| Mini-Aspirantura
in Russia
The name for this program comes
from the way Russians do their graduate studies. Departments
of Universities or sectors of research institutions
advertise a competition for a limited number (usually
1-3) "aspiranti." The successful candidates
become something like junior members of the department.
They participate in its meetings and collective research
projects. Each has his/her own research project, supervised
by one of the senior members of the department. The
aspirant will, from time to time, present his/her research
to the department.
In short, the aspirantura is an apprenticeship as a
member of an academic department.
We ask the Russian institutions which receive our students
to take the aspirantura as their basic model in designing
the program for their guest Canadian graduate student.
The most fundamental differences, of course, are:
(1) Our student stays for only one semester, and
(2) The student usually does not speak Russian.
We find a senior scholar to be research supervisor for
each Canadian aspirant. The supervisor's tasks
include: arranging access to research libraries and
other facilities, arranging contacts with other specialists
who may be of interest to the advisee. He is also asked
to assign one or more junior members of the department
to provide additional assistance, including helping
the Canadian aspirant get to know scholars his/her own
age.
The mini-aspirantura program assumes no knowledge of
Russian. The basic idea of the program is that it is
quite possible to do a program like this entirely in
English. To be sure, it is better for the student to
know Russian. Yet lack of the language need not be a
barrier to a successful program. Moreover, once a student
has got interested in Russia, there is strong motivation
to learn the language. Although it is possible to do
the mini-aspirantura without any Russian language program
included, we strongly recommend combining it with language
study.
Resources Available to the Aspirant
Supervisor: Senior scholar; reaches agreement upon research
program, preferably before arrival in Russia; provides
advice, guidance and feedback throughout the semester
concerning the student's ongoing research; strives to
integrate student into the life of the institute, faculty,
sector, kafedra, etc., including arranging for the student
to present his/her work; arranges contacts with scholars
and other individuals useful for the student's research
project; makes suggestions to and supervises the work
of the student's Russian pilot.
Libraries and archives: Participants in this program
will have access to facilities required for their research,
such as libraries and archives.
This model can be modified. For example, most students
who have done it so far have not been integrated into
the supervisor's academic unit and have not had a pilot.
What they have done can be characterized as directed
readings and research.
MINI-ASPIRANTURA REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
With Application:
A research proposal that summarizes:
- the student's research goals in Moscow and how they
fit into his/her overall program of studies;
- why they want to go to Moscow.
Two letters of recommendation, submitted
to InterUniversity Centre Canada directly by e-mail:
one from a professor who knows the student's academic
work and who is able to assess the proposal; the other
from someone who is in a position to assess the
student's ability to adapt to life in a foreign country.
Required by 5-weeks prior to departure
Students must take with them:
The cost of a mini-aspirantura
is $200-300US depending on your program of studies.
This must be taken in conjunction with the Russian Language
and culture courses or the Baltic Studies program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ENROLL PLEASE CONTACT
InterUniversity Centre Canada |
