Awards, Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships
Anne K. Hanson '86 Award
This endowed scholarship was established in 1989 in memory of Anne K. Hanson '86 by her friends and family. Anne Hanson was a Russian Studies major who went on the Grinnell College Interim Tour of the USSR during her senior year. The Award will be used to partially fund at least 1 student who wishes to take a Russian summer intensive language program. The program must be approved by the chair of the Russian department and be completed prior to graduation from Grinnell College. Selection for the Anne K. Hanson Memorial Award is made by the Russian department faculty. The scholarship will partially fund student(s) to attend a summer language intensive course in Russian. Funds will be available for the next year if in a given year students are not selected. If the Russian department faculty deem only one student exceptional, the department will consider providing full funding for the language intensive program. The award is paid directly to the student recipient.
Students may apply after completing one year of Russian language. To be considered, applicants must complete an application form and write an essay. Interviews with department faculty may be required. The deadline for applying is the Friday before spring break.
Anne K. Hanson '86 Award Application
For more information, please contact Todd Armstrong.
John Mohan Russian Study Award
The John Mohan Russian Study Award is an annual needs-based award available to both graduating students and undergraduates. The award is designated and intended primarily to fund projects and study abroad opportunities in the Russian language after graduation, but awards can also be made to current Russian language students who need to take a course in the United States or abroad during the summer.
Post-graduate awards are meant to provide graduating seniors who have seriously pursued the study of Russian with an opportunity to develop their language skills in the Russian-speaking world through a program or project of their own design. Under certain circumstances, the award may be used by students of second-year standing or higher, who have completed at least one year of Russian language study; in these cases students may pursue the study of Russian in a summer language program in the US or in Russia. For post-graduation projects, students must use the award within 18 months following graduation.
Students who apply for this award should have pursued the study of Russian in a serious way. Usually that means completing at least two years of college-level Russian. Students who have not had the opportunity to study in the region are favored, although recipients in the past who have already been to the region have proposed interesting projects that have been funded. Projects that have the effect of developing Russian language skills are favored and these may include: structured study programs (such as an ACTR semester), volunteerships, or internships, which have cultural, political or social value. The award is not intended for students engaged in profit-making activities. Projects that immerse the student in the Russian language are preferred.
Applications should be submitted to the chair of the Russian Department, and will be reviewed by a committee consisting of faculty and the alumnae founders of the award (Diane Fisher Perkinson '82, Sharon McKee '82, and Emily Silliman '81). Applications are due in early March, and announced by the end of April.
RUSSIAN STUDY AWARD APPLICATION
For more information and advising assistance, please contact Todd Armstrong.
About John Mohan
We have not only a common origin, but a common fate as well — death. That being the case, why can’t we be a little kinder to one another?
John M. Mohan, 1936-2003
National Awards
Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East.
In general, there are two types of Fulbright grants:
- A Fulbright Full Grant, which funds one academic year of overseas study and/or research in one country
- An English Teaching Assistantship (ETA), which funds one academic year of teaching English in one country
Additionally, Fulbright offers several specialized grants, including Travel-Only Grants (which are usually given to graduate students, and only for Italy, Germany, and Hungary), Fulbright/mtvU Awards, Critical Language Enhancement Awards, Fulbright Business Grants (Mexico, Spain, and the Netherlands), Fulbright Journalism Grants, and country-specific awards to Australia, Ireland (Irish Language), Italy (slow foods and Deaf studies), Mexico (graduate degree and public policy); and the Netherlands (water management).
Gates Cambridge Scholarships are highly competitive full-cost awards for full-time graduate study and research in any subject available at the University of Cambridge.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad.
Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. Up to forty Scholars are selected each year to study at graduate level at a UK institution in any field of study.
The Mitchell Scholarship Program, named to honor former US Senator George Mitchell's pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service.
Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international educational fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford.
Study Abroad
Russian majors and RCEES concentrators generally study in Russia or Central and Eastern Europe for a semester during their junior or senior year. Students work closely with faculty and program advisors in assuring that their academic experience abroad is integrated into their on-campus curriculum. Each semester, the department holds an informational session for students which features faculty and students returning from off-campus programs who discuss their programs, and answer questions from students preparing for study abroad. The Russian Department sponsors several approved programs, all of which guarantee the transfer of course credit. The department also considers programs not on our approved list, and works with students who are interested in pursuing these and other options. At present, we support programs in Moscow, Petersburg, and Vladimir, Russia, and in Krakow, Poland. In addition, there are many new Russian-language programs in countries like Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Baltic States. We are currently exploring options for students to study on programs in other cities in Russia, as well as in Central Europe.
Activities and Organizations
Russian Table
Students and faculty meet every Friday at noon in Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 224C, for informal Russian conversation. Speakers at every level are encouraged to participate. Students not on the meal plan are guests of the Russian Department.
Slavic Coffeehouse
Each spring, a Slavic Coffeehouse is co-sponsored by the department and Russian and Central and Eastern European Studies (RCEES). Students meet at kitchens on campus and in the homes of professors to prepare a variety of Slavic specialties, which are sold one evening in the Forum Coffeehouse. Proceeds from the evening fund an event for Russian House.
Visiting Scholars and Artists
The Russian Department often collaborates with other departments and programs to bring prominent Russian scholars and artists to campus.
History of Russian Film Course
SEPC
The Student Educational Policy Committee, or SEPC, is a student-faculty liaison group which provides faculty with student input on professors, candidates, curriculum, and other departmental issues. It also organizes social events within the department.
Russian/RCEES Excursions
One or two short excursions are offered each year through the department, often in conjunction with RCEES (Russian and Central and Eastern European Studies). Often these trips are arranged in connection with first-year tutorials taught in the department, but we typically invite our majors and friends of the department as well. We have traveled to Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Cedar Rapids, St. Louis, and other cities to visit art exhibits, attend plays, visit local ethic communities, and participate in scholarly conferences.