Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project 2026–2027 – Russia

Location: Russia

Program: Postgraduate Degree Program

Eligibility: International students

Duration: Full duration of the enrolled program

Deadline: November 1, 2026

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The Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project is a fully online international intellectual competition organised by the “Global Universities” Association in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and Rossotrudnichestvo. Winners and runners-up earn the right to study tuition-free at 24 of Russia’s leading universities under the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation, and may additionally receive government grant support. The competition is held across four tracks: Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral (PhD), and Postdoctoral. The competition proceeds in three stages: the First Stage involves portfolio submission (individual achievements, an entry test, and a motivation letter); the Second Stage involves online written tasks completed under proctoring software; and the Third Stage involves online interviews with prospective research supervisors (PhD and Postdoctoral tracks only).

The “Global Universities” Association, headquartered in Moscow at 11 Pokrovsky Bulvar, Building 10, is Russia’s national association of leading research universities, bringing together 24 of the country’s top universities across 12 major cities. The Open Doors project is conducted in partnership with the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Rossotrudnichestvo, and has since its launch supported over 16,700 winners from 200+ countries — empowering a new generation of global scholars to pursue world-class education in Russia.

Benefits of the Programme

This programme will provide the following to its recipients:

Full tuition-free coverage
Monthly stipend
Round-trip travel expenses
Accommodation expenses
Medical insurance
Research positions for postdoctoral winners
Free Russian-language preparatory training where required
No application/participation fee
Other benefits

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Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this programme, applicants must meet the following:

Must be an international student or young researcher from any country worldwide
Must create a new account on the Open Doors website for each competition year — previous year accounts cannot be reused
For the Bachelor’s Track: must be a secondary school graduate or equivalent
For the Master’s Track: must hold a Bachelor’s degree or be in the final year of undergraduate studies
For the Doctoral (PhD) Track: must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent
For the Postdoctoral Track: must already hold a Candidate of Science, Doctor of Science, or PhD degree at the time of portfolio submission — degree confirmation is a mandatory component of the portfolio
Must submit a mandatory motivation letter and proof of education level as part of the First Stage portfolio; without these, participation in the Second Stage and scholarship eligibility are forfeited
Must complete the Second Stage tasks — no scholarship can be awarded without completing this stage, regardless of First Stage scores

Note: Kindly check the official webpage for full and detailed requirements.

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Selection Criteria

The Open Doors competition is conducted in three stages. In the First Stage, portfolios are evaluated based on individual academic achievements, certificates, and awards relevant to the chosen subject area, along with an entry test and a motivation letter. Scoring criteria vary by subject area, with maximum scores for each achievement category shown in the applicant’s personal account. In the Second Stage, shortlisted participants complete online written tasks of varying difficulty levels within 180 minutes under proctoring software; for the Postdoctoral Track, participants submit a video presentation showcasing their research achievements.