International applicants

Pathway 1: International Admission

International Admission provides opportunity for any international applicant to enroll to a self-funded place and to compete for the discounts or even free tuition.
Applications are accepted online through the Applicant's Personal Account only!

The deadlines for the International Admission:

November 1, 2024
Start of application submission, review of applications by educational programmes

March 1, 2025
Deadline for accepting applications for Russian government scholarship places

August 3, 2025
Deadline for applications for fee-paying places

August 10, 2025
Deadline for portfolio submission

August 15, 2025
Submission of all necessary documents: Offer of admission, contract
After receiving the contract by email, a signed scan of it must be sent back within 3-5 working days but no later than August 22, 2025.

August 22, 2025
Deadline for tuition fee payment for the 1st semester

August 27, 2025
Enrolment documents

September 1, 2025
Classes starting date depends on the chosen programme

The online application contains:

Scan of the main passport pages (with photo and name etc.).
Scan of the diplomas and academic transcripts (if you have not yet received your Bachelor’s diploma, please include an official copy of your most recent academic transcript).
Letter of motivation (describing your reasons for applying in the context of your long-term career goals and background, 500 words).
Resume/CV (including information about your education, professional, and research experience, as well as language proficiency and other skills.
At least one recommendation letter.
Exam results confirming language proficiency (optional).
Full texts or annotations of the applicants' research projects (optional).

Assessment Principles:

International admission to the graduate studies is based upon application assessment and Skype interview held by the assessment commission.
The final mark may vary from 5 to 100 points.
Applicants with high score for the application assessment (including Skype interview) may be awarded with up to 50% discount off the tuition fee.
Applicants with the top scores may compete to be nominated for the free tuition and a monthly scholarship.
Free tuition scholarships are awarded to the restricted number of highly qualified applicants.
Full criteria for the portfolio assessment.
For more information about application procedure, please visit this page.

Pathway 2: participation in HSE’s international competitions

Graduate international applicants are welcomed to take part in the following competitions (some restrictions apply)

Please check the deadlines and requirements on the webpages of the Olympiads.

Winners have the opportunity to get a scholarship or receive additional benefits if they are entering fee-payimg places.

Pathway 3: general admission (limited eligibility)

Certain categories of international applicants are eligible to apply for a state-funded or fee-paying place via general admissions:

Citizens of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kirgizia (national passport must be provided)
Citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine permanently residing in Russia (permanent residence document must be provided)
Living Abroad Compatriots (Compatriot status confirmation must be provided according to Federal Law N99-ФЗ dated 24.05.1999)

Please check your eligibility before applying through the general admission!

Please note: within the general admission international applicants will compete with Russian applicants. According to our statistics, general admission is much more difficult for international applicants than international admission.

Learn more about the general admission on https://spb.hse.ru/abiturient (only available in Russian language)
If you have questions regarding general admission, please contact via abitur-spb@hse.ru

Master’s Programme 'Comparative Politics of Eurasia'

Study Office Venue

VK

International Accreditation