Where most students want to study.
Every year, HSE experts survey the admission results at state-run universities only. 441 institutions were analyzed in 2016. Current statistics are as follows: 275,000 students were enrolled in state-funded programmes and 140,000 signed up for fee-based ones.
69% of international students are paying tuition fees, while 31% took state-funded spots. 52.3% of overseas students are enrolled in Bachelor programmes, 38% in Specialist and 9.7% in Master programmes.
Students enrolled in state-funded programmes of MGIMO University, MIPT, HSE, SPbSU, MSU, MEPhI, ITMO University, RANEPA and MSLU have the highest average Uniform State Exam scores. The highest average USE results among fee-paying students have been registered at MIPT, MGIMO, HSE and SPbSU. Interestingly, most universities did not increase their tuition fees in 2016. In fact, Russian education is already a good deal for international students because of the weaker ruble.
The divide between stronger and weaker institutions keeps growing: cut scores for the former are growing, while the latter’s requirements are getting lighter. It is particularly obvious in such areas as IT and information security, automation and control systems, material sciences, machine construction, mechanical engineering, instrument and optical engineering, architecture and construction, transportation, ecology, radio engineering, power, biology, geography, mathematics, physics and chemistry.
Arts and Social Sciences became more popular in 2016, and more applicants with high USE scores chose them. Experts note the increase in selectivity in Engineering courses – now they are as attractive as programmes in Economics or Medicine.
Medicine remains the most sought after discipline for international students, followed by Economics and Management, and Liberal Arts, respectively. Russian Language and Literature are also quite popular.
