Instructors also take the group on excursions to historical and cultural sights, on picnics, and to meetings with local residents. This program is designed to make students who have no previous Russian able to function and work in an all-Russian environment. Students with previous Russian take more advanced language courses, but all benefit from this immersion experience before setting off together for Moscow. The host institution in Vladimir is KORA, a private academy of language instruction, with which Colgate has worked since 1996. Classes are held in a newly remodeled building in the center of Moscow.
Students live in homes with Russian families, who provide breakfast and dinner.
In both Vladimir and Moscow students have private bedrooms, but share other facilities with the host family. These courses are taught by faculty from the host institutions but are monitored by Colgate s study group director to ensure that students who wish to continue with Russian may enter Russian 202 or higher when they return to campus. The fourth course, Russian Politics, Economy, and Society will be taught by a famous political theorist and former member of parliament, and will cover a range of issues facing Russia today. POSC credit will be arranged. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Moscow Study Group is the required supervised internship.