Since 2010, the Higher School of Economics, with support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, has been monitoring the enrollment quality at Russian universities. The results of the study are indicative of both students’ proficiency levels and the reputation of universities and subject areas. Admissions quality was evaluated based on the mean Unified State Exam (USE) score of applicants enrolled in tuition-free and fee-based positions in Bachelor’s programs – at ITMO, the indicator is 86.8. Moreover, since 2019, ITMO has remained the leader in admissions quality to tuition-free positions.

“These days, applicants make more informed choices and prioritize universities that collaborate with industry leaders – by inviting their experts to teach and develop educational programs, providing internship positions, and offering opportunities for students to practice on industry cases based on real-world data. This is especially significant in engineering specializations, including IT, where there’s a sharp shortage of specialists,” says ITMO Rector Vladimir Vasilyev

Among the leaders of the national ranking are the universities of Moscow and Moscow Oblast (mean USE score 80.9), as well as the universities located in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast (mean USE score 78.1). 

In 2024, ITMO welcomed 13.3% more Bachelor’s students than in 2022 – a total of 2,631. According to the university’s Admission Office, 1,452 tuition-free positions went to students with high USE scores, while 681 such positions were secured by winners of various school competitions.