Open Doors Scholarship 2024/2025

The Open Doors Scholarship is a Russian Government initiative created to assist students from around the globe and enable them to gain access to top-quality higher education in Russia.

This fully funded program targets talented international students seeking to enroll in undergraduate, Master’s, and postgraduate programs at Russian Universities for free. The scholarship covers successful candidates’ tuition fees and educational expenses and offers a stipend throughout the Bachelor’s, Master’s, PhD, and Post-Doctoral programs.

Winners of the 2025 Open Doors International Olympiad are granted free early admission at any higher institution in Russia, without entrance examinations and with tuition fees covered by the Russian Federation.

There are three different rounds for participants. The first is a portfolio competition, while the second is a problem-solving challenge. The third round of the Olympiad involves selecting a prospective research supervisor for the chosen doctoral program (analogous to a Ph.D.) and interviewing the candidate.

Tuition Fees in Russia

International students who gain admission into Russian universities typically pay tuition fees of about 1,450 euros to 10,600 euros per year for Bachelor’s degrees. Only a few academic programs cost more than 10,000 EUR. The Master’s degree students pay between 1,770 and 5,540 euros per year.

However, the tuition fee for Specialist degrees (degrees awarded after at least 5 years of study, e.g., Medical degrees) ranges from 1,475 to 7,600 euros/year. Living costs are also very low. With a budget of 300 – 600 euros, an international student can cover their monthly expenses.

Eligibility Criteria

Here are the various requirements you must meet to be eligible for the 2025 Open Doors Scholarship:

• The competition is open to foreign nationals and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad.
• Applicants with a Bachelor’s degree or completing a Bachelor’s degree program in the year of the Olympiad final for the Master’s track
• Applicants having a Master’s or Specialist’s degree for the doctoral track (analogous to PhD) in the year of the Olympiad final.
• All participants are expected to agree to the processing of personal data.
• You must be proficient in English and Russian, as these are the official languages of the Olympiad.
• The Olympiad is organized into Subjects, combining several fields of Master’s studies (for the Doctoral track—several fields of doctoral studies). A Subject is a set of degree programs with the same fundamental theoretical basis.
• The winners of the Olympiad, having a Bachelor’s degree, are eligible to be admitted to Master’s degree programs run by Russian universities in the fields of study corresponding to the profile of the Olympiad within the quota established by the Government of the Russian Federation for foreign citizens and stateless persons (hereinafter – quota)
• The list of Subjects is published on the websites of higher education institutions – organizers of the Olympiad.
• Selected candidates for the doctoral track will be able to choose a future research supervisor and pass an interview with them during the Olympiad. Research project leaders will interview postdoctoral track winners.

Scholarship Benefits

Open Doors will award full scholarships to Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD Students. Winners of the scheme will be able to enroll in a program using a single-window system, choosing any Russian university. If the postdoctoral track is selected, you will be employed as a researcher in one of the suggested research projects.

Application Procedure

• Visit the application webpage and register in the Olympiad registration system from September 5 to November 20 (Undergraduates and Postgraduates) and December 10, 2024 (Postdocs).
• During the registration, you will provide your data and log in with your email address and password.
• Once that is done, you are automatically subscribed to all notifications of the Olympiad schedules and procedures.
• You will have access to information about the portfolio’s structure and evaluation criteria, as well as the demo versions of the second stage’s tasks.
• After successful registration, participants gain access to their accounts.
• A participant may register and participate in the Olympiad only once (possessing a single account) during the year when the Olympiad is conducted. Any breach of this rule results in the participant’s disqualification.

Deadline/Expiration: December 10, 2024