Opendoors
Russian Scholarship Project
Association "Global Universities"

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Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project is your chance for tuition-free studying and research career in Russia

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Schedule for bachelor's, master's and doctoral tracks

  • 5 September 2024

    Registration

    Hurry up to register and fill out all the information you need to participate in the Open Doors.
  • 5 September - 20 November 2024

    Portfolio filling

    Prepare your portfolio and take the entrance test in your personal account.  All research papers, certificates, awards and honors that you have ever received are of value. Please include all achievements in the selected Subject in your portfolio to increase your chances for success. The portfolio structure is unified for all Subjects and tracks.

  • 20 November 2024

    Deadline for portfolio submission

    You will not be able to edit your portfolio after the deadline. While waiting for the result of your portfolio review, you can use a system of automatic assessment to estimate your approximate score. The system will be available in your personal account.

  • 21 - 27 November 2024

    The first stage. Grading of the portfolios

  • 2 December 2024

    Announcement of the first stage results

    The results of portfolio evaluation are published in the participants' personal accounts.

  • 5 - 10 December 2024

    The second stage


    Winners of the first stage are welcome to participate in the second stage to solve the Open Doors tasks during three hours in the proctoring mode. To be prepared for the Second Stage, please read the Subject Programme and pass the Demo version of the set of tasks available on the Subject page. 
    Here’s the schedule by Subjects:

    • Business & Management - December 5th, 2024
    • Earth & Environmental Sciences for Sustainability - December 5th, 2024
    • Physical sciences & Technology  - December 5th, 2024
    • Chemistry & Materials Science - December 5th, 2024
    • Economics & Econometrics - December 5th, 2024
    • Engineering & Technology - December 6th, 2024
    • Computer & Data Science - December 6th, 2024
    • Linguistics & Modern Languages - December 6th, 2024
    • Education & Psychology - December 6th, 2024
    • Urbanism & Civil Engineering - December 6th, 2024
    • Biology & Biotechnology - December 7th, 2024
    • Clinical Medicine & Public Health - December 7th, 2024
    • Politics & International Studies - December 7th, 2024
    • Applied Mathematics & Artificial Intelligence - December 7th, 2024
    • Reserve days - December 8th, 9th, 10th, 2024
  • 6 December 2024 - 9 January 2025

    Grading of the second stage of the competition

  • 10 January 2025

    Announcement of the second stage results

  • 10 January 2025

    Appeal process

  • 17 January 2025

    Announcement of the Open Doors winners and prize-winners in the Bachelor's track and Master's track

  • 20 January - 20 February 2025

    The third stage (for participants of the doctoral track (analogous to PhD))

    You can sign up for an interview with three potential resarch supervisors whose research interests match yours in your personal account. To prepare for the interview, please read the interview programme available on the page of the selected Subject.

  • 21 February 2025

    Announcement of the Open Doors winners in the doctoral track (analogous to PhD)

Schedule for postdoctoral track

  • 16 September 2024

    Registration

    Registration is open. Hurry up to register and fill out all information you need to participate in the Open Doors.

  • 16 September - 10 December 2024

    Portfolio filling

    Prepare your portfolio and take the entrance test in your personal account. All research papers, certificates, awards and honors that you have ever received are of value. Please include all achievements in the selected Subject in your portfolio to increase your chances for success. The portfolio structure is unified for all Subjects. 

  • 10 December 2024

    Deadline for portfolio submission

    You will not be able to edit your portfolio after the deadline. While waiting for the result of your portfolio review, you can use a system of automatic assessment to estimate your approximate score. The system will be available in your personal account. 

  • 10 - 25 December 2024

    The first stage. Grading of the portfolios

  • 25 December 2024

    The ending of the first stage

    The results of the second stage are published in the participants’ personal accounts

  • 26 December 2024 - 29 January 2025

    The second stage

    Winners of the first stage are welcome to participate in the second stage in according to the Subject. To be prepared to the second stage, please, read the Structure and Criteria for   Assessment of a video presentation and its loading guide in your personal account.

  • 29 January 2025

    The results of the second stage are published

  • 29 January - 21 February 2025

    The third stage

    You can sign up for an interview with six leaders of research projects. You can select research projects from the list offered in your personal account.

  • 21 February 2025

    Announcement of the Open Doors winners in the postdoctoral track

Competition organized by leading Russian universities

Partners

Support

  • If you can’t find the answer on this page - contact us via the feedback form on the web-site. If possible, your message should be accompanied with a screenshot or a video of your screen where we can clearly see your problem. IMPORTANT: it takes an average of 24 hours to process a message. Do not use various channels to send the same message, as it will cause the delays in the correspondence processing time for you and other participants.

  • The number of the subjects for participation is not limited. For each subject you should complete the motivation letter. Take into consideration the second stage trials schedule, as multiple Subjects can be scheduled for the same day. In the Open Doors final, in case you became a winner/prize-winner in several subjects, you will have to choose just one, as well as only one study program at the University.

  • You should create a new account, and to submit personal information and portfolio.

  • After the registration is complete you won’t be able to change your personal info yourself. If you need something be edited, contact us via the feedback form on the website. We’ll consider your situation and make corrections by ourselves if the Rules allow it.

  • That’s most likely because you didn’t fill out one or both required fields – the motivation letter and educational documents, or you did not take/succeed in the entrance test. If there is any other problem – contact us via  the feedback form on the website. Your message must be accompanied with a screenshot or a video of your screen where we can clearly see your problem.

  • You can do it only during the first stage of the Open Doors, and only while you still haven’t submitted the portfolio. You should prepare a motivation letter for each Subject, in which you participate. If you need to change/upload additional documents in your portfolio, you have it withdraw it. You can proceed with the withdrawal only before the 10th of November.

  • Your tuition fees will be paid by the Government of the Russian Federation. You will be responsible for covering the travel and accommodation costs, insurance and personal expenses.

  • Amount varies depending on the university. For more detailed info contact the university you are interested in.

  • The approve quote (scholarship) covers the tuition fees and provide you with the monthly stipend. All other expenses should be taken care of on your side (transport, food, accommodation, communication services, medical insurance). The accommodation provided by the universities is inexpensive. Information on the available housing on the campuses of the universities is presented on their web-sites. For more detailed info contact the university you are interested in.

  • Yes, you can work remotely or in person, and you do not need to obtain a work permit for employment in Russia. Most of the universities assist with the job placements. Sometimes there are vacancies right on campus. These matters are regularly covered on our social media pages. For more detailed info contact the university you are interested in.

  • You will be enrolled in the specialization indicated in your registration form when submitting your documents for a quote (scholarship). Within this specialization you can choose any program available for foreign students and offered by the chosen university. Winners of the Doctoral (PhD) track will be enrolled in one of the Universities-organizers of the Open Doors, whose representative confirmed the scientific supervision.

  • The universities offer study programs in Russian or English language, and their availability depends on the exact University. If the chosen program is available only in Russian language and you need to upgrade your level of Russian, you can start your studies with the one year preparatory language course at the University with the secured spot in the study program in Russian language for the next academic year.

  • No. You’ll have to find info on the universities by yourself, you can find the links to the webpages of the universities on the Open Doors website in the section “Universities”. In addition, you can find the info in the social media and other information resources of the universities. We also publish the most important info in the Open Doors group VKontakte and Telegram channel. We arrange webinars where you can find out more details about study programmes offered at specific university. The schedule of webinars is on the site and links to attend are sent to your personal account 

  • If you weren’t able to become a winner/prize-winner, we recommend trying again next year or look at other ways to get the Russian Government scholarship (Rossotrudnichestvo is one of them). The universities might offer you some alternative possibilities of admission, though they have no relation to the Open Doors scholarship and should be discussed directly with the university’s representative.
  • There are no certificates for participants who didn’t become winners/prize-winners. For winners/prize-winners, their certificates are available in their personal accounts after the Open Doors ends.

  • Only motivation letter and education level proof are mandatory for Portfolio submission. Without providing them, you won’t be able to submit your portfolio and take part in the second stage losing the opportunity to become a winner/prize-winner and get a scholarship through Open Doors. The motivation letter must be typed (or “copy-pasted” from a document) into the corresponding form. Educational documents are uploaded to the corresponding fields.  If you haven’t yet received your degree or haven’t got it available for any other reason, you can upload your official final transcript, the last or current year academic transcript, a scan of your grade sheet or other documents confirming your level of education. In this case you’ll have to provide the confirmation of your degree later, when getting admitted in the university. All other documents in the Portfolio are optional. But their presence might boost the maximum score you’ll be able to get at the initial stage of the Open Doors.

  • It is not obligatory at the first stage (Portfolio submission), when the certified translations can be uploaded. Certified translation is the one which is done by the certified translator with the professional education in translation, or the organization with the legal authorization to provide translation services. However, if you become a winner or a prize-winner, you’ll have to notarize the translation in the Russian Embassy/Consulate or at any public notary’s office.

  • The structure of the motivation letter is presented in the personal account. it should contain the information about your scientific and career goals, professional achievements, reasons of the choice of the Open Doors’s Subject and motivation to study in Russia. The participants of Doctoral track are strongly advised to add the summarized thesis and plan of the prospective scientific research.

  • The criteria differ depending on the Subject. Maximum possible score for every achievement category is displayed in a participant’s personal account as the portfolio is being filled out.

  • If you need to submit additional documents in your Portfolio or change it after it was submitted, you can withdraw it (this procedure will be available in your personal account in the Open Doors website). You can withdraw your Portfolio till November 10.

  • There is no need to confirm your language skills with certificates or in any other way for participation in the Open Doors. However, if you upload the documents, which confirm your level of Russian/English language, it can boost your score for the Portfolio. 

  • In your personal account on our website. After the first stage ends we’ll send you an email with detailed instructions. These instructions, together with the Rules of the second stage, will also be available in your personal account within a few days after the first stage ends. While registering for the second stage, it is most crucial not to miss the deadline. If you don’t register in time, you won’t be able to take your exam.

  • You should submit a request to allow you to participate in the problem-solving challenge on the reserve day immediately, on the same day when the challenge is set up or earlier. If the rules allow, we will provide you with the opportunity to particiapte on the reserve day. It is important to register for the reserve day exam beforehand according to the instructions, which will be provided. If you missed the reserve day or registration for it, we cannot provide you with any additional opportunity, as there is just 1 reserve day for each Subject. IMPORTANT: Your computer and Internet connection must fit the technical requirement, and it is your own responsibility. 

  • Detailed info about it can be found in the instructions and the rules of the second stage. Those documents will be available in your personal account after the first stage ends. When you take the exams on the second stage, it is prohibited to use any mobile devices or electronic gadgets, or to be in contact with others. Each Subject defines the ability to use the programs and applications on the computer, a calculator, paper and a pen. During the exam session, it is not allowed to open any pages in the browser except the Open Doors’s one, take screenshots or photos of the screen. In case of these or other second stage rules violation your result can be annulled without providing an appeal right.

  • Follow the instructions found in your personal account on our website. If it doesn’t help, contact the software tech support. Most problems are caused by unstable Internet connection. It’s best to have a wire connection. Mobile and Wi Fi connections often are unstable even when they are fast.

  • You can appeal the results of the second stagе if you disagree with the score given by the Jury. The appeal procedure is described in the Rules of participation published in our website. Appeals are made from your personal account where you will also see the results after the appeal is processed. IMPORTANT: To SUBMIT the appeal, you have only TWO DAYS after the results of the second stage are published. Appeals are not allowed after the first stage 1 (Portfolio evaluation) and third stage (interviews of the Doctoral track).

  • No. Participation in the second stage exam is required to win the Opens Doors scholarship. No matter how many points you might get for the first stage, you won’t get the scholarship if you did not take an exam.

  • If the top priority university does not offer the study program of your choice, your application will be transferred to the following university of your priority. When registering for participation, you can choose 1 to 6 universities. The final choice of the university will be done if you win the Open Doors competition at the stage of uploading of your documents for their submission for a quote (scholarship).

  • The Open Doors winners of the doctoral track choose potential scientific advisors instead of universities. When a mentor and a winner choose each other, the winner will do research in the university where the mentor works.

  • You can find the program of the interview  on the Subject related page  

  • No, eligibility for the postdoctoral track requires that you possess a Candidate of Science, Doctor of Science or PhD degree at the time you submit your portfolio for jury review. The degree confirmation document is a mandatory component of the portfolio and will be necessary for evaluation.

  • If you need to add additional documents or modify information in your personal account after submission, you may revoke your portfolio. This option will be accessible in your personal account on the Open Doors website. You can revoke your portfolio until December 1. Additionally, you can edit your portfolio until December 10 if it has not yet been submitted for review.