Higher education instituitions in Russia

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUITIONS IN RUSSIA

Nowadays there are three basic types of higher education institutions in Russia. These are Universities, Academies and Institutes.

Universities: responsible for education and research in a variety of disciplines; There are " classical" and " technical" universities with special attention paid to social sciences and humanities or fundamental and applied (engineering) sciences. As for pedagogical universities they are responsible for all spectra of disciplines taught at schools.

Academies: responsible for education and research. They differ from universities only in that they restrict themselves to a single discipline;

Institutes: multi-discipline oriented. They can be independent structural units, or part of university and usually specialize in one field.

There are a lot of Private Institutions. They offer degrees in the fields such as business, culture, sociology and religion.

Famous Higher Education Institutions of Russia

1. Lomonosov Moscow State University was established by the decree of Russian Empress Elizabeth on January 25, 1755. January 25 is still celebrated as Student`s Day in Russia. In 1940 it was named after Academician Mikhail Lomonosov (1711 - 1765), an outstanding Russian scientist, who greatly contributed to the establishment of the university in Moscow. It is one of the oldest and largest Russian institutions of higher education. It also claims to have the tallest educational building in the world.

2. Saint Petersburg State University is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Among the renowned scholars of the second half of the 19th century affiliated with the university were such scientists as chemists Dmitri Mendeleev and physiologist Ivan Sechenov. It is disputed by the university administration whether Saint Petersburg State University or Moscow State University is the oldest higher education institution in Russia.

3. Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) was founded on 14 October 1944. It is the diplomatic school of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. It is the oldest and the most famous (renowned) school in Russia for preparing specialists in international relations and diplomacy. Nowadays many of its current students are from families of political, economic and intellectual elites in Russia. It is also known for having one of the best teaching team in Europe, many of whom were ambassadors or ministers.  

4. Moscow State Linguistic University previously known as Maurice Thorez Moscow State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages was established in 1804. It is the largest and the oldest university in Russia that specializes in linguistics and foreign languages. Education is available on 35 languages.

5. The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia was founded in 1960. It is an educational and research institution consistently ranked by the Ministry of Education of Russia as the country's third-best university after Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University.

6. Moscow State Technical University n. a. N. E. Bauman (MSTU) was established in 1830 as Imperial Vocational School (Ремесленное училище, ) by a decree of Emperor Nicolas I. Bauman MSTU is one of the oldest and largest Russian technical universities offering B. S., M. S. and Ph. D. degrees in various engineering fields and applied sciences (прикладная наука)

7. The Russian University of Transport is one of the oldest and largest higher education institutions in Moscow and the leading largest higher education institution in the field of railway transport in Russia. It was founded at 1896 on the command of the His Imperial Majesty Nicolas II.

8. Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation is considered as the third best university in Russia and one of the oldest Russian universities preparing economists, financiers, bankers and financial lawyers. The history of the Finance Academy started on December 1918. In 2009 the Finance Academy celebrated 90 years of its history.

9. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy (MMA) is the oldest and the largest national medical higher educational institution in the Russian Federation. It was founded in 1758 as the faculty of medicine of Imperial Moscow University. From 1955 the Institute bears the name of Ivan M. Sechenov, the outstanding Russian scientist and physiologist. Moscow Medical Academy develops extensive scientific cooperation with medical research and training centres abroad. The I. M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy is rating among the best medical schools of the world. In 2008 the academy celebrated its anniversary – 250 years.

10. Moscow State Law Academy (MSLA) is the recognized leader in the Russian Federation in teaching and research in every branch of law. The Academy’s history goes back to December 1931. The Academy aims at preparing highly qualified lawyers to work in all walks of life: courts, prosecutors’ offices, law enforcement and correctional institutions, state and administrative bodies, advocacy, public notary offices as well as in consultancy and advisory services.