If you want to get higher education in Russia but do not know the language, apply to the Preparatory Department. Read the article for useful tips.
International applicants study Russian and field-specific subjects in order to be able to enrol in majors. Preparatory Department offer various fields such as engineering and technology, humanities, natural sciences etc. The choice of the field depends on the applicant’s future profession. Those who wish to focus on physical sciences have to take engineering and technology at the Preparatory Department. Aside from Russian, they will do physics, mathematics and informatics. Some universities offer a course in Russian as a foreign language without other disciplines.
As a rule, the length of study at the Preparatory Department is two semesters (nine months), but shorter or longer courses are available as well. Classes usually begin in the autumn; some programmes start in the winter or spring. Many universities applications are open all year round; if you have missed the beginning of the course, you will be admitted to the next one.
After completion of Preparatory Department studies, international students take examinations and get a state certificate with a transcript detailing the subjects, the number of class hours and grades. Prospective students then can apply for Russian-taught programmes.
© Higher School of Economics
Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Preparatory department for undergraduate, graduate and specialist students
Application dates: 1 May - 30 June
Period of study: October - July
Fields: humanities, engineering and technology, medicine, economics
Tuition fee: 130,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian and general subjects (depending on specialisation).
Additional information: Take optional TRKI exam (Level B1) to get an international Russian proficiency certificate. To enrol in majors, Preparatory Department graduates take an entrance examination in Russian.
Contacts: interadmission@kantiana.ru
More information on pre-university training for undergraduate and graduate studies
Far Eastern Federal University
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, specialist, graduate, PhD and medical residency students
Application deadline: three months before the course start date
Period of study: two semesters: September - August; three semesters: April - August of next year
Fields: humanities, economics, engineering and technology, medicine and biology
Tuition fee: Two semesters: 140,000 rubles; three semesters: 215,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, field-specific disciplines
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates take entrance exams on equal terms with foreign nationals who have not taken pre-university training.
Contacts: crlc@dvfu.ru
Course in Russian as a Foreign Language
Application deadline: three months before the expected course start date
Period of study: one to ten months (1 month = 80 class hours)
Tuition fee: upwards of 20,000 rubles (depending on length of study)
National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod
Preparatory Department for undergraduate and graduate students
Application deadline: two-semester study: 1 July: three-semester study: 15 December
Period of study: two semesters: September - June; three semesters: February - June of next year
Fields: engineering and technology, natural sciences, medicine and biology, humanities, economics
Tuition fee: two semesters: 115,000 rubles; three semesters - 155,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, field-specific subjects
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors have preferences.
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studis
National University of Science and Technology MISIS
Preparatory department for undergraduate/specialist, graduate and postgraduate students
Application dates: 20 June - 31 August
Period of study: September - August
Fields: natural sciences, engineering and technology, economics
Tuition fee: 150,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian and general subjects (depending on the field of study)
Additional information: Preparatory Department finals are not counted as MISIS entrance exams.
Contacts: welcome@misis.ru
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studies
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Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University
Foundation programme (intensive)
Application dates: 1 March - 1 October
Period of study: November - June
Fields: engineering, economics, humanities
Tuition fee: 175,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, mathematics, physics (engineering); Russian, mathematics, geography (economics), Russian, geography, history (humanities)
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors have to pass an interview or a test.
Contacts: interadmission@spbstu.ru
More information on the programme
Foundation programme (standard)
Application dates: 1 March - 1 October
Period of study: September-November - August
Fields: engineering, economics, humanities
Tuition fee: 195,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, mathematics, physics (engineering); Russian, mathematics, geography (economics), Russian, geography, history (humanities)
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors have to pass an interview or a test.
Contacts: interadmission@spbstu.ru
Pre-entry training. Russian as a Foreign Language
Application dates: 1 March - 1 October (depending on the programme)
Period of study: 1 September - 1 July
Fields: humanities
Tuition fee: 170,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors have to pass an interview or a test.
Contacts: interadmission@spbstu.ru
Ural Federal University
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Applications open all year round
Period of study: September - June
Fields: natural sciences, engineering and technology, medicine and biology, humanities, economics
Tuition fee: 140,000 rubles for one-year course
End-of-course exams: tests in general subjects, final exam in Russian as a foreign language
Additional information: full course is necessary for students with no knowledge of Russian. If a student makes Level B1, they can begin training in the second (spring) semester. Certified Preparatory Department graduates who apply for UrFU majors do not take the examination in Russian.
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studies
ITMO National Research University
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Applications opening date: 1 May
Period of study: 1 October - 30 June
Fields: engineering and technology, natural sciences, economics
Tuition fee: 177,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, mathematics, field-specific subject - physics/chemistry/ informatics/social science (for prospective undergraduate students), Russian (including knowledge of terminology) for masters and PhD studies
More information: Preparatory Department graduates take ITMO entrance examinations on equal terms with other prospective international students.
Contacts: evgurzheeva@corp.ifmo.ru; int.students@corp.ifmo.ru
Kazan Federal University
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Application deadline: 30 June
Period of study: 1 September - 30 June
Fields: natural sciences, engineering and technology, economics, medicine and biology
Tuition fee: 110,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, field-specific disciplines
Contacts: admission@kpfu.ru
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate и graduate studies
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Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Applications open all year round
Period of study: September - June
Fields: engineering and technology (Russian, mathematics, physics, informatics); natural sciences (Russian, mathematics, physics, chemistry/biology).
Tuition fee: 150,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian as a foreign language (B1 Level Certificate test), exams in all field-specific subjects
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates have to take entrance tests to enrol at the university.
Contacts: intoff@mipt.ru
More information on the programme
Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Korolev Preparatory
Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Applications opening date: 1 February
Period of study: 1 September - 30 July
Fields: engineering and technology, economics, medicine, humanities
Tuition fee: 130,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, mathematics, physics (engineering and technology); Russian, mathematics, social science (economics); Russian, biology, chemistry (medicine); Russian, history, social science (humanities)
Additional information: Preparatory Department’s self-funded graduates take entrance exams on equal terms with other prospective international students.
Contacts: admission@ssau.ru
More information on Preparatory Department
Siberian Federal University
Course in Russian as a Foreign Language
Application dates: 10 January - 1 August (for both yearlong courses and half-year course (autumn semester); 10 January - 1 December (for half-year course/spring semester)
Period of study: 1 September - 31 August (extended yearlong course); 1 September - 30 June (yearlong course); 1 September - 31 December (half-year course/autumn semester); 1 February - 30 June (half-year course/spring semester)
Fields: humanities, natural sciences, engineering and technology, economics
Tuition fee: extended one-year course: 140,000 rubles; one-year course: 100,000 rubles; half-year course: 50,000 rubles; each extra course in chosen field: 13,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: students take internal exams in Russian and field-specific subjects (if any)
Additional information: optional international TRKI-I/II exam to get a state Russian language proficiency certificate.
Contacts: preadmissionrfl@sfu-kras.ru
More information on Preparatory Department
Higher School of Economics
Preparatory Department
Application dates: all year round (Applications submitted after 15 August deferred for next year course)
Period of study: October - July
Fields: economics, engineering and technology
Tuition fee: 174,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian (TRKI-1), field-specific subjects
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates applying for undergraduate/graduate studies can expect a 25-percent discount.
Contacts: prepyear@hse.ru
More information on the programme
Intensive course in Russian as a Foreign Language
Application dates: all year round (after 1 November applications deferred for next year course)
Period of study: February - July
Tuition fee: 96,400
End-of-course exams: Russian (TRKI-1), examinations in field-specific subjects (if chosen by students)
Additional information: optional field-specific subjects
Contacts: prepyear@hse.ru
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Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI"
Preparatory Department for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students
Applications open all year round
Period of study: October - July
Fields: engineering and technology, economics, humanities
Tuition fee: 170,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: Russian, mathematics, physics, informatics (engineering); Russian, mathematics, informatics, social science (economics); Russian, Russian history, world culture history, social science (humanities)
Additional information: top Preparatory Department final exam results earn extra points for prospective undergraduate students; Preparatory Department final exam results can be counted as a portfolio element for masters and PhD programme applicants.
Contacts: 2343553@mail.ru
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studies
National Research Nuclear University MEPhI
Russian as a Foreign Language (foundation course for undergraduate, specialist, graduate and PhD students)
Applications open all year round
Period of study: nine months starting from the arrival of all students of the group, but not later than mid-November
Fields: engineering and technology, economics, humanities, biology (MEPhI Obninsk branch)
Tuition fee: contact university representatives for accurate information
End-of-course exams: mathematics, physics, Russian, informatics (engineering and technology); mathematics, Russian, history, social science (economics), Russian, history, social science, literature (humanities); mathematics, Russian, chemistry, biology (biology).
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors take entrance examinations on equal terms with other international students.
Contacts: ogchugunova@mephi.ru, ONPetukhova@mephi.ru, OVLikhacheva@mephi.ru
More information on the programme
University of Tyumen
Application dates: 1 March - 31 July (full course); till 15 December (intensive programme)
Period of study: 1 October - 31 June (full course); 1 February - 31 August (intensive programme)
Fields: engineering and technology, economics, humanities, natural sciences
Tuition fee: 98 800 rubles
End-of-course exams: mathematics, physics, informatics, social science (engineering and technology); mathematics, social science, history, informatics (economics); social science, history, literature, informatics (humanities); mathematics, physics, chemistry, informatics (natural sciences). All applicants take a Russian examination.
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors take entrance exams on equal terms with other prospective international students. Examinations are often held as online tests.
Contacts: n.n.dzida@utmn.ru, interoffice@utmn.ru
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studies
Tomsk State University
One-year foundation programme
Application deadline: 10 August
Period of study: 1 October - 30 June
Fields: humanities, engineering and technology, econimics, medicine and biology, natural sciences
Tuition fee: 156,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: literature, history, social science (humanities); mathematics, physics, informatics (engineering and technology), mathematics, history, social science (economics); physics, chemistry, biology (medicine and biology), mathematics, physics, chemistry (natural science). All Preparatory Department students take a Russian examination.
Additional information: Preparatory Department finals are counted as entrance examinations.
Contacts: dovuzatsu@mail.ru
More on foundation programmes for undergraduate and graduate studies
Half-year preparatory course in Russian and field-specific subjects (basic knowledge of Russian at level A2 is required)
Application deadline: 10 December
Period of study: 10 February - 30 June
Fields: humanities, engineering and technology, economics, medicine and biology, natural sciences
Tuition fee: 78,000 rubles
End-of-course exams: literature, history, social science (humanities), mathematics, physics, informatics (engineering and technology), mathematics, history, social science (economics); physics, chemistry, biology (medicine and biology), mathematics, physics, chemistry (natural sciences). All graduates take a Russian examination regardless of the field of study.
Additional information: Preparatory Department finals are counted as entrance examinations.
Contacts: dovuzatsu@mail.ru
More information on Preparatory Department
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South Ural State University
Foundation programmes for undergraduate, graduate and PhD students
Application deadline: 31 July
Period of study: September - June
Fields: economics, medicine and biology, humanities, natural sciences, engineering and technology
Tuition fee: 89,000 rubles ($2,080)
End-of-course exams: Russian, field-specific subjects
Additional information: Preparatory Department graduates who apply for majors have to show their pre-university training completion certificate and pass an interview. No other entrance tests are taken.
Contacts: applicant@susu.ru
