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Rules
The section contains the rules of the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project, the evaluation criteria and some recommendations. This material will help you to develop an effective preparation strategy. Please take note of the key dates to ensure that no important stage is overlooked. Now is the time to act — make the most of your potential.
- General information
- Registration
- Participation in the First stage
- Participation in the Second stage
- Participation in the Third stage of the doctoral track and post-doctoral tracks
- Publication of the results
1. The Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project of the Global Universities Association (hereinafter the Open Doors) is held in several tracks: bachelor's, master's, doctoral (analogous to PhD), and post-doctoral.
2. Official information related to the organization and holding of the Open Doors (documents regulating the organization, preparation materials, schedule of tests, and announcement of the results, etc.) is posted on the official website of the Open Doors at http://od.globaluni.ru (hereinafter the official Open Doors website) in Russian and English.
3. Foreign citizens and stateless persons, including compatriots residing abroad (hereinafter referred to as participants), are eligible to take part in the Open Doors.
- Individuals aged 16 to 23 at the time of registration for the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project, who do not hold a bachelor’s or specialist’s/master’s degree, and who have completed or are completing, during the academic year of the Open Doors, a program qualifying them for admission to a higher education institution under the national legislation of their country of study, are eligible to participate in the bachelor’s track.
- Individuals aged 20 to 33 at the time of registration for the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project, who do not hold a specialist’s or master’s degree, and who have completed or are completing, during the academic year of the Open Doors, at least a bachelor’s degree program, are eligible to participate in the master’s track.
- Individuals aged 22 to 35 at the time of registration for the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project, who do not hold a doctoral degree, and who have completed or are completing, during the academic year of the Open Doors, at least a specialist’s or master’s degree program, are eligible to participate in the doctoral track.
- Individuals aged 24 to 39 at the time of registration for the Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project, who hold a doctoral (PhD or equivalent) degree, are eligible to participate in the Postdoctoral track.
4. The official languages of the Open Doors are Russian and English.
5. The Open Doors is held in subject areas comprising several fields of study and research. A subject area refers to a set of higher education degree programs of a given level having a common fundamental theoretical foundation.
6. Winners of the Open Doors in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks are granted the right to study tuition-free in the Russian Federation under the Quota established by the Government of the Russian Federation for foreign citizens and stateless persons (hereinafter the Quota) at higher education institutions of the Russian Federation funded from the federal budget in accordance with Russian legislation. Winners have priority in selecting a degree program at member universities of the Global Universities Association and other universities participating in the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project (hereinafter collectively referred to as the organizing universities). Proficiency in the chosen language of instruction is confirmed or assessed by the admitting institution upon enrollment.
7. If additional Russian language training is required, winners of the Open Doors in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks are entitled to tuition-free study at the preparatory faculty of a higher education institution. Funded by the federal budget, the program is designed to prepare students for degree programs taught in Russian and guarantees placement in these degree programs, provided the required level of proficiency is demonstrated upon completion of the preparatory course.
8. Runners-up in the bachelor's and master's tracks of the Open Doors are granted the same rights as winners, subject to the availability of places within the quota after the winners have confirmed their entitlement.
9. Winners of the Open Doors in the post-doctoral track receive an offer of employment as a researcher at one of the Open Doors organizing universities.
10. Winners and runners-up of the Open Doors shall confirm their intention to undertake studies (for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks) or to assume employment (for the postdoctoral track) at a Russian university by submitting the required documents through their participant account on the Open Doors IT platform within the time limits specified therein.
11. Winners of the Open Doors in the bachelor’s and master’s tracks can exercise their right to admission under the Government Quota either in the year the competition is held or in the following year after being awarded winner status. Winners in the doctoral track can do so under the same conditions, provided they have successfully completed interviews with potential research supervisors for the subsequent academic year and have received formal confirmation of supervision.
12. The Open Doors is held online via the Open Doors IT platform, accessible through the official Open Doors website. The online format includes identity verification and monitoring to ensure independent completion of the Open Doors tasks.
13. The number and content of the Open Doors stages vary by track.
- There are two stages for the bachelor's track. The first stage is a portfolio competition, and the second stage is completion of the Open Doors tasks.
- There are two stages for the master's track. The first stage is a portfolio competition, and the second stage is completion of the Open Doors tasks.
- There are three stages for the doctoral track. The first stage is a portfolio competition, the second stage is completion of the Open Doors tasks, and the third stage is an interview with potential research supervisors and/or doctoral track managers.
- There are three stages for the post-doctoral track. The first stage is a portfolio competition, the second stage is the selection of candidates for interviews with potential research project supervisors based on submitted video presentations of their research results, and the third stage is an interview with heads of research projects.
14 .There is no fee for participation in the Open Doors.
15. The Project Office provides clarification on matters related to the organization and administration of the Open Doors. Inquiries can be submitted by email opendoors@globaluni.ru or through the feedback form available in the “Support” section on the main page of the Open Doors website.
16. To participate in the Open Doors, applicants must complete online registration by clicking “Registration” on the official Open Doors website. Upon successful registration, the participant gets access to the participant account.
17. Registration for the bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and post-doctoral tracks is open from September 1 to November 16, 2025.
18. By registering, participants provide consent for the processing of their personal data in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
19. Each participant may register for and take part in the Open Doors only once per competition cycle (i.e., only one account is permitted). Violation of this rule may result in disqualification at any stage of participation.
20. During registration, participants shall provide their personal information, a login (identical to their email address), and a password. Registration also entails automatic subscription to system notifications on the status and progress of the Open Doors.
21. Registered participants are granted access to information regarding the portfolio structure and the evaluation criteria applied.
22. The first stage will be held from September 1 to November 28, 2025.
23. During the First stage, the participant must complete their portfolio (take the entrance test, fill in the required fields, and upload supporting documents) in their account. All supporting documents must be in one of the official languages of the Open Doors (Russian or English) or accompanied by a translation into one of these languages, at the participant’s discretion. All text fields must be completed in one of the official languages of the Open Doors. The participant may take part in the First stage at any convenient time before the registration deadline.
24. Portfolios are evaluated by the Jury of the relevant subject area. The portfolio score, expressed in points, is published in the participant account. The portfolio score is not subject to appeal.
25. Based on the portfolio evaluation results, ranked lists of participants are compiled separately for each subject area. The portfolio competition is held separately for the bachelor’s and post-doctoral tracks, and jointly for the master’s and doctoral tracks.
26. The lists of participants invited to the Second stage will be published on the Open Doors website on November 28, 2025. Each participant will also be notified of their advancement status through their participant account.
27. The Second stage of the Open Doors will be held from November 28 to December 30, 2025. General technical requirements, procedures, and specific dates for this stage will be provided in the “Second Stage” section of the participant account.
28. To participate in the Second stage, participants must complete the registration form by providing additional personal information (passport details) and uploading a photo or scanned copy of their identity document to their participant account. The image must be of sufficient size and resolution to ensure clear identification. Participants who fail to submit the required information within the specified timeframe will be denied admission to the Second stage.
29. Once the additional information has been submitted, detailed instructions for completing the Second stage will be made available in the “Second Stage” section of the participant account.
30. In the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks, the Second stage is conducted in a proctored format that includes identity verification and monitoring to ensure independent task completion. Throughout the session, the participant’s computer desktop and webcam video are continuously recorded.
31. The schedule of tests of the Second stage in the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral tracks, indicating the time allocated for each subject area, will be published on the official Open Doors website and in the participant account no later than seven days before the scheduled date. Participants must complete their tests on the assigned day between 08:00 and 20:00 (UTC+3). The dates of tests for different subject areas may coincide.
32. On the scheduled date, participants in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks must log in to their participant account. Upon logging in, they are required to undergo identity verification. For a duration of one minute, participants must remain still and look directly into the webcam of their computer or laptop while holding, next to their face, the identity document previously uploaded to their account as a scanned copy or photograph.
33. Once identity verification is complete, participants in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks gain access, via their account, to the stage tasks and the point value of each task. They have 175 minutes to complete the tasks, working in any order and revising answers within the allotted time.
34. After finishing the written tasks, participants proceed to the oral response task, which must be completed within five minutes.
35. Once the allotted time has expired, the Open Doors IT platform will automatically close access to the Second stage tasks for participants in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks. Only responses submitted within the allotted time will be assessed.
36. Written and oral tasks of the Second stage of the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral tracks are assessed separately.
37. In the event of a technical malfunction of the participant’s computer or the Open Doors IT platform during the Second stage, the participant must notify the Project Office within 24 hours.
38. If a participant in the Second stage of the bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral track disagrees with the assessment of their completed written tasks, they may file an appeal within two days of the publication of the results in their participant account. Appeals will be reviewed within five days of submission. The appeal must specify its subject (e.g., a particular question or section of the task) and provide a reasoned justification for the disagreement, referring only to material contained in the submitted work. Appeals concerning the content, structure, or assessment criteria of written or oral tasks, as well as sanctions for violations of the Open Doors rules, will not be considered. Following the review, the original score may be upheld, increased, or reduced. The participant will be informed of the reasons for the decision, and the outcome will be displayed in their account. The decision is final, and no further appeal is allowed.
39. In the postdoctoral track, the Second stage of the Open Doors consists of an in-absentia assessment of participants’ video presentations of their research results by heads of research projects. The result of the assessment is final and not subject to appeal.
40. After the appeals for the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks have been reviewed and the results of the Second stage approved, each participant’s overall score is calculated.
41. Ranked lists of participants in the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral tracks are compiled separately for each track in descending order of the overall score.
42. Lists of participants in the doctoral and postdoctoral tracks invited to the Third stage are published on the Open Doors website no later than three calendar days before the start of the Third stage. Information on whether a participant has advanced to the Third stage is posted in their participant account.
43. The Third stage of the Open Doors will be held from January 12 to February 26, 2026, in the format of online interviews (hereinafter referred to as interviews). Third stage participants may have up to six interviews:
- for the doctoral track — up to three interviews with potential research supervisors and up to three interviews with doctoral track managers;
- for the postdoctoral track — with heads of research projects.
44. The schedule of interviews of the Third stage is published in the participant account no later than 2 days before the date of the interview.
45. Before the interview, the participant of the Third stage must undergo an identity verification using a webcam and the original of an identity document. The participant is required to provide an Internet connection speed of at least 256 Kbps.
46. In the event of a technical malfunction on the participant’s computer or on the Open Doors IT platform during the Third stage, the participant must notify the Open Doors Project Office within 24 hours.
47. Based on the interviews, potential research supervisors and/or doctoral track managers indicate their agreement or refusal to recommend a doctoral track participant for admission to a doctoral program at one of the universities organizing the Open Doors. Participants not recommended by any supervisor or doctoral track manager are excluded from the list of winners. A participant recommended by one or more supervisors or doctoral track managers is recognized as a winner of the Open Doors in the doctoral track.
48. Following the interviews, heads of research projects indicate their agreement or refusal to employ the post-doctoral track participant as a researcher. A participant approved for employment by at least one head of a research project is recognized as a winner of the Open Doors in the post-doctoral track.
49. The results of interviews in the Third stage are final and not subject to appeal.
50. The winner of the Open Doors in the doctoral track selects one of the organizing universities for doctoral studies and a potential supervisor (if available) from those universities whose potential supervisors or doctoral track managers have confirmed their readiness to admit the participant to a doctoral degree program.
51. A winner of the Open Doors in the post-doctoral track can select an organizing university for employment as a researcher from among those whose research project supervisors have confirmed their agreement to employ them.
52. Winners of the doctoral and post-doctoral tracks inform the organizers of their decision through the participant account.
53. Winners and runners-up in the bachelor’s and master’s tracks are determined based on the results of the two stages of the Open Doors, using ranked lists of participants arranged in descending order of their overall scores (hereinafter referred to as the ranked lists), compiled separately for each subject area within each track.
54. Winners and runners-up in the bachelor’s and master’s tracks are participants having the highest scores on the ranked list.
55. In the bachelor’s and master’s tracks, lists of winners and runners-up are published on the Open Doors website on the day the Second stage concludes.
56. In the doctoral track, winners are determined based on the results of interviews with potential research supervisors and the ranked lists compiled by subject area. The lists are published on the Open Doors website on the day the Third stage concludes.
57. In the post-doctoral track, winners are determined based on the results of interviews with heads of research projects. Lists of winners in the post-doctoral track are published on the Open Doors website on the day the Third stage concludes.
58. To exercise their right to admission under the Quota (see Clauses 6 and 7), winners and runners-up in the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks must submit the documents required for registering international participants in the Information System of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation at https://russia-edu.minobrnauki.gov.ru/ (hereinafter, the Ministry’s Information System). The list of required documents, submission deadlines, and procedures is provided in the participant account of winners and runners-up and sent to the email address indicated at registration within ten calendar days after the publication of the lists of winners and runners-up.
59. When completing the application form for studying in the Russian Federation under the Quota, a winner or runner-up in the bachelor’s or master’s track must select one field of study (specialization) corresponding to their subject area and indicate, in order of preference, a ranked list of higher education institutions offering that specialization.
60. When completing the application form for studying in the Russian Federation under the Quota, a winner in the doctoral track must specify the doctoral-level specialization (higher scientific qualification) agreed with the potential research supervisor or doctoral track manager at the Open Doors organizing university.
61. Winners in the postdoctoral track will receive recommendations regarding further steps for employment as a researcher in their participant account and by email to the address provided at registration, within ten calendar days of the publication of the list of the winners.
62. If a participant is simultaneously recognized as a winner and/or runner-up in multiple tracks and/or subject areas, they must choose one track and one subject area in which to exercise their rights as a winner and/or runner-up.