Study Abroad at Russia's First Liberal Arts College:
An Invitation to North American Students

Dear Student:

If you choose to study at Smolny College, you will have an experience that is unparelleled among study abroad programs. In addition to excellent Russian language instruction, you will take classes on other subjects together with Russian students at Russia's first liberal arts college. Some courses are taught in English, but most—everything from Art and Architecture, to Film, History, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Complex Systems, and many more—will be in Russian.

The majority of Smolny's students and faculty are Russian; others come from the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, Europe, and the United States, among other places. These students came to Smolny because they want small classes and personal attention. They want to be part of Russia's first liberal arts college - an institution that is open, multidisciplinary, and international. For all of these reasons, the Smolny community warmly welcomes visiting international students.

We are especially proud of Smolny's Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program. North American students take a special two-week language intensive course prior to their first semester and continue intensive language training throughout their time at Smolny. Our language instructors have extensive experience teaching American students and are familiar with American teaching methods. In addition, you will be improving your Russian every day as you share ideas and experiences with Smolny faculty and your fellow students.

Bard and Smolny also offer a summer language intensive, which you may find useful to your language preparation.

This website will give you a more complete idea of what Smolny does, who we are, and what we aspire to be. If you are interested in learning more, we encourage you to fill out the interest form and we will contact you shortly. Additional information is available from Bard College's Institute for International Liberal Education. We hope that you will seriously consider coming to study with us, and we look forward to welcoming you to Smolny College.

Cordially,
Nikolay Koposov, Ph.D.
Dean of Smolny College
Professor of History, Smolny College