SRAS’s Home and Abroad Scholars program combines intensive language study with a generous scholarship and a resume-building internship. Designed for maximum flexibility, this program will help support and nurture student interests in fields as diverse as journalism, economics, history, and art. The scholarship will apply $5000 to a semester of Russian as a Second Language in select SRAS locations. Students begin their intensive internship from home and continue it while abroad. Students who complete a full semester abroad can elect to continue their studies for an optional second semester, with up to an additional $5000 applied to any SRAS program.
- Dates - Fall Spring
- The Application - Applicants must possess native or near-native English skills and strong writing and research skills. Applicants will be well-organized, motivated, have his/her own laptop, and be able check email once per day. Applicants must be able to work independently and creatively. Applicants will be adventurous and eager to explore a new land and culture and to excite others about doing so as well.
Students applying to Home and Abroad are not required to pay the $250 deposit until after acceptance. The deposit will be due two weeks after acceptance or before. All questions about the Home and Abroad program may be addressed to Josh Wilson.
- The Experience - Students will choose one of several tracks. Each track will have several things in common: At Home. The Home and Abroad internship begins at home, shortly after program acceptance. Internships will involve research, writing, and other tasks. Students should expect to complete work approximately equal to that of an upper level 3-credit university class over the course of about three months. These assignments will be detailed in a document given to the student before program acceptance. Students must successfully complete the "Home" assignments before leaving for the "Abroad" portion of the program. Abroad. Abroad, the student will continue researching, writing, and performing other tasks while attending SRAS's Russian as a Second Language program. These tasks are designed to be intensive, provide the student with a published portfolio of work, and to help improve the experiences of future SRAS students. Generally, this will include writing reviews of cultural events, writing short articles, and revising SRAS city and university guides. Other tasks will be given to focus the work on the student's chosen professional track (see below). Optional Second Semester. Students who successfully complete the first two program portions as outlined above can elect to spend a second semester abroad with up to an additional $5000 applied to any SRAS program* in the locations listed on this page - including internships and our programs focusing on art, environment, international relations, history, business and many other subjects. Students continue writing short articles and contributing to SRAS materials but on a greatly reduced schedule. *$5000 is the maximum award for semester programs. Students seeking to use the award for summer programs will receive a maximum of $1000. Available Tracks Include: ArtWriting assignments: Students will write short histories of artists and/or art movements, reviews of art and museums, and resources about art-related institutions, organizations, history, or laws. Material will be primarily written for and published on museumstudiesabroad.ORG. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in art history, studio art, or museum science. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. BusinessWriting assignments: Depending on experience and interest, students may be asked to assist in marketing functions for SRAS or our partner companies. Students may be asked to write news synopses, analytical articles, or histories of economic events. Students may also write short histories about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in business. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. EnvironmentWriting assignments: Students may be asked to write news synopses, analytical articles, or histories of environmental events. Students may also write short histories about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Students with advanced Russian skills will be encouraged to explore local and international organizations working in environmental fields to learn and write about their activities. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in environmental history, policy, or science. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. Humanities (any)Humanities include, but are not limited to: History, Languages, Literature, Music, Religion, and Theatre. Writing assignments: Students may write short histories about issues related to their chosen humanity, about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Students with advanced language skills will be encouraged to explore local archives and libraries and write reviews of requirements needed to access them. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must indicate which humanity they are most interested in. Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in that field. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. JournalismWriting assignments: Students will write news synopses, analytical articles, or histories of related events. Students will be encouraged to conduct interviews with Russians and foreigners on various subjects. Students may write short histories about issues related to their chosen humanity, about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Students with experience in video editing and documentary film are especially encouraged to apply. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in journalism or work experience in journalism. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. Security and International RelationsWriting assignments: Students may be asked to write news synopses, analytical articles, or histories of related events. Students may also write short histories about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Students with knowledge of issues such as cybersecurity and food security are especially encouraged to apply. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must have had at least two semesters of study in a related field. Previous Russian study is desirable, but not required for eligibility. TranslationWriting assignments: Students translate approximately 20,000 characters of text from Russian to English per month on various subjects. Students may also write short histories about Russian regions or cities, culture-related subjects, book reviews, resource lists, etc. Applicant Requirements: Applicants must complete a translation test and upload this with the rest of their documents to the application system. Applicants must have advanced Russian skills, strong writing skills in English, and research skills in English and Russian. Previous experience or education in translating is preferred, but not required.
- Additional Details - What if I am not currently a student anywhere? What is the total cost of this program? What about the optional second semester? What form should the recommendations take? Do the papers need to be about specific topics? Can this scholarship be applied to any other program besides RSL for the first semester? Can this program be applied to learning another language besides Russian? What if I am not a US citizen? |