Study abroad opportunities are offered in subjects and geographic areas of interest to students who are majoring in Russian and East European Studies, including those described below. For more information, students should consult with the study abroad advisers or visit study-abroad.uchicago.edu.
The Career Advancement office assists students in arranging internships and other professional opportunities. It also conducts a variety of career “treks” to cities such as Warsaw and Prague. Students are encouraged to schedule an advising appointment with Career Advancement to find out what opportunities are available for their foreign language skills and cultural expertise.
Russia and Eurasia: Empires, Societies, Cultures Civilization in Paris
The Russia and Eurasia sequence offers a study abroad option at the Chicago Center in Paris each Spring Quarter. The program includes an extended excursion to East European cities. This program satisfies the College General Education requirement for a Civilization sequence.
Central European University in Vienna
Spend Autumn quarter or an academic year at the Central European University in Vienna. CEU as an institution represents East-Central European history: an innovative institution founded by Czech President Vaclav Havel in 1991 as an incubator for new ideas, it relocated to Vienna after being forced out of Budapest by Viktor Orbán’s government. The mission of the University is to promote open societies and democracy through advanced research, and research-based teaching, primarily in the social sciences and humanities. The language of instruction is English.
Summer International Travel Grants
Тhe College Study Abroad Office offers generous Foreign Language Acquisition Grants (FLAG) and Summer International Research Grants (SITG) for summer study abroad. FLAG provides support for a minimum of eight weeks of study at a recognized summer program abroad. To be eligible for FLAG, students must have completed the First-Year language sequence or its equivalent. Recognized summer programs include, but are not limited to the American Councils (Russian, Ukrainian, Heritage Russian) and SRAS (Russian, Ukrainian, Polish) programs. Please inquire with the Director of Undergraduate Studies for more information and help with identifying a study abroad program.
The College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF) can assist REES students in applying to external scholarship programs for research and language study, including the Boren Awards (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian; Bulgarian; Czech; Polish; Ukrainian; Russian and others), and the Fulbright program.
Polish language and culture
Students interested in studying Polish language and culture are eligible for a range of academic programs in Poland. See the opportunities below. Please contact Izolda Wolski-Moskoff at izolda@uchicago.edu for more information.
Exchange Program to Poland (Kościuszko Foundation–Sponsored)
Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to participate in an exchange program in Poland sponsored by the Kościuszko Foundation. This program offers a unique chance to study at Polish partner institutions while gaining international academic experience and cultural immersion.
Fully Funded Summer Polish Language Program
Students who take Polish at the University of Chicago are eligible to apply for a fully funded summer Polish language program in Poland, sponsored by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). This intensive program combines language study with cultural enrichment and provides an exceptional opportunity to strengthen Polish proficiency while studying abroad.
Czech language and culture
Students of Czech language are eligible for competitive, funded summer language and culture programs in Czechia through the Summer School of Slavonic Studies. Please contact Irena Čajková at icajkova@uchicago.edu for further details.
Funding for independent study in Czechia and other countries in the region is available via small grants administered by the department. Please inquire with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.