Department of Slavonic Studies

Year 3: Year Abroad in Russia

Arrangements for RLUS courses and individual projects

Many of our students choose to go to Russia for all or part of their third year. In order to avoid organizational problems, read the following very carefully. There are a number of options open to you: you may choose to spend your year abroad following a one- or two-term Russian course organized by RLUS; you may go on a non-RLUS Russian language course at an academic institution in Russia; you may take up a teaching job or a post in a business firm. Should you opt for individual arrangements for all or part of your year abroad, it is absolutely essential that you start making such arrangements well in advance, i.e., at the end of your first year at Cambridge and during summer vacation. It is best to consult the Departmental Year Abroad Adviser, Dr Jana Howlett, to make sure that your proposed plans are acceptable on academic and financial grounds in accordance with MML Faculty regulations. You must bear in mind the following guidelines concerning the Year Abroad:

• Your course must be first approved by the Departmental Year Abroad Adviser before it is submitted to the MML Faculty Board for approval towards the end of the Michaelmas term of your second year.  Often this is a simple matter because many students undertake a course of study in Russia via programmes negotiated by Russian Language Undergraduate Study Ltd (RLUS). Such programmes are designated 'approved courses' by the MML Faculty Board.
• The Departmental Year Abroad Adviser and the Secretary of the Department of Slavonic Studies act as Advisers for RLUS and providing you meet deadlines given to you from now on, you will receive assistance in dealing with travel, visa, medical, financial, accommodation and insurance matters. In addition you will be briefed by RLUS prior to your departure and you will have access to RLUS officials resident in Russia. If you fail to meet deadlines or observe RLUS regulations, however, the Slavonic Department will cease to act on your behalf and you will lose your RLUS place.
• Problems can arise if you wish to make individual arrangements to go to Russia for all or part of your year abroad. If you intend to negotiate an individual arrangement with an institution in Russia (or with an institution anywhere else), note the following points:

• 1. The contract must be approved in advance by the Departmental Year Abroad Adviser. This means that you must give full details in writing of your plans, including a copy of the contract to Dr Howlett well before the end of the Michaelmas term of your second year and prior to the submission of your application form to the Year Abroad Office.  You should simultaneously give full details to your College Tutor and your Director of Studies.
• 2. You must ensure that you will have, at the end of your course, a certificate of attendance that you can supply to your College Tutor, your Director of Studies, the Year Abroad Adviser for the Department of Slavonic Studies and the Faculty Year Abroad Officer.
• 3. You cannot assume that the MML Faculty Board will automatically approve your individual arrangement. If your contract is not approved it cannot be counted as part of your Year Abroad.
• 4. If you follow the steps laid out above, and if your contract is approved, the MML Faculty Board will also at that time agree to meet the cost of course fees up to a specified maximum based on the normal cost of a course in Russia. If you apply to go on a course which is more expensive than the norm, the MML Faculty Board, while approving it on academic grounds, may not reimburse the cost in full.
• 5. Payment of tuition fees is conditional on you providing full receipts for course fees from the institution concerned. Your claim for reimbursement of tuition fees should be sent to the Year Abroad Office together with form YA.FEE.
• 6. The regulations of the MML Faculty Board stipulate that a full Year Abroad shall be not less than eight months.

• In the case of individual arrangements, the Year Abroad Adviser of the Department of Slavonic Studies limits herself to approving contracts on academic and financial grounds in accordance with MML Faculty regulations.  This means that the Year Abroad Adviser and the Departmental Secretary take no responsibility for, and offer no assistance for anything else connected with your stay in Russia (visas, medical and travel arrangements, financial matters, living conditions, personal safety, quality of teaching, deviations of courses from advertised programmes, etc.). It will be up to you to meet MML Faculty regulations and to deal with life in Russia by yourself.
• It is in your interest to submit full details of any proposed individual arrangement in person to the Slavonic Department Year Abroad Adviser at least three weeks before the end of the Michaelmas term of your second year. The Adviser will then be able to tell you if your proposal is likely to be rejected, thus leaving you time to opt for an 'approved course'. You should be warned, however, that in our experience it is necessary to begin organizing any proposed individual arrangement now.  Moreover, even if MML Faculty approval is granted, many individual arrangements and contracts fall through at some time or other prior to departure, and having missed deadlines for 'approved courses', students find themselves in difficulties. You should also note that in such circumstances neither the Departmental Secretaries nor the Year Abroad Adviser will be able to offer you any assistance.
• If you decide to go to Russia via RLUS you will have to complete and return an application form (available from the Departmental Office) towards the end of the Michaelmas term of your second year (approximately by end of November). You will be expected to make payment in full to RLUS for autumn courses by the end of July and for spring courses by mid December. You will be reimbursed by the Year Abroad Office for your tuition element only. KEEP THE RECEIPTS OF YOUR PAYMENTS.
• There will be four preparatory year abroad classes for all second year students in the Michaelmas and Lent terms.
• Check the year abroad section of the departmental notice board regularly for information on language courses/jobs in Russia and the year abroad in general.  Also, check the RLUS website Russian course organized by RLUS for the latest information on courses, briefing documents, forms etc.
• Ensure that your passport will be valid for at least SIX MONTHS before and after your stay in Russia. If your passport is kept at home make sure you can supply full details to RLUS, the Departmental Secretary or the Year Abroad Adviser on request. APPLY FOR THE RENEWAL OF YOUR PASSPORT NOW.
• Ensure that you will be able to meet the financial obligations of RLUS course(s)/ individual arrangement(s).
• Ensure that your college is kept fully informed of your plans.
• If appropriate, ensure that any medical treatment or dental work you may require is completed before your leave for your year abroad.
• Note that neither the Year Abroad Adviser nor the Departmental Secretaries will enter into any correspondence with parent(s) or guardian(s), so if appropriate, ensure that your parent(s) or guardian(s) are in full agreement with your plans, are cognizant of the details and regulations pertaining to your individual arrangement and/or RLUS course(s), and are familiar with MML Faculty and Slavonic Department regulations on the Year Abroad.
• Year Abroad Project: Dissertation/Translation Project/Linguistics Project. You will be preparing the dissertation or undertaking a translation project during your year abroad. Please make sure that you read Dissertations and the Translation Project which contains all the necessary information and advice on preparing the compulsory and optional dissertations and the translation project.