Russia’s exit from Bologna process won’t affect the international students’ prospects

On May 24, Valery Falkov, the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia, announced Russia’s exit from the Bologna higher education system. «The Bologna process should be treated as a thing of the past, - the Minister said, - The future lies in our own unique education system, based on the national economy goals and a field of maximum opportunities for every student».

Nevertheless, the Minister clarified, no drastically new models are expected to be implemented within the higher education structure. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees will stay intact – especially for international students. Foreign nationals were mentioned by Valeri Falkov as one of the main reasons for maintaining this division. Continuing with it will enable continued validity of Russian higher educational documents in foreign countries.

The changes that the Minister talked about will rather be aimed at a more adequate content of educational programs on their respective levels – i.e., at upgrading the old system while keeping to the principals it’s based on.

«You see, we’re not talking about suddenly cancelling everything we’ve been living with for 20 years, and go back to specialist’s training model exclusively. Not at all. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees will still exist. … But we’re also against consciously hindering the specialist programmes’ development and creating advantages for master’s and bachelor’s. We should enable the industry together with the universities to determine which form is in most demand. After that, the students can decide for themselves where they want to study», – Valery Falkov commented on his position.

Those innovations, however, will only concern Russian students. The Open Doors is expecting foreign participants as always. If you become one of the winners/prize-winners and get the quota, you’ll still be able to enroll in your preferred program in one of Russia’s leading universities for free.