Russian universities have always been popular with prospective students from Kazakhstan. Here are some pointers on how to select a programme and prepare documents. This article also suggests university enrolment options.
Education in Russia for Kazakh Students
Choosing a study direction is the first step. Russian universities train specialists in nearly all most-in-demand professions, from medics and geologists to physicists and IT experts. Our website helps to quickly select a programme in preferred study direction, the town as the venue of training and the form of study.
Many universities have dedicated specialisation, such as technology, humanities or medicine. Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University trains top-class physicists, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI produces nuclear industry specialists and I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University trains doctors and pharmacologists.
There are multi-profile universities comprising several institutes or schools in different directions. Kazan (Volga region) Federal University trains medics, linguists, schoolteachers and technical specialists.
Prospective students can enrol in bachelor’s or specialist’s degree programmes at Russian universities immediately after finishing school. Higher education certificate holders can apply for master’s or postgraduate studies or clinical internship.
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Language of instruction is Russian but programmes in English are also available. Russian universities offer double degree programmes (earning two degrees with universities of different countries while taking one course). National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) has five DD programmes in collaboration with Kazakh universities and ten programmes with universities of France, Germany, Czech Republic and Britain.
University of Tyumen (UT) and Kazakhstan’s L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University are launching a joint master’s programme Human and Business Rights Defence. Siberian Federal University and the University of Siena jointly train master’s students specializing in financial markets. National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod (Lobachevsky University) students can get Pierre Mendes France University (University of Grenoble 2) diplomas in “Money and Finance", "International Economics” and "Industrial Economics."
Where to Study in Russia
Russian universities offer onsite, intra/extramural and extramural study formats. Only onsite medical specialty training is allowed in Russia, that is students have to attend lectures and seminars on university campus. Extramural forum does not require daily presence at the university: students only visit it for overview lectures and term examinations twice a year.
Do not forget the specifics of the town where your university is located. Studying in Russia is possible almost in any region, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. As a rule, Moscow and Petersburg tuition fees are higher than elsewhere in the country.
Living expenses in Russian towns are lower compared with European megalopolises. A student’s monthly spending in Russia amounts to about 20,000 roubles or 330 euros which includes transport, phone, food, rent and entertainment costs, whereas in Finland it reaches a minimum of 700 to 900 euros (42,000 to 52,000 roubles). In Germany, it makes up 680 to 800 euros (40 to 48,000 roubles). See Russian prices details here.
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University Enrolment Options
Prospective Kazakh students can study at budget-funded places at Russian universities. They have several options: First, they can apply to Russian universities on equal terms with Russian citizens by taking the Unified State Exam or university tailor-made admission tests.
Second, prospective Kazakh students can take part in Russian school or university academic competitions. For example, International Olympiad Competitions for University Students and Graduates by HSE University is intended for young people from former Soviet republics seeking to enrol in HSE master’s studies. Kazakhstan is one of the Olympiad Competitions venues.
Winners and awardees enjoy such incentives as extra points or admission without entrance examinations. See academic competitions details and terms here.
The third option is to take part in the state scholarship competition (Russian government quotas). Academic and quota competitions run from November through March, so students are encouraged to learn about requirements in advance. Competitive selection of quota applicants is handled by the Kazakh Office of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo). Send your inquiries to 39 Kenesary Street, Astana.
Training contract is yet another enrolment option. Tuition fees in Russia are lower than in European countries, while the quality of education is on par with world leading universities’. This is not to say that money guarantees admission without entrance exams: prospective students will have to pass through a strict selection procedure.
Minimum and maximum annual prices of onsite bachelor’s programme in Russia are 67,000 roubles ($1,200) and 380,000 roubles (some $6,600) respectively. Master’s degree programme prices start from 80,000 roubles (about $1,400 dollars).
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Documents Required for University Admission
After selecting the university programme, prospective students submit an application and prepare a package of documents required for admission. Initially an application to several universities can be sent from an account created on our website. University representatives will reply to your letter within ten days and provide information on document requirements and entrance tests. All services for applicants on our website are provided for free.
Kazakh citizens planning to go to a Russian university can enter Russia with their passport; no entry visa is required. Prospective students from Kazakhstan seeking admission to National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University are required to submit their ID, proof of citizenship, secondary education certificate, health certificate, photos and consent to the enrolment. Document requirements may differ, so contact the selected university for details.
Legalisation of Kazakh education certificates is not required as the two countries are signatories to the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters of 22 January 1993.
After all documents have been submitted to the university’s Admission Board, prospects students (except academic competition participants and those eligible for quotas) take entrance tests.
Kazakh citizens can enrol with a good score in university tailor-made entrance tests/Unified State Exam (EGE). The list of entrance tests is available on the website of selected university. A prospective Kazakh student can take the EGE at their country’s schools or education centres accredited by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. The information on examination is available on EGE website.
Welcome to Russia
The prospective students who passed the examinations have to wait for confirmation and notification on their admission. At present, students from more than 160 countries study at Russian universities. Kazakh students in Russia number 46,000 making up the largest foreign community at Russian universities. You can join them!
