The Semester Program
This program consists of four intensive courses in Russian language, culture, history, and media taught by Russian faculty from SPSU, one of Russia’s oldest and preeminent universities. Classes are held in the University’s Center of Russian Language and Culture, which is housed in the historic Smolny Institute. Students in a wide range of disciplines and majors (history, political science, sociology, religion, for example), as well as Russian majors, will find this program especially interesting and useful.

For more details and an application, please visit the Office of Study Abroad.

St. Petersburg, the Venice of the North
St. Petersburg is Russia's second largest city, with a population of five million. It is home to palaces and churches that date to the era of the czars and is the setting for summer's White Nights, when the sun barely sets. The city's change in names reflects Russia's often turbulent history. It has been Petrograd and Leningrad and only recently, with the demise of Russia's communist system, has it reclaimed its original title. The story of Russia, from the czars through the totalitarianism of Stalin to the recent struggles toward democracy and a free-market economy, is embedded in the city. To visit it now is to observe firsthand a crucial period in Russian history.

The Duke in St. Petersburg program offers you an excellent opportunity to study the rich Russian culture, civilization, and language of Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, and Pushkin. Fall, spring, and summer programs are offered in cooperation with
St. Petersburg State University (SPSU) in the grand former imperial capital of St. Petersburg.

A faculty member of St. Petersburg University serves as resident director of the program and is available for assistance at any time. The university provides an array of services for students.

Based on your choice, you will either room and board with a Russian family or live at the Chaika, a private residential hotel near the university, where the apartments come complete with kitchens. Additional dining is available every day at the university cafeteria.