Opportunity Description
The Association of Global Universities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation offers the Open Doors Russian Scholarship for International Students for 2023. Master’s and Doctoral international applicants, including stateless persons, and compatriots living abroad can apply for this scholarship (Olympiad). Applicants should provide a Bachelor’s degree or they should be completing a Bachelor’s degree in the year of the Olympiad final for the Master’s track. Also, PhD applicants should have a Master’s or Specialist’s degree to apply for the doctoral track in the year of the Olympiad final.
Primary Objectives of the Olympiad:
The competition primary aim is toward aspiring master’s and doctoral candidates and allows winners and runners-up to study at any Russian university (including top-tier Russian ones) with tuition fees covered by the state, which translates to a 100% tuition discount plus a government scholarship at one of the top-tier Russian universities.
Olympiad Tracks and Stages:
Generally, the Olympiad has two tracks, including one for Master’s and the next one for Doctoral/PhD prospective students. Also, the Olympiad consists of two stages in the Master’s track and three stages in the Doctoral track, which is a key to a PhD program. The details for each stages are as follows:
- The first stage consist a portfolio competition,
- The second stage is the problem-solving challenge.
- The third stage of the Olympiad includes selecting a potential research supervisor for the preferred doctoral program and attending an interview with the chosen supervisor or the doctoral track manager.
Participation details in the stages of both tracks:
As mentioned above, there are two rounds that are conducted online for both the master’s and doctoral tracks and one additional stage for doctoral students.
- It’s a portfolio competition in the first round which will take place online from September 15 to December 10, 2023. In the first stage, entrants must pass an entry test, whihc is marked
automatically. An entrant has only three attempts to complete the test tasks. The best result is to assese the participant’s performance in the entry test. - After the portfolios have been evaluated in the first stage, those who have been chosen successfully will get invitation to participate in the Olympiad itself, which consists of a proctored online tests from January 9 to January 18, 2024.
- The doctoral track has a third round in addition to two stages mentioned above. This third stage for doctoral candidates consists of online interviews from February 26 to March 13, 2024. The interviews will be with up to three prospective research advisors of the participant’s choosing. The participant selects one research advisor from among those who gave them a pass if any of the interviews go well.
Winners of Master’s and Doctoral Tracks:
Within the quota from the Government of Russia Federation, winners of the Olympiad can choose a Master’s degree program in English or Russian and is open to foreign nationalities. The winners of the Master’s track can benefit from the quota within two years.
Within the quota, the Doctoral track winners with a Master’s or Specialist’s degree can enroll in one of the doctoral degree programs offered by universities-organizers. The study programs should be in the fields of study corresponding to the Subject of the Olympiad.
The Doctoral track winners can also use the right to the quota within two years – in the year of the Olympiad and the next year. Receiving the quota is subject to interviews with potential research supervisors for the next year, and agreement between supervisor and student, who has confirmed to provide the scientific supervision for the student.
