Program Overview

Introduction to the Russian Flagship Program

The Russian Flagship Program at Portland State University is an innovative undergraduate Russian language program that encourages students to combine a major in a discipline with achieving a professional level of proficiency in Russian. The students achieve this remarkable outcome by completing part of their studies domestically at PSU and part abroad for both a summer and an academic year. At graduation, PSU's Russian Flagship students are ready for exciting careers using their language and intercultural skills in a globalized world.

The PSU Flagship in Numbers

• 224 PSU students have participated in Flagship courses.
• 59 PSU students have continued in the program until graduation, attaining a certificate of Advanced Proficiency.
• 34 PSU students have participated in the Russian Overseas Flagship since 2012.
• 25 PSU students have qualified as Flagship Certified Professionals, of whom 4 have achieved certification with distinction.

History at PSU

In 2009, Dr. Sandra Freels successfully competed for a "Dissemination of Innovation" grant sponsored by The Language Flagship in the National Security Education Program (NSEP). For the first three years, the PSU Russian Flagship Program worked in collaboration with the established Chinese Flagship Program at the University of Oregon to take its successful model and adapt it to PSU in a new language. The dissemination grant sparked three intensive years of program development for the Russian section at PSU. New faculty were hired, including Anna Alsufieva, Olesya Kisselev, and Daria Aleeva. In the first years, these faculty worked intensively with PSU's University Studies program to develop advanced Russian language courses that mirrored the themes covered in the PSU's University studies curriculum.

Flagship Programs and Other Initiatives

From its inception, PSU hosted one of only four Flagship programs for Russian in the United States. The other programs were located at the University of California, Los Angeles, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2018, two additional Flagship programs were established at Indiana University and the University of Georgia. In 2020, the University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech were selected to expand the set of Russian Flagship programs to eight nationally.

The Flagship Curriculum at PSU

The Russian Flagship Program offers an Introductory Track for students with little or no prior experience in Russian and an Advanced Track for students who already read, write, and speak Russian well enough to participate in general discussions of academic topics. Students of both tracks take:

• Advanced Russian language classes (Rus 411, 412, 413)
• Classes in Russian whose topics relate to their majors (Rus 457, 458, 459)
• Classes in Russian relating to media, politics, economics, and environment (Rus 444, 445, 446, 454, 455, 456)
• Classes in Russian on Russian culture, history literature and film (Rus 341, 342, 420, 421, 427, 433)
  • Students also take a course on Russian Phonetics and Phonology (Rus 325) and a course in Advanced Grammar (Rus 414).

Credentials at Graduation

The PSU Russian Flagship Program is designed for undergraduate students and is open to post-Bac students. At the end of their successful studies in the Russian Overseas Flagship, students should be ready to graduate from Portland State. When applying to graduate, Flagship students can earn a BA or BS in their major and PSU's Certificate of Advanced Proficiency in Russian. Students who are completing a BA degree in their major can also easily add a second major in Russian.

Flagship Designated Courses

• RUS 111, 112, 113 "Introduction to Flagship Studies" (1, 1, 1)
• RUS 150, 151, 152 "Beginning Flagship Russian" (6, 6, 6)
• RUS 444, 445, 446 "Flagship Studies: Globalization" (2, 2, 2)
• RUS 454 "Flagship Studies: American Studies" (2)
• RUS 455 "Flagship Studies: European Studies" (2)
• RUS 456 "Flagship Studies: Environmental Sustainability" (2)
• RUS 457, 458, 459 "Russian in the Major" (2, 2, 2)
• UNST 421 "Senior Capstone: Effecting Change (Russian)" (6)