Qualified students may stay on for a second semester and attend courses at the University of St. Petersburg, with which Colby has an exchange agreement. The program is under the supervision of the Department of German and Russian at Colby College. This policy goes into effect in the fall of 2000. All classes meet at the St. Petersburg Classical Gimnazium, the students' host institution in St. Petersburg, and are conducted entirely in Russian by instructors from universities and institutes in the city. The academic program is unique in that the class size is very small, ensuring maximum, daily participation from each student.
Students work is very intensive and they normally progress at an accelerated rate.
In addition to the group classes, each student has individual classes with instructors of phonetics and composition throughout the semester. Students on this program must be ready to participate actively in the classroom and must be able to take initiative with requests and suggestions for the instructors. The advantages of personalized instruction are many, but the small class size works well only when students are well-prepared for each class, active in each class meeting, and willing to ask instructors for more or less difficult work. A special feature of Colby in St. Petersburg is the opportunity to live with Russian host families, carefully selected by the Gimnazium staff. Host families take very seriously their responsibilities for the well-being and security of their guests.