Startalk - 2023 - Seattle

We are pleased to announce that we received the grant for the 2023 Russian STARTALK program in Seattle!

The University of Washington STARTALK Student Program, “Russian in the Sky and in Outer Space,” offers high school and early college heritage language speakers of Russian at the Intermediate level an opportunity to explore STEM topics in Russian while expanding their language proficiency to an Advanced level.

This year the program has a new format, which includes a three-week summer camp (75 hours of instructional time) conducted entirely in Russian, includes units on Airplanes and Voyage to Mars, field trips to the Museum of Flight Challenger Learning Center and Aviation Learning Center, and elective projects on STEM topics with a final student conference. The summer camp is preceded in late winter by a series of information sessions and learning opportunities to introduce students to project topics in preparation for the summer camp. The program extends into the fall with interviews with Russian-speaking STEM professionals, language testing, and closing ceremonies. Students may be able to earn three University of Washington Russian language credits from the summer session. Students will also have an opportunity to complete language proficiency assessments that high school students may use to earn up to four high school competency-based credits in Russian and qualify for the State Seal of Biliteracy, as well as the Global Seal of Biliteracy.

Applications for Summer 2023 are open. More info and the application form can be found on our website:

UW STARTALK Heritage speakers of Russian (Heritage speakers grew up speaking the language at home and are able to read and write Russian.)