Tbilisi has long been a meeting place for cultures, languages, religions, and trade routes crossing the Caucasus. Georgian, Persian, Russian, Armenian, and other influences have left their mark on the city’s architecture, neighborhoods, food, and cultural traditions, while its role as Georgia’s capital places it at the center of the country’s contemporary political and cultural life.
Historic neighborhoods, universities, museums, contemporary arts, and growing business and technology sectors reflect a city shaped by both its layered past and rapid change. Questions of language, identity, history, politics, and Georgia’s relationship with the wider region remain highly visible in public life.
For students, Tbilisi is also a manageable and engaging place to live. Its café culture, food, live music, parks, and active cultural scene provide plenty to explore, while its compact neighborhoods and public transportation make it relatively easy to navigate.
Tbilisi as a Gateway to the Caucasus
Tbilisi’s location and transportation connections make it a practical base for exploring both Georgia and the wider South Caucasus. Travel within Georgia brings mountain communities, wine regions, historic cities, and culturally distinct regions within reach, while Armenia and Azerbaijan are accessible for longer regional travel.
Several SRAS programs use Tbilisi as an academic base while incorporating travel elsewhere in the Caucasus, allowing students to experience neighboring societies with different languages, histories, political systems, and relationships with regional powers.
Learning in Tbilisi
Tbilisi supports study across language, international relations and security, identity, history, and culture, with the city itself providing context for many of the questions students explore.
Language
Study Georgian or Russian while exploring how language use reflects identity, history, and the multilingual character of the city and region.
International Relations & Security
Examine regional security, conflict, diplomacy, and Georgia’s relationships with neighboring states and regional powers.
Identity & Society
Examine how language, religion, migration, and history shape contemporary life in one of the Caucasus’ most diverse cities.
History & Culture
Explore Tbilisi through its architecture, neighborhoods, museums, food, and the traditions that continue to shape everyday life.
I absolutely enjoyed each day in both language classes, and I am still practicing those languages for myself and my own skill, now that SRAS has helped me develop my love for language.
— William Nunnery
Programs in Tbilisi
Tbilisi: Identity and Conflict in the Caucasus
Study identity and conflict through regional travel, interdisciplinary courses, and language immersion across Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Tbilisi: Russian as a Second Language
Study Russian in Tbilisi, where it connects cultures, communities, and regional travel across the South Caucasus.
SRAS Site Visits
Join SRAS for site visits in Bishkek and/or Riga and/or Georgia & Armenia. Learn more about these fascinating countries, SRAS programs, and opportunities for custom faculty-led programming.
Crossroads: Geopolitics and Security in the Caucasus
Travel across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia while exploring geopolitics, conflict, and identity in one of Eurasia’s most strategic regions.
Tbilisi: Georgian Language & Culture
Study Georgian in Tbilisi through immersive language training, cultural engagement, and exploration of identity in the Caucasus
Wine and History in Georgia: Identity, Tradition, and Taste
Learn the history, culture, and identity of Georgia through a study of its wine.
Programs in Tbilisi
Explore Tbilisi with SRAS
While SRAS does not currently offer programs based in Tbilisi, students may experience the country through academic travel incorporated into programs elsewhere in the region or through independent travel during their time abroad. SRAS can also work with faculty to develop custom programs that include Tbilisi as a destination.
