority of which are taught in Russian) that meet requirements for their B.A. degree.
Program origin:
In the 1980s, a group of creative young academics from St. Petersburg State University, one of Russia's leading institutions of higher learning, met with faculty from Bard College, who at the time were conducting an exchange program.  The Russian scholars' interest in reforming the social sciences and humanities coincided with Bard's interest in curricular innovation and new forms of international education; the two groups worked together to develop a proposal for establishing a liberal arts college within the University, which would eventually lay the groundwork for Smolny.

In 2000, Smolny College (the university's Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences) received accreditation from the Russian Ministry of Education as an experimental B.A. program within St. Petersburg State University, and in 2003, the first cohort of students graduated.  In 2005, the program was awarded full accreditation, and Bard agreed to grant its B.A. degree to Smolny students who successfully completed the four-year curriculum. Thus, Smolny graduates earn two degrees at once: a B.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Bard College, and a B.A. in Arts and Humanities from St. Petersburg State University.
Program funding:
Student tuition; scholarships are also available through Bard's Institute for International Liberal Education.
 
Languages/dialects taught:
  • Russian
    •
    Program type:  Higher Education
    Average enrollment:
    Total contact hours per week: 3
    Times per week classes meet: 2
    When meetings take place:
    Meetings of Russian as a Second Language (RSL) classes take place during the week as regularly scheduled classes. Prior to the start of the semester, students are required to participate in a two-week Russian Language Intensive which is composed of 20 academic hours of language instruction per week. The intensive has the dual focus of improving students’ conversational skills, and preparing them for exposure to academic Russian. There is also an intensive summer program, which students are encouraged to join. Heritage speakers often find the Bard-Smolny program to be an attractive study abroad option. Heritage speakers frequently test out of all or part of the nine-credit Russian as a Second Language requirement (RSL), but may choose to take a Russian language course specifically designed for them in addition to a full Russian course load. Individual Russian language courses focus on the aspects of language acquisition that heritage speakers need the most help with; in the past, such courses have treated difficult aspects of punctuation, spelling, and academic Russian. Heritage speakers often choose this unique opportunity as a way to improve their academic and professional knowledge of the Russian language.
    Where meetings take place:
    Meetings take place on the campus of Smolny College in Saint Petersburg.
    Parents' or guardians' expectations of the program:
    Parents' or guardians' involvement in the program:
    Instructors' expectations of the program:
    Number of instructors in the program
    Full-time instructors: 3
    Part-time instructors:
    Volunteer instructors:
    Languages in which instructors are proficient:
    Russian
    Educational backgrounds and credentials of instructors
    (e.g., diploma, bachelor's, master's, doctorate, certificate):
    PhDs in education and in philology. RSL faculty members are experienced at teaching Russian to foreign and heritage speakers.
    Professional development opportunities instructors have:
    Professional development opportunities instructors need:
    Students' expectations of the program:
    Student background
    First-generation immigrants:
    Second-generation immigrants:
    Third-generation immigrants:
    Children of interethnic marriages:
    Children of interethnic adoption:
    Indigenous students:
    Others:
    Students' countries of origin:
    USA, Russia, Russophone countries
    How the program identifies heritage language speakers:
    Heritage speakers self-identify as such as part of the application process.
    Average enrollment:
    Approximate percentage of students who complete the program:
    Approximate percentage of students who continue to study the heritage language after completing the program:
    Possible reasons that students continue to study the heritage language after completing the program:
    Total contact hours per week: 3
    Times per week: 2
    Student grouping (e.g., proficiency level, grade, age):
    By proficiency (courses are tailored to meet students' skills, and there are separate heritage language classes available)
    Language skills taught in the program (e.g., reading, writing, speaking, and listening):
    Reading, writing, speaking, and listening
    Aspects of culture included in the program (e.g., history, literature, traditions):
    Literature, culture, traditions
    Other content taught in the program:
    This varies from student to student, as students have the opportunity to directly enroll in classes of interest at Smolny College alongside Russian students. This aspect of the program - not to mention the fact that students are physically studying in Russia - help underscore important language-focused content even outside the classroom.
    Instructional methodologies used in the program:
    Levels of language proficiency reached by the end of the program (e.g., ACTFL proficiency levels, language tasks able to perform):
    Textbooks:
    Manuals and workbooks:
    Self-designed materials:
    Films, videos, and DVDs:
    Music:
    Technology:
    Standardized tests used:
    Other assessments used:
    Connections with local schools or other organizations:
    Credit received from formal education system:
    Students receive academic credit from Bard College, which can then be applied to their home institutions following general protocol.
    Types of support received (e.g., financial, time from parents or volunteers):
    Additional support desired:
    Challenges faced by the program:
     
    Comments:
    Profile created by Evan Alterman on June 26, 2012.