Contents:
- Key dates
- Application procedure
- Choosing your program
- Admission lists
- Entrance exams
- Personal achievements
- Tuition-free positions without entrance exams
- Tuition-based positions
- Admission campaign updates
ITMO offers 27 Bachelor’s programs that correspond to the priority fields of Russian scientific and technological development: AI, photonics, robotics, biotechnologies, and others.
The key advantage of studying at ITMO is the industrial integration of educational programs, as they are implemented in collaboration with major domestic tech companies: Yandex, Sberbank, VK, Gazprom Neft, and others. Starting from their first year, students can intern at partner companies or receive their additional stipends, while successful candidates receive job offers long before they graduate.
Key dates
This year, the dates of the admissions campaign remain the same.
There are three key deadlines to keep in mind:
- Between June 20 and July 25: the application submission period;
- 12 pm (GMT+3) August 1 – the key date for all applying without entrance exams or within special quotas. This is the deadline for enrollment confirmation;
- 12 pm (GMT+3) August 5 – this is the final enrollment confirmation date for those applying within the general competition (with their Unified State Exam scores) for tuition-free positions.
For applicants taking ITMO’s internal entrance exams, the application deadline is earlier, July 15. Applicants to tuition-based positions need to submit their applications between June 20 and August 18.
Photo by ITMO University
Application procedure
In 2026, there will be only three ways to submit your application documents:
- Via Gosuslugi (the only digital way);
- In person at the Admission Office;
- Via a registered letter by mail.
The list of application documents remains the same: an application form; a scanned copy of your passport (with a notarized translation into Russian); a scanned copy of your education documents; any documents confirming your personal achievements; your photo (for official documents, in the digital format). You can find the list of the necessary medical documents here. The original copy of your education documents will not be required. Instead, you will need to submit your enrollment confirmation via Gosuslugi or in person. You can only confirm your enrollment at one university and within one specialization.
You can change your choice until the end of the application period but only once every two hours.
Important: more information about enrollment confirmation and application procedure for international citizens will be available later on ITMO International. For any questions, reach out to the International Admissions Office at international@itmo.ru.
Choosing your program
In 2026, the rule introduced last year remains in place: applicants can submit applications to 5 specializations within one or five different universities.
The prioritization of specializations introduced in 2023 saw no changes this year. When filling out their applications, next to each chosen specialization, applicants need to indicate their priority: 1 – the top priority specialization, 5 – the lowest priority specialization.
Importantly, priorities work within a university – so you have to choose them anew in each one. If you pass the selection for all five specializations, you will be enrolled in the one that has the highest priority on your list.
You can change the order of your priorities until the end of the application period via Gosuslugi or in person at the Admission Office.
Photo by ITMO University
Admission lists
Just like last year, instead of indicating each applicant’s SNILS number on the admissions list, a unified system will issue a unique number for each applicant. This number will be available on Gosuslugi (for Russian citizens). Ranked admissions lists will be published and constantly updated on ITMO’s admissions website during the admissions campaign.
By keeping an eye on the lists, you can evaluate your chances and make sure that you get into the desired program. In order to help applicants, ITMO University annually publishes the “recommended to admission” lists. This year, they will become available on July 15 so that applicants have the time until the end of the application period to change their priorities if needed.
Applicants who find themselves on the lists of recommended to admission and have submitted their enrollment confirmations are guaranteed a tuition-free position. However, if you don’t find yourself on the list, don’t despair: change your strategy and consider similar programs where you will have more chances to be admitted.
Entrance exams
Unified State Exams. This year, applicants can apply with their Unified State Exam (USE) results from 2022-2026. Russian language remains a mandatory exam for all specializations. The second mandatory exam for the majority of specializations at ITMO is math. Applicants can choose their third and further exams; ITMO accepts results in computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, and geography.
However, USE is not the only way to apply to a Bachelor’s program at ITMO. Alternatives are available to:
- Russian citizens who completed secondary vocational education;
- people with disabilities;
- foreign citizens;
- citizens of the Republic of Belarus or Russian Federation with Centralized Testing scores;
- those applying within a quota.
Internal entrance exams. Graduates of secondary vocational education institutions can take the university’s internal entrance exams. However, this year they can only apply to the same specialization that they got their secondary vocational education in. Along with admission regulations, ITMO University will publish a list of vocational education specializations and how they correspond to the university’s programs and entrance exams.
Important: when applying to Russian universities, applicants can submit the results of exams taken in Belarus (Centralized Testing and Centralized Exam). The list of the necessary exams and entrance scores can be found on the university’s admissions website (page in Russian).
Additional entrance exam. This year, ITMO will introduce a new type of entrance exam for the Design specialization – painting and composition. Apart from this internal exam, applicants to this specialization will have to provide their USE scores in Russian language, literature, or history.
Photo by ITMO University
Personal achievements
Apart from USE scores, applicants receive additional points for their personal achievements – up to 10 points in total. Sometimes, these points can be decisive, so we recommend taking them into consideration and earning them in advance. You can learn which achievements are considered and how many points each will bring on the university’s admissions website (page in Russian).
Tuition-free positions without entrance exams
This option is available to:
- winners and runners-up of national (Russian) or international school student competitions (diploma dated up to 4 years back; no USE confirmation required);
- winners and runners-up of an approved selection of Russian school student competitions (at least 75 points in the corresponding USE required to confirm the diploma).
The competition’s subject area has to align with the applicant’s chosen subject field. You can see how they correspond to one another on the admissions website (in Russian). Applicants can use this opportunity for one program at one university.
Tuition-based positions
For applicants to tuition-based positions, the main difference is a later date for signing the education contract and admission. The competition procedure remains the same: applicants are ranked in the general list based on their scores. Importantly, ITMO has a threshold of 60 points for each submitted USE. Once admissions to tuition-free positions are over, contracts will be signed with those who passed the competition for tuition-based positions.
All fee-based applicants will be enrolled with a single order on August 20.
Admission campaign updates
Up-to-date information on educational programs, open days, and important dates is published on ITMO’s admissions website, as well as on VK and Telegram. You can also follow the university’s official English communities on VK and Telegram to get the updates for international applicants. Additionally, you can reach the ITMO Admission Office directly by phone: + 7 (812) 480-0-480 or in person: St. Petersburg, Kronverksky Pr. 49; Mon-Fri 10 am - 6 pm. Find more contact details for international applicants here.
