Lawrence offers a major and a minor in Russian. These two options make the program accessible to students with a wide range of interests, including culture, history, and government, including those with a primary interest in language and literature.
The Russian department offers a small, close-knit community in which students receive considerable one-to-one attention from their professors, as well as from tutors. While the department's curriculum includes standard coursework, more advanced students are free to design their own tutorials, on topics of personal interest.
There are also opportunities for students to interact with faculty members, and with each other, in informal social settings, such as the Russian Table and during immersion weekend at Bjorklunden. Along with the department's language assistant, students sometimes gather in International House to watch Russian television or films from Lawrence's extensive library collection.
Students in the department are strongly encouraged to spend a term in Russia. Most Lawrence students participate either in a direct exchange program with the Kurgan State University, located in Appleton's sister city, or in the ACM/GLCA program in Krasnodar. Interested students, however, may instead choose to participate in other established programs in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Russian cities.
To take an exam, go to
http://webcape.byuhtrsc.org/nwcregister.php?acct=lawrence and give the
password vikings1 (ends with the digit one with no spaces). In the next window, scroll down to Russian to start the test. The deadline for fall placement is Thursday, September 15 at 5:00 p.m.