Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project is an international contest for prospective Master’s and PhD students from other countries that has been running since 2017. The competition is sponsored by the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Rossotrudnichestvo federal agency. The organizer of the event is the Association “Global Universities.” The contest is conducted online in Russian and English.
Open Doors is Russia’s first initiative aimed at drawing bright foreign applicants to Master's and PhD programs at top Russian universities.
The competition’s winners are granted the opportunity to study at Russian universities at the expense of the federal budget.
Who can join
The competition is designed for foreigners and stateless persons, including compatriots who live abroad. Applicants are required to provide consent to personal data processing, as well as have or be about to obtain a Bachelor’s (for the Master’s track) or Master’s/Specialist’s (for the PhD track) degree in the year of the competition.
The competition
The contest covers 14 subject areas, including Biology & Biotechnology; Computer & Data Science; Physical Sciences & Technology; Chemistry & Materials Science; Engineering & Technology; Applied Mathematics & Artificial Intelligence; Urbanism & Civil Engineering, and others.
Each category includes two tracks: Master’s and PhD. The Master’s track consists of two rounds and the PhD track – three. The first round is a portfolio contest, the second one is a problem-solving contest, and the third round is an interview with the supervisor selected by the student.
Credit: ITMO.NEWS
How to enroll in ITMO
ITMO University welcomes winners in the following categories: Computer & Data Science; Applied Mathematics & Artificial Intelligence; Chemistry & Materials Science; Biology & Biotechnology; Engineering & Technology; Physical Sciences & Technology; Economics & Econometrics; Earth & Environmental Sciences for Sustainability; and Biology & Biotechnology.
Key dates
Applications for the first round will close on December 10, 2023. Register here.
The portfolio contest and placement test are available upon registration and until December 10, 2023. Participants can complete the tasks of the second round from January 9 to January 18, 2024. The third round within the PhD track (interview with a prospective supervisor) will be held between February 21 and March 13, 2024.
Winners and runners-up of the Master’s track will be announced on February 2, 2024, and those of the PhD track – on March 15, 2024.
You can get the latest updates on the contest’s official website, as well as its Telegram channel and VK page. More information on the competition is available here (for the Master’s track) and here (for the PhD track).
