Studying in Moscow

Moscow provides a wide range of possibilities for studying. You can study yourself or find a place for your children to study. You can choose an institute, university, college or professional training course. Moscow is home to various educational institutions of different types and difficulty levels.

Education in Moscow begins with pre-school. The programs for kindergartens and other pre-schools, whether state or private, are becoming more diverse. A constant rotation between intellectual and physical activities has become a norm for pre-school education programs. The next stage for children is school. The capital of Russia has both general education schools (there are more than 2,000 of them) and specialized schools (music, math, arts, religious, sports, school with an ethnic element, and some others). Specialized schools can provide additional education to children along with general courses. They can also work in the evenings and on the weekends, specifically providing training courses.

The last two years of school can be substituted with professional education at vocational technical schools (PTUs) and specialized educational institutions, even though they are often called ‘colleges’ and ‘technicums.’ They provide students with basic working skills qualification.

An extensive variety of school subjects and the fundamentality of education allow students to be accepted to top universities in Moscow, which are famous abroad and also provide foreigners with an opportunity to study. University graduates can continue their education in Moscow and get a doctorate or postgraduate degree.

In terms of the form of incorporation, all educational institutions in Moscow are state, municipal or non-governmental. Non-governmental educational institutions include private schools, as well as schools organized by NGOs and religious organizations. These institutions develop their own educational program. The only compulsory standard for all educational institutions is the State Educational Standard. In order to provide educational services, an institution is required to have a license for providing such services. The institution is granted the right to issue a state certificate on the completion of education only after the state attestation procedure and receipt of state accreditation.

The type of educational institution depends on the type of its programmes. Over the last 15 years, Moscow has seen the appearance of such institutions as gymnasiums and lyceums that were abolished after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Moscow’s higher education institutions are traditionally represented by universities, conservatories, academies and institutes.

The Russian capital is home to the oldest university, the Moscow State University, considered one of the hubs of national and global science, as well as other leading higher education institutions of Russia. There are a total of 700 higher education institutions in Moscow. The capital also boasts over 100 lyceums, numerous vocational technical schools, 60 technicums and politechnicums, over 300 colleges, not to mention foreign language courses and other specialized training courses, institutions and organizations.

2010 has been designated the Year of Teachers in Russia.

Come and study in Moscow!

Useful links

The Moscow City Education Department  (in Russian)