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About HSE St. Petersburg

About HSE St. Petersburg

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Non scholae, sed vitae discimus.
Not for the school but for life we study.

Every day, HSE contributes to St Petersburg resembling a truly modern university city. HSE University – St Petersburg is one of the leading universities when measured by the quality of the students it enrols, the quality of research, and, I think, is the undisputed leader in the field of social sciences and humanities in Russia’s northwest

Yaroslav Kuzminov
Rector of HSE

The Higher School of Economics is an internationally ranked research university that carries out its mission through research-led academic, project, expert and socio-cultural activities based on international academic standards. We perceive ourselves as a part of the global academic community and believe that international partnership and engagement in global university cooperation are the key elements of our progress. As a Russian university, we work for the welfare of Russia and its citizens.

HSE stands among the Top 100 world's best universities in a number of subject fields.

 

Virtual tour of HSE University — Saint Petersburg 

Established in 1998. In 2018, the campus celebrated its 20th anniversary.

HSE University — St Petersburg is a globally-oriented university and Russia's market leader in teaching and research in the fields of economics, social science and humanities. The campus ranks #3 in Russia and #3 in St. Petersburg among Social Sciences and Economics universities on the freshmen quality (Russian Unified State Examination Ranking 2019). 79% of our students have IELTS score above 6.

HSE University in St Petersburg stands among Top 10% Economic institutions worldwide and in the Top 3 Economic institutions in Russia according to RePEc.

Our key features are: 

  • Combining theory with high-level social, management and humanities methods.
  • Interdisciplinary approach to education and research with a strong focus on applied aspects of social and economic policy and project activities and emphasis on countrys' regional specific.
  • Throughout internationalization.
  • Talent development.
  • HSE University – St Petersburg is a space for those interested in understanding the world in its diversity. Both the content and the atmosphere here obey the prime rule: everything, that happens here, happens for the benefit of our students.

HSE University – St Petersburg Today

6418 Students on bachelor's
and master's programmes
39 educational
programmes
12,6% lecturers
holding PhD
100+ international
partner-
universities

HSE University – St Petersburg is home to more than 6,200 students, including almost 11% international students from 50+ countries, and around 100 research fellows, many of them holding Master and PhD degrees from the top universities from around the world. Our faculty members publish in top Russian and international academic journals and have diverse experience in consulting for Russian and international market-leading companies as well as for Russian state agencies. The list of our international partners includes top-ranked universities around the world. 

The university has 15 research centres and laboratories, including 4 international flagship research centres led by world-renowned researchers, as well as 8 standalone research groups where faculty and students jointly carry out research projects.

Facts and Figures:

  • 6,200+ Undergraduate and Graduate (Master) Students
  • 12% of International Students
  • 9:1 Student-to-Faculty Ratio
  • 39 Full-time Degree Programmes
  • 14 Bachelor's degree programmes, 3 in English
  • 25 Master's degree programmes, 9 in English
  • 150+ Courses Taught in English

 

HSE University – St Petersburg Rankings among Russian universities: 

#3 in St Petersburg for freshmen quality (the Russian Unified State Examination Ranking, 2019)  

#7 in Russia for freshmen quality (the Russian Unified State Examination Ranking, 2019)

#3 in Russia among Social Sciences and Economics universities 

#2 in Russia in Asian and African Studies

#4 in Russia in Language and Literature Studies

#2 in Russia in Management

#5 in Russia in Sociology 

#5 in Russia in Public Administration

#3 in Russia in History 

#4 in Russia in Political Science

#2 in Russia in Design

Education: More Than Economics

Our educational model is based on four features:

  • Major-Minor system
  • Minors reflecting the core competencies of the campus
  • MOOCs embedded into the curriculum 
  • Tutoring system

Internationalization of our degree  programmes:

  • 12 English-taught programmes aimed to meet the demands of international applicants without any proficiency in the Russian language
  • Embedding English-taught courses in Russian-language programmes
  • International expertise review and international accreditation
  • Featuring mandatory semester abroad

Practical orientation

  • Portfolio of continuing professional education, including professional certificates
  • Creation of Joint Departments

Area studies:

  • Internships/practical training/study abroad with the acquisition of area studies competencies
  • Area studies minor
  • Research and teaching activity prioritizing area studies competencies

HSE Schools

This modern structure of our campus reflects the sense of most recent reforms in Russian Higher Education which endeavour to create knowledge clusters that embrace and combine education, research, professional training and beyond in a wide subject field.  

HSE University – St Petersburg is comprised of 5 schools:

Undergraduate Programmes

Most recent developments

Since 2017, we have been offering three Bachelor’s degree programmes fully taught in English: Bachelor in International Business and Management, Bachelor in Political Science and World Politics, and Bachelor in Sociology and Social Informatics. 

We have also developed the new programme 'Design' (together with HSE Art and Design School). The first intake took place in 2018.

Since 2020, we have been accepting applications for the new Bachelor's programme 'Data Analytics in Finance'. 

HSE University – St Petersburg offers 13 undergraduate programmes:

HSE University – St Petersburg is among the top Russian universities in terms of average score of 1st-year entrants - 92.0 (out of 100).

Key features of undergraduate studies at HSE University – St Petersburg:

  • individual research work starting from the first year of studies, supervised by an experienced tutor
  • opportunity to perform research in laboratories and centres or standalone research groups
  • mandatory English proficiency test for international certificate 
  • participation in international academic conferences together with world's leading scholars
  • wide opportunities for international exchange 
  • option of being contracted and paid as an educational assistant
  • access to one of the largest university libraries in Russia
  • opportunity to receive multiple scholarships, both merit-based and social activity-based

Graduate Programmes

Most recent developments

In 2018, we developed two more graduate programmes: 'Information Systems and Human-Computer Interaction', and 'Management and Analytics for Business'.

Since October 2018, we have been accepting application for the new Master's programmes 'Enterprise Software Development' and 'Software Development and Data Analysis'.

Autumn 2020, Master's programme 'Russian Literature in Cross-cultural and Intermedial Perspective' launched a double degree track with the Free University of Berlin.

By now we offer seven graduate programmes fully taught in English: ‘Global and Regional History', 'Finance', 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia', ‘Comparative Russian and Eurasian Politics’,  'Business and Politics in Modern Asia', 'Management and Analytics for Business', ‘Master of International Business’.

We offer 22 graduate programmes:

 

Graduate studies at HSE University – St Petersburg are about:

  • Opportunity to change previous area of study and master new focus
  • Participation in international internships and student exchanges
  • Opportunity to become paid educational assistant or teacher
  • Participation in research and design work in laboratories and research centres at HSE St. Petersburg

Postgraduate Programmes

6 fields
7 PhD
schools
9 educational
programmes
 

 

  • History and Archeology
  • Economics
  • Sociology and Social Work 
  • Political Science and Area Studies
  • Law

Postgraduate studies at HSE University – St Petersburg key features:

  • Immersion in a highly organized academic environment at the university
  • Working in international laboratories under the direction of leading Russian and foreign researchers
  • Free access to relevant electronic resources at the HSE library, including a database of Russian and foreign periodicals and electronic books, a database of foreign dissertations, ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus indices, and publications and statistical resources of the World Bank, OECD and the IMF
  • International internships
  • Participation in Russian and international research projects, and activities

The best-prepared postgraduate students are selected for the Full-time Advanced Postgraduate Programme at HSE.

Programme features:

  • Monthly scholarship of 30,000 RUB and further opportunities to compete for special additional scholarships
  • Full-time work and participation in the activities of research centres and laboratories at the university
  • Supervision by leading international researchers
  • Mandatory internship at one of HSE’s foreign partner universities

International Focus

  • IELTS preparation course embedded into curricula 
  • Wide range of international academic and corporate partnerships
  • International faculty and great international students body
  • 4 international summer schools
  • Informal Russia semester programme for Russian and foreign students

Our key International Partners around the world:

Executive Training and Business Education

HSE University – St Petersburg Institute of Excetutive Training offers a great range of corporate and executive programmes.

Business education:

  • Programmes that combine theory and practical skills for daily business
  • Various learning formats ranging from two-day short courses to ten-month programmes
  • High standards of training and outstanding faculty members
  • Modern educational environment

Our Corporate Partners

 

Our Alumni

A degree from the Higher School of Economics is a warrant of highest employability and rapid career both on domestic and international markets. 

Economic sectors employing HSE alumni
Facts and figures

Based on a recent alumni survey 

Research at HSE University – St Petersburg 

Research and innovation at HSE University – St Petersburg are closely related to our degree programmes and are carried out within interdisciplinary areas of excellence:

  • Digital Studies and Transformation of Economy, Business, and Society
  • Inequality, Governance, and Decision-Making
  • Research in Diversity and Identity

Research Laboratories

Centre for Asian and African Studies

Centre for Historical Research

Centre for Market Studies and Spatial Economics

Centre for Youth Studies

International Centre for Health Economics, Management, and Policy (CHEMP)

International Laboratory of Game Theory and Decision-Making

Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR)

Laboratory for Economics of Culture

Laboratory for Environmental and Technological History

Laboratory for Internet Studies

Laboratory of Sociology in Education and Science

Scientific Laboratory of Logistics Research

 

Applied R&D

HSE University – St Petersburg is a centre of excellence for the implementation of applied research that has been commissioned by state agencies and local governments in Russia’s Northwestern Federal District, primarily St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, as well as large and medium-sized companies with headquarters in the Northwestern Federal District, in the following segments:

  • Industrial (special economic zones, industrial parks), innovation infrastructure (technology parks, engineering centres), and markets
  • Territorial clusters
  • Strategies/programmes for territorial development (constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the city)

Research by the Centre for Applied Research and Development is carried out in close collaboration with leading Russian and international experts, as well as with representatives of academia, business and government. This research is intended to provide analytical and expert support for economic policy implemented in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District and beyond.