Learning Uzbek in Uzbekistan: Courses, Prices, Visas
Where to study Uzbek in Tashkent: university course prices per hour, summer schools, private classes, and why a 3-month course outlasts a 30-day stay.
Seventy-two hours of Uzbek in a medium-sized group at a Tashkent state university costs $504, which works out at seven dollars an hour. That's the cheapest published in-person rate we could find for structured Uzbek tuition in the country, and it comes from the language's own flagship institution, the Alisher Navo'i Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature (TSUULL). The catch isn't the price. It's the calendar: the course runs three months, and most Western passports get 30 days visa-free.
This page compares the ways to study Uzbek (and Russian) in person inside Uzbekistan, using each provider's own published prices, and then deals with the visa question that every long course raises. It's written for people who want to stay weeks or months. If you're here for ten days, our list of survival phrases with pronunciation is the better use of your time.
The university option: TSUULL's Uzbek School
TSUULL runs its courses for foreigners under the name "Uzbek School". The university opened in 2016 and taught foreigners on a trial basis from then on; the Uzbek School was formally presented on 25 November 2022, when its organisers said more than 300 foreigners had already studied there, according to a report on the education portal fledu.uz. The state learning platform uzbekacademy.uz, whose content TSUULL prepared, describes the project as rolled out in phases since 2022.
The course page on courses.tsuull.uz lists three intensive tracks (last checked: October 2026):
- General Uzbek and Business Uzbek, in person: 3 months, 72 hours, three classes a week. Medium group $504, mini group $720, individual $864 per course.
- Online Uzbek: the same 3 months and 72 hours. Mini or medium group $432, individual $500.
- Textbooks: A1 and A2 at $40 each, B1 at $50.
Every price carries the same footnote: it "may vary due to the exchange rate change". Treat the dollar figures as a guide and confirm the amount, and the currency you'll actually pay in, before you commit. At roughly 11,800 som to the dollar, the medium-group fee is about 5.9 million som.
Seventy-two hours over twelve-odd weeks at three sessions a week means classes of about two hours each. Levels follow the European CEFR scale, and the school publishes syllabi for A1, A2 and B1 to match its textbooks.
The 120-hour figure, and why it doesn't match
That platform (which says it is "operating in test mode") describes the same Uzbek School differently: 120 study hours in total, lessons of 90 to 120 minutes, two or three sessions a week, groups of 5 to 10, and a duration of three to twelve months. It also says each level has a syllabus spanning 3, 5 or 12 months, with textbook instructions in English, French, Russian, Korean and Turkish.
We can't reconcile the two. The 72-hour figure sits next to the published prices; the 120-hour figure sits next to the longer course lengths and has no price attached. Our reading is that 72 hours is the standard three-month intensive and 120 hours describes a longer programme, but that's an inference, not something either page states. Ask which one you're buying.
Finding it and getting in touch
Both sites give the address as 103 Yusuf Khos Khojib Street; the academy platform places it in Tashkent's Yakkasaray district. The course page lists a mobile number (+998 90 788 63 53), the email interdep@navoiy-uni.uz and an Instagram account; the academy platform adds a landline, +998 71 281 42 44, and silkroad.uzbekschool@gmail.com. Neither page publishes term start dates, so write first rather than turning up. If you're choosing a base for a long stay, our Tashkent neighbourhood breakdown compares the central districts, Mirabad, Yunusabad and Chilanzar.
The private school: Methodica
Methodica is a private language school founded in 2016, also in the Yakkasaray district (28b Rakatboshi Street). By its own account it started by teaching volunteers from KOICA, the Korean aid agency, rebuilt itself after closing during COVID-19, and now works with embassies and international companies; it claims about 1,000 students a year. Those numbers are the school's, not independently checked.
What it offers, from its website: Uzbek as a foreign language, Russian as a foreign language, online classes (launched in 2020), corporate courses, speaking clubs and summer programmes with trips around the country. It says it is housed in a traditional Uzbek house and gives a 10% discount to InterNations members. It does not publish prices, so you'll need to email methodicauz@gmail.com or message +998 94 988 4222 for a quote.
Our take: if you want Russian as well as Uzbek, or a course arranged through your employer, Methodica is the more flexible-looking option. If you want a fixed price and a state university certificate, TSUULL is easier to plan around. We'd ask both for a trial lesson before paying for a term.
Short summer schools
These are culture programmes with language attached, not ways to become conversational.
TSUOS: seven days, 20 hours
Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies ran its "Uzbekistan Summer School 2026" from 3 to 9 August, according to the programme and price list PDF. The price was $595 per person for 7 days and 6 nights, covering 20 hours of courses (language, culture and society, Uzbekistan as a crossroads of civilisations, foreign policy, plus workshops), a 3-star hotel with breakfast, transport on the programme, guides on excursion days and a certificate. Flights, lunches and dinners were extra. Trips went to the Chimgan mountains and Charvak reservoir; a day in Samarkand cost extra. Paid applicants received a free invitation letter. The 2026 edition is over, so watch the university's site for a 2027 announcement.
WIUT Go East: no edition confirmed since 2024
Westminster International University in Tashkent advertised a two-week "Go East" summer school for 12 to 25 August 2024, with 25 Uzbek language sessions a week, lectures, and trips to Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Tuition was €500 and the social programme (10 nights of student housing, meals and the regional trips) €1,200. We couldn't find a 2025 or 2026 edition: the matching page addresses for those years return "not found" (checked October 2026). Treat it as a past programme unless WIUT's continuing-education centre announces a new one.
Programmes run from abroad
Arizona State University's Critical Languages Institute runs second-year Uzbek in Tashkent. The 2027 dates are 14 June to 6 August, and the fee is $7,700 for 160 hours of classes, 8 credits, eight weeks of campus housing, excursions, conversation partners, visa support and insurance. ASU warns that prices are subject to change. A student visa is extra; the page lists it at $175 single-entry or $275 multiple-entry. It follows on from first-year Uzbek, which ASU teaches online ($2,000), and it's the only option here that bundles university credits, housing and visa support into one fee.
It isn't for casual learners. Three hours of Uzbek a day, plus afternoon and weekend activities, for eight weeks is a serious commitment.
Prices side by side
Per-hour figures are our arithmetic from the published fees. The summer-school and ASU rows include accommodation and trips, so they aren't directly comparable with the tuition-only rows.
| Programme | Hours | Length | Price | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSUULL in person, medium group | 72 | 3 months | $504 | $7.00 |
| TSUULL in person, mini group | 72 | 3 months | $720 | $10.00 |
| TSUULL in person, individual | 72 | 3 months | $864 | $12.00 |
| TSUULL online, group | 72 | 3 months | $432 | $6.00 |
| TSUULL online, individual | 72 | 3 months | $500 | about $6.94 |
| TSUOS summer school 2026 (hotel included) | 20 | 7 days | $595 | about $29.75 |
| WIUT Go East 2024 (past) | not stated | 2 weeks | €500 + €1,200 | n/a |
| ASU second-year, Tashkent 2027 (housing included) | 160 | 8 weeks | $7,700 | about $48 |
| Methodica | varies | varies | on request | n/a |
(last checked: October 2026)
The visa problem with a three-month course
Here's the clash. UK, EU and US passport holders get 30 days visa-free, counted from the day you enter, and a visa-free stay can't be extended inside the country. A TSUULL intensive lasts about 90 days. Our guide to staying past day 30 covers the options in detail; for students they boil down to two.
Option one: border runs
Leave, re-enter, get a fresh 30 days. It's legal and there's no published limit, but re-entry is at the border officer's discretion, and a three-month course means at least two runs, each one a chance to be refused. Each re-entry also restarts the three-day clock for registering your address, which matters once you've moved from a hotel into a rented flat.
Option two: a student visa
Uzbekistan created a "Student visa" category by presidential decree PF-5611 of 5 January 2019. The decree's annex on lex.uz defines it as a one-year visa for foreign students admitted to educational institutions in Uzbekistan, issued on the petition of those institutions or of the ministries and organisations that run them. In plain terms: the school has to request it for you.
What the schools say is more modest. The uzbekacademy.uz page lists "visa assistance" among its selling points; TSUOS promised an invitation letter for its seven-day course, which fits inside a visa-free stay anyway. Neither page says that a three-month language course qualifies you for the one-year student visa. Before paying, ask the school in writing which visa its paperwork supports, how long it takes, and whether you apply at an embassy before travelling. If the answer is vague, plan around border runs instead.
Overstaying is the expensive mistake: under the Administrative Code even a short overstay starts at five base calculation amounts, 2,200,000 som (about $185) since September 2026. The rest of the entry rules by nationality are in our main visa guide.
Which route we'd choose
For a self-funded adult with time, we'd pick the TSUULL medium group: fixed price, a CEFR-levelled syllabus, a state-university certificate and the lowest published hourly rate. Sort the visa before you book flights, not after. Methodica makes more sense if you need Russian or a corporate arrangement, and you're comfortable asking for a quote. A summer school is a good taster but won't move you far past greetings. ASU is the choice for US-based students who want credits and a managed visa.
One last point. Uzbek has been moving from Cyrillic to Latin script since 1993, yet Cyrillic is still common in newspapers and on older shop signs, and Russian remains the second language of the cities. A course that ignores either will leave gaps once you step outside the classroom.