Each year, we hold webinars to help international students prepare for their arrival. The webinar for first-year students was held on July 30, 2025.
STEP 2. CHECKLIST
Make sure to follow our checklist in order to have everything prepared before your arrival.
STEP 3. BUDDY PROGRAMME
If you need assistance from a buddy volunteer, request one here. Read about what a buddy can do to help you here.
STEP 4. ORIENTATION SESSION
Check out the materials about orientation session-2025 for international freshmen held in August.
STEP 5. CHECK OUR WEBSITE
Explore the information on istudents.hse.ru website, where we have collected all the important things about studying and living in Moscow as a foreign student . If you have any questions, feel free to email us istudents.support@hse.ru.
STEP 6. OBTAINING AN ELECTRONIC PASS
Read the instructions for obtaining an HSE electronic pass.
STEP 7. MANDATORY PROCEDURES FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS
All international students are required to undergo medical examination, fingerprinting and photographing within 90 days of entering Russia. Be sure to study the general procedure on the website ivisa.hse.ru, and also read the information about free medical examination at this link.
Have any questions?
CONTACT INTERNATIONAL ADMISSIONS FOR ENROLMENT INFO
Practicing and teaching yoga, chilling in Moscow parks, writing academic papers, travelling around Russia, and volunteering—these are only a few of the things HSE international students have tried over their summer break. Now, as they are getting back to studies, the students reflect on their summer experiences in academic work, professional development, travel, and leisure.
The International Summer School at HSE University–St Petersburg included the intensive course 'New Economic Drivers for Company.' International students explored the realm of applied finance through case studies of Russian companies.
On September 1, campuses across Russia ring in the new academic year with the traditional ‘first bell’—flowers for teachers and welcomes for first‑years—while international students at HSE University share how studies begin in their home countries, from Ghana’s Akwaba week to China’s student club fair, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s blue-and-white uniforms, and India’s Teachers’ Day.
On August 26–27, orientation sessions for international students took place at the HSE Cultural Centre. In 2025, a total of 1,260 applicants from abroad were recommended for admission: 644 to bachelor’s programmes and 616 to master’s programmes. Specially for them, the event included tours of the Pokrovka campus and Moscow landmarks.
This year, Chinese, Thai, Korean, and other languages were spoken in the classrooms of HSE University–St Petersburg. Forty students from sixteen countries came to St Petersburg to study political science, the Russian language, history, and economics. The international summer programmes united academic knowledge and vivid cultural exchange.
In July 2025, HSE University hosted a group of young scholars from Tsinghua University. During their visit, they attended a lecture on the latest developments in artificial intelligence at the Faculty of Computer Science and held workshops for HSE students as part of Chinese Culture Day.
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