The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA), together with the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will host the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI) from June 13 to Aug. 5.

Instruction in first- and second-year Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian will be offered. BALSSI 2011 will also include lectures in English on Baltic history and culture and a rich program of cultural events and field trips related to the Baltic countries.

Thanks to a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the program fee for first-year Estonian and second-year Latvian will be waived for graduate students specializing in East European studies in any discipline. These students will, however, still be responsible for paying UW-Madison segregated fees.

The priority deadline for admission and the fee remission grant is April 11. Information and application materials are available on the BALSSI website, www.creeca.wisc.edu/balssi.

BALSSI is sponsored by a consortium of 10 U.S. universities and receives additional support from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, ACLS and the Lithuanian Foundation. BALSSI at UW-Madison is also grateful to Madison Vilnius Sister Cities for its generosity and assistance, said Jennifer Ryan Tishler, CREECA’s associate director.

For further information about BALSSI 2011, contact Nancy Heingartner, BALSSI program coordinator, at balssi@creeca.wisc.edu or +1 (608) 262-3379.