Exploring the Flagship

Students can join the Russian Flagship Program at any point in their academic career, whether they have not yet started studying Russian or whether they already have studied the language formally or speak it as a home language. Where a student starts in the program is determined by their oral and written proficiency in Russian, as determined by placement testing.

Introductory Track

The Flagship Introductory Track is designed for students who have had little or no prior experience learning Russian. In order to be admitted to the program, students must demonstrate academic potential and an aptitude for foreign language learning.

First Academic Year

During the first year of the Flagship Introductory Track, students take Rus 150-151-152: Beginning Flagship Russian (6 credits per term). This class provides students with an introduction to the Russian language. While some instruction is in English, ninety percent of the class is conducted in Russian. Starting in winter term with Rus 151, Flagship students receive additional small-group conversation practice provided by the Flagship Program.

Target outcome: Students will reach Intermediate Low Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to start, carry on, and conclude conversations about themselves, their backgrounds and interests, and everyday tasks.

Summer after First Academic Year

Students complete Rus 301-302-303: Third-Year Russian (total of 12 credits). In this class, students start to talk about topics of public interest, expand their vocabularies, and expand their accuracy with basic Russian grammar.

Target outcome: Students will reach Intermediate Mid Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able confidently to start, carry on, and conclude conversations about themselves and a broad range of everyday tasks.

Second Academic Year

During their second year in the program, Introductory Track students join Advanced Track students taking two classes simultaneously. The first is Rus 411-412-413: Advanced Russian (4 credits per term) and the second is: Rus 444-445-446: Flagship Studies Globalization (2 credits per term). The Advanced Russian course focuses on grammar, vocabulary development while the Globalization course focuses on learning to read and discuss news and reports from the Russian media.

Target outcome: Students will reach Intermediate High Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to narrate, describe, and explain topics of personal and community interest.

Summer after the Second Academic Year

Students study abroad in a Russian speaking country on a Flagship-approved program. Multiple programs can qualify for this experience, including study abroad on a Critical Languages Scholarship, on a Project GO scholarship, and others. For Flagship-approved programs, students can receive up to $5,000 of scholarship support.

Target outcome: Students will reach Advanced Low Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to narrate, describe and explain topics of personal and community interest in ways that are understandable to native speakers of Russian generally.

Third Academic Year

During their third year in the program, students take two classes simultaneously: Rus 457-458-459: Russian in the Major (2 credits per term) and one Russian course at the 400-level on a variety of topics, including Russian film, culture, literature, history, and other topics, such as “American Studies,” “European Studies,” and “Environmental Studies.” In the “Russian in the Major” course, students learn how to talk and write about topics and issues from their field of interest in Russian.

During the middle of their third year, students apply for the Russian Overseas Flagship and complete the qualifying exams for the program. Students must reach advanced proficiency in Speaking; advanced proficiency in either Reading or Listening; and no lower than Intermediate High proficiency in the other skills.

Summer after Third Academic Year

Students can complete courses for their major, general university requirements, and complete preparatory work for the Russian Overseas Flagship Program. For the 2020-21 academic year, this includes learning some basic phrases in Kazakh and learning about cultural expectations abroad.

Fourth Academic Year

Students spend the fourth year of the program at a Russian Overseas Flagship Center. During this time they will continue taking advanced Russian classes. In addition, they will take courses in their majors at the university, and they will complete an internship, which will become the basis of the PSU Senior Capstone. Since 2014, the Russian Overseas Flagship has been hosted at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Target outcome: Students will reach Superior or Professional Proficiency in all skills, which qualifies them as Flagship Certified Professionals with Distinction.

Sample Introductory Track: Version 1 (with summer course) or Version 2 (without summer course)

Sample Introductory Track for Transfer Students with no prior study of Russian

Advanced Track

In order to be admitted to the Flagship, Advanced Track students must be able to read, write, and speak Russian well enough to participate in the discussion of topics of general interest. The Advanced Track is appropriate for students who have completed a full year abroad in a Russian-speaking country with the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), for high school students who have attained Oregon's Seal of Biliteracy in Russian, for students from Russian-speaking backgrounds, and for others transferring to PSU. Students will complete appropriate placement tests when seeking to join the advanced track of the program.

First Academic Year

During the first year of the Flagship Advanced Track, students take Rus 411-412-413: Advanced Russian (4 credits per term). Students may also take Rus 341-342: Introduction to Russian Literature I-II (4 credits each). The Freshman Inquiry course Globalization is also recommended for these students.

Target outcome: Students will reach Advanced Low Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to narrate, describe and explain topics of personal and community interest in ways that are understandable to native speakers of Russian generally.

Summer after First Academic Year

Students may study abroad in a Russian speaking country on a Flagship-approved program after their first year in the program or after their second year in the program. Multiple programs can qualify for this experience, including study abroad on a Critical Languages Scholarship, on a Project GO scholarship, and others. For Flagship-approved programs, students can receive up to $5,000 of scholarship support.

Target outcome: Students will reach Advanced Mid Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to confidently narrate, describe and explain topics of personal and community interest in ways that are understandable to native speakers of Russian generally.

Second Academic Year

During their second year in the program, Advanced Track students taking two classes simultaneously. The first is Rus 444-445-446: Flagship Studies Globalization (2 credits per term) and one Russian course at the 400-level on a variety of topics, including Russian film, culture, literature, history, and other topics, such as “American Studies,” “European Studies,” and “Environmental Studies.” The Globalization course focuses on learning to read and discuss news and reports from the Russian media.

Target outcome: Students will reach Advanced Mid Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to confidently narrate, describe and explain topics of personal and community interest in ways that are understandable to native speakers of Russian generally.

Summer after the Second Academic Year

Students may study abroad in a Russian speaking country on a Flagship-approved program after their first year in the program or after their second year in the program. Multiple programs can qualify for this experience, including study abroad on a Critical Languages Scholarship, on a Project GO scholarship, and others. For Flagship-approved programs, students can receive up to $5,000 of scholarship support.

Target outcome: Students will reach Advanced Mid Proficiency in Speaking, that is: be able to confidently narrate, describe and explain topics of personal and community interest in ways that are understandable to native speakers of Russian generally.

Third Academic Year

During their third year in the program, students take two classes simultaneously: Rus 457-458-459: Russian in the Major (2 credits per term) and one Russian course at the 400-level on a variety of topics, including Russian film, culture, literature, history, and other topics, such as “American Studies,” “European Studies,” and “Environmental Studies.” In the “Russian in the Major” course, students learn how to talk and write about topics and issues from their field of interest in Russian.

During the middle of their third year, students apply for the Russian Overseas Flagship and complete the qualifying exams for the program. Students must reach advanced proficiency in Speaking; advanced proficiency in either Reading or Listening; and no lower than Intermediate High proficiency in the other skills.

Summer after Third Academic Year

Students can complete courses for their major, general university requirements, and complete preparatory work for the Russian Overseas Flagship Program. For the 2020-21 academic year, this includes learning some basic phrases in Kazakh and learning about cultural expectations abroad.

Fourth Academic Year

Students spend the fourth year of the program at a Russian Overseas Flagship Center. During this time they will continue taking advanced Russian classes. In addition, they will take courses in their majors at the university, and they will complete an internship, which will become the basis of the PSU Senior Capstone. Since 2014, the Russian Overseas Flagship has been hosted at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Target outcome: Students will reach Superior or Professional Proficiency in all skills, which qualifies them as Flagship Certified Professionals with Distinction.

Advanced track students may have additional flexibility in arranging their course sequence, and they should consult the Flagship Director when they join the program to plan their course of study. The academic plan above works best for students joining PSU and the program with fewer than 30 credits of college credit.

Sample Advanced Track

Sample Advanced Track for Transfer Students with prior study of Russian

Common Aspects for Both Tracks

All Flagship students take Rus 111-112-113: Introduction to Flagship Studies (1 credit per term) during their first year in the program. This course introduces students to strategies to maximize their language learning, coaches them on strategies for performing well on proficiency tests, mentors them about writing scholarship applications, and explores career options for Flagship students. Students joining the Flagship in fall 2020, will take this course sequence in AY 2021-22.
All Flagship students take part in annual proficiency testing in reading and listening comprehension.
Flagship students are expected to take part in the program's extracurricular activities and co-curricular activities, such as the Flagship Assemblies at the end of each term.
Flagship students are expected to take part in conversation practice in small groups or individually with native speaking tutors, provided by the program.
Flagship students who complete the whole program will study abroad twice: once for a summer and once for an academic year. The summer study abroad opportunities can vary, but Flagship-approved programs need to have at a minimum these three components: rigorous academic courses taught in Russian; homestay component; and a duration of at least six weeks. NSLI-Y Summer and Academic year experience can substitute for the Summer study abroad requirement.

Expectations and Flagship Courses

While the Russian Flagship Program opens up an extraordinary range of opportunities for students, it also requires significant dedication on the part of students. Students in the program are expected to:

meet and maintain a high academic standard (GPA in Russian courses of at least 3.0, in all courses of at least 2.7);
work regularly outside of class time with a conversation partner, and
participate in extracurricular events in Russian.

Success in the program requires students to check in with the Flagship Director once per quarter for academic advising and course planning.

The Flagship Program supports a set of courses (RUS 111-113, 150-152, 444-446, 457-459) designed specifically for students accepted into the Program. Non-Flagship students or students in the process of applying to the Flagship Program may be granted permission to enroll in these courses if they meet the academic standards required of Flagship students. Interested students should contact the Director of the Flagship Program at russianflagship@pdx.edu.

Be a part of our community

Funded by The Language Flagship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, PSU’s Russian Flagship Program (RFP) is committed to preparing students for exciting careers that use critical language and culture skills in a globalized world.

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