Program Overview
The Pitt STARTALK Russian Program will be administered by the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES), offering an intensive three-week residential Russian language summer camp from June 25 to July 15, 2023, with pre-camp online activities in March-May 2023 and post-camp online language and culture activities in September 2023 through May 2024. The curriculum will be based on the theme “That Diverse Russian-Speaking World!”, through which students will be introduced to the cultural diversity of Russia’s regions and to other cultures in which the Russian language is spoken daily. The language curriculum is proficiency-based and student-centered, developing language skills in all modes required for successful communication—speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with a goal of ACTFL Novice Mid to Novice High proficiency for students in the beginning group and Novice High to Intermediate Low for students in the continuing group. Other anticipated outcomes include the students’ increased cultural competence and college and career readiness. The program is for 20 students entering grades 10 through 12, providing a total of 200 instructional hours. REEES partners with three high schools that offer academic year Russian language programs (Pittsburgh Brashear High School, Pritzker College Prep, and The Noble Academy) to recruit participants, while also accepting applications from students at other U.S. high schools.

Requirements and eligibility
High school students (grades 10-12 in Fall 2023) from our partnering schools and other US schools, who have no prior experience in Russian or who have taken one or two semesters of Russian in their high schools, are eligible to apply. All STARTALK participants are required to participate in all language classes and cultural activities.

Dates
June 25 - July 15, 2023

Cost
The Pitt Russian STARTALK program is free of charge to accepted students.

For more information and to apply, please visit: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/creees/outreach/startalk. All application materials for the 2023 program are due by Tuesday, January 31, 2023.