Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University was founded in 1755 and is the oldest and largest university in Russia. Its main building on Sparrow Hills is one of the most recognisable university buildings in the world.

The university is comprehensive, with faculties across mathematics and mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computational mathematics and cybernetics, medicine, economics, law, philosophy, history and languages. Its mathematics and physics traditions are long-established and internationally recognised.

Most instruction is in Russian, and international students without Russian normally complete a preparatory language year first. A limited number of English-taught programmes exist, mainly at master's level, and should be confirmed programme by programme.

Admission is document-driven, and language is the central practical question.

• A completed secondary qualification with the subjects the faculty requires; a recognised bachelor's degree for master's entry.
• Entrance examinations set by the faculty for many programmes.
• Russian language competence for Russian-taught programmes, normally reached through a preparatory year; English evidence for the English-taught programmes that exist.
• Legalised and translated academic documents, commonly requiring apostille or consular legalisation.
• A medical certificate including the tests the authorities specify, and the documents required for the official study invitation.

Russia's leading university, with fees set per faculty and per programme, and a government quota route that bypasses them entirely.

• Set per faculty and programme, published annually by the university.
• Language of instruction matters — Russian-taught and English-taught tracks exist and are priced separately.
• Government quota places cover tuition and are allocated through an official national process, not by the university.
• A preparatory year for Russian language study is a common route and is priced separately.
• Living costs in Moscow are higher than elsewhere in Russia, though below Western European capitals.
• Additional costs — visa, registration, medical certificate, insurance and attestation.

Work from the faculty's own published fees for your programme and intake for your specific programme and year of entry — it is the only figure that will be correct for you, and it is republished every year. We will confirm the current cost and what it includes before you commit to an application.

Moscow State participates in the Russian government quota for international students, through which a funded place covering tuition is allocated by an official national process. The university also awards support to enrolled students on academic performance.

• Government quota places — applied for through the official national process, not through the university.
• Academic competition routes — a funded place won on assessed performance.
• In-course awards — decided on results achieved during the programme.
• Preparatory-year support — where a language year precedes the degree.

The national process runs to a fixed annual calendar and missing it means waiting a full cycle. Attested documents and a medical certificate take time to assemble.

A very large campus dominated by the landmark main building on Sparrow Hills, in Russia's capital.

• A vast main campus in south-west Moscow, with faculties, libraries, residences and sports facilities on site.
• Dormitory accommodation on campus for most international students, which is inexpensive and simplifies arrival.
• Moscow's cultural provision — theatre, music and museums on a major scale, much of it discounted for students.
• An extensive metro system making the city easy and cheap to move around.
• A large international student community, with a preparatory faculty for language students.
• Russian is essential for daily life even on an English-taught programme, and most students learn some quickly.

Plan for the language. Even where teaching is in English, administration, healthcare and daily life run in Russian, and the preparatory year exists because it genuinely helps.