SRAS recently celebrated our 20-year anniversary. We’ve also recently developed a new family of websites and a new system for managing increasing enrollments. All these developments have inspired me to take a look at the “evolution” of study abroad and faculty-led study abroad to Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Beginning of the Post-Soviet Era:… Read More
SRAS Blog
Deadline for $10,000 Study Abroad Scholarship: May 1
The deadline for SRAS’ Home and Abroad Scholars program is fast approaching: May 1! This scholarship program, worth up to $10,000, combines an intensive internship with a study abroad program to Russia or Kyrgyzstan. We especially encourage students interested in history, anthropology, environment, military, and/or culture to apply. Study abroad while building your resume… Read More
What Students Gain in Bishkek (SRAS Site Visit)
On a chilly day in late October, I found myself on the back of a horse slowly crisscrossing up a mountain and looking back at the breathtaking view of the pristine Lake Issyk-Kul stretching across the horizon. This is how I started my site visit to our location in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Having worked with our… Read More
The School of Russian and Asian Studies Changes Name, Launches Fully Updated Website
The School of Russian and Asian Studies has outgrown its name and has made some significant changes. When we first formed, we were based in Moscow and looking mostly eastward. We established programs across Russia, in Siberia and the Russian Far East, as well as Central Asia. We introduced students to the wide diversity of… Read More
SRAS Welcomes Molly Cain as New Director for Institutional Relations
SRAS is pleased to announce a new member to our team: Molly Cain. Molly comes to us with nearly three decades of experience in travel to Russia and nearly two decades in working with study abroad. She will be assisting SRAS in further developing our partnerships with US universities. Molly first went to Russia in… Read More
SRAS Application System to Undergo Maintenance
Dear Colleagues and Students, SRAS’ application system will undergo an annual maintenance event scheduled over the holiday break. The maintenance is scheduled to commence on Saturday 22/12/2018 at 01:00 GMT and will continue through to Wednesday 26/12/2018 11:59 GMT. Please expect the system to be down for at least most of this period. We apologize for… Read More
The State of Study Abroad in Russia – 2018
Our fifth annual State of Study Abroad in Russia follows a fairly quiet year in Russia. The economic changes that came in 2015 and 2016 have been absorbed and turned into a new normal and slow economic growth. This condition is expected to continue throughout 2018, along with a stable political environment. The main changes… Read More
Summer Study Abroad: Update on Recent Diplomatic Events
SRAS is looking forward to welcoming students to Russia for summer study abroad programs. It is certainly an interesting time politically to be studying in Russia and we would like to reconfirm SRAS policies that place student safety as our first priority. Recently, 60 American diplomats were expelled from Russia and the U.S. Consulate in… Read More
A Letter To Our Colleagues Who Attended ASEEES 2017
Dear Colleagues, Each year as we prepare for the 4-day whirlwind of awesomeness that is called “ASEEES,” we review the conference program with a touch of woe: panels ranging from “Numbers and Meaning in Russian History” to “Emotions and Symbolic Order in Contemporary Russia” to “Siberian Rock” – so many fascinating, diverse, and important topics,… Read More
SRAS Photo Contest Gets Social Media and Prize Upgrades
SRAS has long held an annual photo contest from among its students. From the winners, we make a calendar, published and distributed for free to Russian departments in the US and Canada and to SRAS partners across the globe. Today, we are trying to make that contest a little better. For our 2018 calendar, we… Read More