The University of Wisconsin-Madison Russian Flagship Program has received more than $265,000 in student scholarship funds from the National Security Education Program to support intensive study of the language in Russia and on campus this summer and in the 2014-15 academic year.
The scholarships have been awarded to 27 UW-Madison Russian Flagship students, 12 of whom will participate in the capstone experience, the academic yearlong Russian Overseas Flagship program at Saint Petersburg State University next school year. Nine other students were awarded scholarships for summer study in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, or Vladimir, Russia. Six students will enroll in intensive Russian programs at UW-Madison or one of the three other U.S. universities with a Russian Flagship Program.
In addition to scholarships through the Russian Flagship Program, eight Russian Flagship students participating in the capstone program in St. Petersburg have been awarded the highly-competitive Boren Scholarship. Boren Scholarships provide U.S. undergraduate students with up to $20,000 to study in countries critical to the future security and stability of the nation. Boren awardees agree to commit to work for the federal government in a position with national security responsibilities.
The UW-Madison Russian Flagship Program is an initiative of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature and the Language Institute, with the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) and the Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition. Funding for the Russian Flagship is from the National Security Education Program in the U.S. Department of Defense.
Story by Laura Weigel, Russian Flagship Program