Click here to apply online: Russian Overseas Flagship Application
Application Requirements:
All U.S. citizens, nationals, and legal residents are encouraged to apply. However, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen to be eligible for government financial support.
The application deadline for the Academic Year 2013-2014 is January 15, 2013. By this date, we must receive your online application and hard copies of any documents not submitted with the online application.
All eligible applicants will have to take an online Russian Proficiency Test on January 24, 2013. For the Russian Domestic Flagship students, the test location and time will be organized by their Flagship staff. At-large students will take the test on their own within the allowed time slot. Applicants will be notified about the details of the test via e-mail upon submission of the online application.
Eligibility Requirements
The Russian Overseas Flagship Program accepts two categories of applicants:
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Undergraduate students: Students who are enrolled in one of the Domestic programs and reached the required proficiency level in Russian are eligible for admission to the Overseas Program, upon recommendation of the Russian Overseas Academic Council. Applications from the Domestic Flagship students receive priority consideration during the selection process.
- Post-BA (or At-large) students: At-large (i.e., not participating in Domestic Flagship programs) candidates may apply to American Councils on a competitive basis. The program is open to upper-division undergraduate or graduate degree candidates, and working professionals. At-large applicants must have their Bachelor's, or higher, degree before the beginning of the program in August of 2013.
- Both undergraduate and post-BA applicants must satisfy the following two requirements:
- Demonstrate 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, and writing) on the basis of oral interviews and written testing.
- Complete at least 6 weeks of study in Russia or a Russian-speaking country on a certified academic program prior to applying to the program. This requirement cannot be fulfilled during the summer immediately prior to the beginning of the overseas program. Please note that time spent in Russia vacationing, visiting relatives, working, or volunteering does not count towards this requirement.
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All successful candidates must demonstrate strong motivation to achieve “professional” language proficiency in Russian, a proven track record of Russia-related activities and interests, and have some record of positive immersion experience in Russia.
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For information on testing procedures and to self-test, please go to:
Interagency Language Roundtable or
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
Application Procedures
By January 15, 2013, all (undergraduate and post-BA) applicants must do the following:
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Complete and electronically submit the Online Application, and
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Prepare and mail application materials not submitted electronically to the following address:
Russian Overseas Flagship Program, American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, 1828 L Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20036
We must receive your application package by January 15, 2013.
The comleted Russian Overseas Flagship Application has to include the following:
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Application Form (submitted online);
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Russian essay (online or one hard copy);
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Statement of Purpose in English (online or one hard copy);
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Official college transcripts (one hard copy);
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Three letters of reference (may be submitted in hard copy, via e-link in the application, or e-mailed by recommender directly to Gennady Babankov);
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Passport Copy (or a note stating when the applicant expects to receive a new passport)(online or one hard copy);
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At-large applicants who wish to be considered for a partial financial aid should also submit a separate statement (may be submitted online or by mail, one hard copy).
Applicants who submit all required documents by the posted deadline will be offered an online Russian Proficiency Test on January 24, 2013. Applicants must pass the test in order to be further considered for admission to the program.
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.
In addition, the applicants to the Undergraduate program must check with their respective Domestic schools for additional application requirements.
