CESSI 2023 will be held from June 19 to August 11, 2023
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CESSI Updates
Use this form to sign up to receive email updates on CESSI events and programming, including updates on CESSI 2022.The Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute (CESSI) is an eight-week summer intensive language program for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals. Language courses are supplemented by a rich program of cultural events, excursions, and a weekly academic lecture series.
Course offerings each summer are dependent on student interest and enrollment. Typical course offerings include Kazakh, Tajik, Uyghur, and Uzbek. Languages are generally offered at the beginning and intermediate level, although advanced level courses may be offered with sufficient student interest. Additional languages, such as Kyrgyz or Azerbaijani, may also be offered with sufficient interest.
CESSI was founded in 2011 by a consortium of international and area studies centers at major U.S. universities. Since its creation, CESSI has been hosted by the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
CESSI is part of the Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes (WISLI), which offers training in more Less Commonly Taught Languages than any other university in the U.S. For more information, visit the WISLI website. Sign up to receive information from WISLI here.
Kazakh language courses through CESSI also qualify towards fulfilling the UW Russian Flagship Kazakh language requirement.
Applications for CESSI 2023 are open now!
CESSI is open to undergraduates, masters and PhD students, scholars, researchers, and professionals. Most of our courses are at the elementary or intermediate level, but advanced courses may become available with enough interest. Funding opportunities such as the Title VIII Fellowship, FLAS Fellowship, and CESSI Tuition Remission are also available. Courses are in person for Summer 2023.
CREECA’s statement regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine
The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) condemns Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and inhumane invasion of Ukraine. There is no justification for Russia to conduct military actions in Ukraine, and all purported rationales for this onslaught on a peaceful and democratic country that poses no threat to Russia are falsifications and distortions of reality and of history. The Putin regime must immediately stop all hostilities and withdraw its troops. The world must unify to stop this purposeless aggression, which is producing untold misery, death, and destruction. We echo the sentiments expressed by former UW System President Tommy Thompson in his statement of March 1: our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine as they fight against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of their homeland. Unprovoked attacks on another country’s sovereignty violate basic human norms, as well as the core values espoused by universities such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For more information on ways you can stay informed and support the people of Ukraine, visit CREECA’s page here.
CESSI Consortium Member Institutions
Columbia University: Harriman Institute
Harvard University: Davis Center for Russian & Eurasian Studies
Michigan State University:
The Ohio State University:
University of California-Berkeley: Institute of Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies
University of Chicago: Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies
University of Pennsylvania: Middle East Center
University of Pittsburgh: Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
University of Washington:
University of Wisconsin-Madison: