Students admitted to the Russian Flagship Program work with an advisor to create an individualized study plan to meet requirements and successfully complete the program. First and second year students must enroll in 4 credit hours of Russian language classroom instruction per semester (for a total of 8 credits per academic year) and third and fourth year students must enroll in 3 credit hours per semester (for a total of 6 credits per academic year). All students must receive a minimum of a “B+” in their Russian language classes (including summer studies and study abroad) and maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
The program typically takes 4-5 years to complete, but can be finished in less time depending on a student’s language proficiency when they enter the program and whether or not they participate in intensive summer language studies.
Curriculum sequence and proficiency benchmarks
The Russian Flagship curriculum is intensely result-oriented, meaning that each semester students are expected to reach certain proficiency goals based on the ACTFL proficiency scale. To help students progress, we team them up with tutors. Co-curricular activities also serve to boost students’ linguistic proficiency. Students who do not reach proficiency targets during the academic year will commit to summer study in order to bring their proficiency up to the expected level.
Fall Semester
Goal – Novice High
SLAV-R101 Elementary Russian I (4 credits; 4 hours/week)
Tutoring (no credits; 1 hour/week)
Spring Semester
Goal – Intermediate Low
SLAV-R102 Elementary Russian II (4 credits; 4 hours/week)
SLAV-R301 Intermediate-Advanced Russian I (3 credits; 3 hours/week)
Tutoring (no credits; 1-2 hours/week)
Spring Semester
Goal – Intermediate High
SLAV-R302 Intermediate-Advanced Russian II (3 credits; 3 hours/week)
Tutoring (no credits; 1-2 hours/week)
Russian Flagship students are strongly encouraged to complete their pre-capstone study abroad requirement during the summer after two years of Russian.
Russian Flagship students may choose to complete their pre-capstone study abroad requirement during the summer after three years of domestic Russian instruction.
Classroom (21 hours/week in the Fall; 16 hours/week in the Spring)
Tutoring (no credits; 4 hours/week)
Professional internship (in the Spring)
Scheduling Pre-Capstone Study Abroad
IU Russian Flagship students are encouraged to complete their pre-capstone study abroad requirement by participating in an intensive overseas summer program after reaching Intermediate-Mid level, that is after two years of Russian language instruction. Alternatively, students may choose to participate in pre-capstone study abroad during the summer after completing three years of Russian language instruction at IU. Some students, may select longer programs (e.g., a semester or academic year). Whichever program you select, make sure to discuss it with the Russian Flagship Program Coordinator.
