Launched in 2012 and concluding in 2024, the Pushkin Summer Institute (PSI) at UW-Madison was an intensive, five-week pre-college program for outstanding high school students from under-represented communities. The goals of the project were: to build and improve students’ Russian language abilities; to build critical thinking, reading, and writing skills; to stimulate student interest in Russia and Russian studies; to prepare students for the demands of college life; and to expose students to opportunities at UW-Madison and the greater Madison community.
Students took courses in Russian language, literature, and culture and participated in a variety of extra-curricular activities, while living in a dormitory with Russian-speaking residential counselors.
From 2015-23, CREECA also administered the Pushkin Summer Institute Abroad in Daugavpils, Latvia, an initiative of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y).
For more information, please visit the Pushkin Summer Institute Website, which serves as an archive of the project.