Winners and runners-up receive the right to free education or employment (depending on the participation track) at one of the leading Russian universities.

Foreign citizens who have higher education or are completing the relevant level of education in 2026 can participate in the competition. Participation is free at all stages and is conducted entirely online in Russian or English, depending on the participant's choice. You can participate from anywhere in the world, provided you have a stable internet connection and a convenient electronic device.

For the bachelor’s and master’s tracks, the competition is held in two stages, while the doctoral and post-doctoral tracks are held in three stages:

First stage: Submitting a portfolio and a motivation letter, as well as completing the entrance test.

Second stage: Completing online tasks in a proctored format for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks; making a video presentation of scientific achievements for the post-doctoral track.

Third stage: Online interviews with potential academic supervisors for the doctoral track and with research project leaders for the post-doctoral track.

To participate in the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project, you need to register on the project website: od.globaluni.ru. Registration is open from September 1 to November 16, 2025.

For reference 

The Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project is widely known around the world: during its course, approximately 500,000 people from over 190 countries have participated in the intellectual competition. More than 12,000 winners and runners-up have obtained the right to free education at the best Russian universities. The Project team continually improves the mechanisms for searching and selecting the most capable and motivated candidates for study at Russian universities.