How to Apply
Eligibility Requirements
For the Stateside Program, the Flagship Centers on each participating campus will admit students of various disciplines who have strong motivation to achieve higher levels of competence in Russian and have an ACTFL proficiency level of Intermediate-High or Advanced-Low (ILR 2) in speaking, reading, and/or listening. While previous participation on study abroad programs is not required, a semester or academic year of immersion learning in a Russian-speaking country is preferable.
For the Overseas Program, eligible candidates will be selected on a competitive basis upon demonstration of "advanced" proficiency in Russian equivalent to the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Level 2/2+ or to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) "Advanced-Mid" or "Advanced-High level. The required minimum language proficiency needs to be demonstrated in at least two modalities (speaking, listening, reading, writing) on the basis of oral interviews and written testing. For information on testing procedures open:
The program is open to upper-division undergraduate or graduate degree candidates, heritage speakers, and working professionals. Successful candidates will need to show strong motivation to achieve "professional" language proficiency in Russian and preferably have some record of positive immersion experience in Russia.
Application Procedures
In order to be considered for the Stateside Russian Flagship Program, you must submit the following documents by January 16, 2009:
- Complete the Online Application Questionnaire
- Contact ACTR to arrange a time for your language exam.
- Send two hard copies of the Online Application to ACTR and your chosen Flagship Consortium School.
In order to be considered for the Overseas Russian Flagship Program, you must submit the following documents by January 16, 2009:
Russian Flagship Program
American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS
1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
ph: 202-833-7522 / fax:202-833-7523
- Three hard copies of the completed Online Application Questionnaire;
- Essays: Statement of Purpose in English, Russian essay (three copies of each);
- Official college transcripts;
- Three letters of reference;
- Passport Copy (or a note stating when the applicant expects to receive a new passport).
In the final stages of the selection process, American Councils Flagship program staff may interview applicants by telephone in Russian as part of the admissions process. Selected applicants will be contacted by email to schedule interviews. Interviews will last approximately 30 minutes. Applicants will be responsible for making the call at the time of their interview.