In the Russian Federation, there is a wide range of universities and study programmes. In Russia, international applicants can choose from about one thousand universities in 85 regions of the country, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. About 200,000 people from 168 countries study at Russian universities.
Russian universities offer different kinds of preparatory programmes for enrolment on Bachelor’s, Master’s and Specialist Degree courses, short courses, Russian as a foreign language courses, professional development training, etc.
Admission to the higher educational institutions is competitive. The selection is relied on the preliminary examinations, the documents on secondary school finishing, interview and achievements of a school-leaver in various subject competitions. Another possibility is taking part in university academic competitions: the winners and laureates of these competitions are given preferential terms when enrolling at leading Russian universities (on a quota basis and for state-funded places).
Russia is one of the few countries which offer foreign citizens an opportunity to receive free tuition. Every year, the Russian government awards several thousand scholarships (quotas) to international students. For example, 15,000 quotas were allocated in 2015. In 2016, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation allocated 50 full-paid scholarships, 20 of them – for nuclear science.
Since the 1970s, over five thousand students from Bangladesh have graduated from Russian institutions of higher education. Now they work almost in all spheres, including governmental bodies and private business.