Applying to Master’s Programmes at HSE

Step 1: Choose Programmes

Step 2: Submit an Application Form

Application dates: November 1, 2024 - August 3, 2025.

Application deadline for Russian government scholarship - March 1, 2025.

Set Up Your User ID and Password

International applicants may get access to their accounts after they apply for a User ID and a password using the link. Once you have submitted a form, an e-mail will be sent to the address you indicated during registration with your User ID and password. Please make sure уou have provided the correct e-mail address. If you received the User ID and the password for access to the foreign applicant’s personal account earlier, you can use it.

Fill in the Form

You can use your User ID and password to enter your account. Don’t forget to read through the form fields to be filled in (required fields are marked with an asterisk).

When you apply for HSE graduate programmes, you may choose one to two programmes. Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to access it again. You can apply only once.

Graduate programmes have different requirements for candidates.

Applicants will be selected for the programmes according to the presented portfolio. Please read the minimum portfolio requirements carefully (they are different for each graduate programme).

Before submitting the application, note that you may need to consult the 'Portfolio Criteria'.

Almost all programmes request a Letter of Motivation. The Letter of motivation can be written in Russian or in English. You can use our guide How to Write a Motivation Letter. For most programmes, you may need a Letter of Recommendation too, thus you can use the HSE Letter of Recommendation form or use your own.

All of your supporting files must be in PDF or JPEG format. Their size should not exceed 15MB. Multi-page documents should be saved in PDF format.

After your application materials have been attached, please click ‘SUBMIT’. You will receive an email confirming the receipt of your application within 24 hours.

IMPORTANT! During weekends and holidays, it may take up to 72 hours. Applications submitted on Friday or on the eve of a holiday after 12:00 will be considered on the next business day.

Proceed to STEP 3.

Step 3: Application Evaluation

Step 4: Prepare Your Documents

Once you have received an e-mail with a recommendation for admission to HSE, enter your Foreign Applicant’s Personal Account section “Offer of Admission“ and follow the instructions:

Select the chosen programme.
Upload there all necessary documents.

FOR SCHOLARSHIP CANDIDATES

You have 21 calendar days to fill out the "Offer of admission" section since the recommendation is posted in your personal account, but no later than April 1, 2025.

FOR FEE-PAYING CANDIDATES

Required Documents:

1. Scan of the Scholarship Application Form completed in English with a photo (3×4 cm, colour or black and white on matte paper) in the upper right corner. The form must have a handwritten signature of the applicant. The blank form and completion guidelines are available in the applicant's account, "Offer of Admission" section.

2. Scan of the double photo page of the passport you will be using while applying for a Russian study visa. The passport must be valid for at least 18 months from your intended date of entry that cannot be earlier than 1 September 2025.

2.1 Notarized translation of the passport into Russian.

3. Scan of your educational document (degree diploma with transcript).

3.1 Notarized translation of the educational documents into Russian.

If you have not yet received your final educational documents at the time of application, you may provide a certificate with subjects and grades received for the first half of the year. The documents must be translated into Russian and certified by an official notary/translation service.

4. Scan of a general medical certificate. The certificate must contain a comprehensive assessment of your health status, confirm that you are medically fit and indicate the absence of contraindications for studying in the Russian Federation. The document is valid for 12 months of the date of issuance.

4.1 Notarized translation of the general medical certificate into Russian.

5. Scan of HIV results certificate (negative test result). The document is valid for 12 months of the date of issuance.

5.1 Notarized translation of the HIV results certificate into Russian.

6. Negative Hepatitis B and C virus test results certificate and negative tuberculosis test results certificate. The document is valid for 12 months of the date of issuance. Vaccination cards are not accepted.

6.1 Notarized translation of the hepatitis B and C virus test results certificate and tuberculosis test results certificate into Russian.

7. Scan of the completed consent to the processing of personal data form. The form must have a handwritten signature of the applicant. The blank form and its sample are available in the applicant's account, "Offer of Admission" section.

Required Documents:

1. Passport scan you will use when applying for your Russian visa. The document must be translated and certified by an official notary/translation service.

Your passport must be valid for at least 18 months from your intended date of entry. The intended date of entry cannot be earlier than September 1, 2025.

IMPORTANT: if you apply for an online programme, for making a contract with HSE University you may provide a translation of the passport without notarization, but certified with official stamp of translation agency.

2. Scan of your educational document (degree diploma with transcript), as well as related notarized Russian translations.

If you have not yet received your degree certificate at the time of submission, you can send a certificate with grades and subjects that reflect the entire period that you have studied at that institution or a scan of your grade book. Documents must be translated and certified by an official notary/translation service.

Sample_Standard Agreement_HSE anf Student (PDF, 475 Кб)

Sample_Standard Agreement_HSE+Foreign Student+Legal Entity (PDF, 484 Кб)

Candidates must submit their documents in the section Offer of Admission.

Please note: if your documents were returned for revision, you have 10 calendar days to upload the corrected documents again.

More details about officially notarized ONLINE translations are here.

Candidates must submit their documents in the section Offer of Admission to conclude the study agreement.

More details about officially notarized ONLINE translations are here.

Tips for scanning documents and uploading files in the Foreign Applicant’s Personal Account section “Offer of Admission“:

Scan each of the relevant documents as separate files. Do not scan everything together as one file.

The file format for each scanned document must be saved as a PDF file (not JPEG, MPEG, TIFF etc).

Give each file a unique file name. For example:

a. Passport should be saved as Passport for John Smith

b. Diploma – Diploma for John Smith, etc.

Please ensure you have provided a unique name to each attachment that identifies the content, e.g Passport for John Smith, Academic transcript for John Smith, etc.

Offer of Admission section instruction (PDF 19 Мб)

Tips for scanning documents and uploading files in the Foreign Applicant’s Personal Account section “Offer of Admission“:

Scan each of the relevant documents as separate files. Do not scan everything together as one file.

The file format for each scanned document must be saved as a PDF file (not JPEG, MPEG, TIFF etc).

Give each file a unique file name. For example:

a. Passport should be saved as Passport for John Smith

b. Diploma – Diploma for John Smith, etc.

Please ensure you have provided a unique name to each attachment that identifies the content, e.g Passport for John Smith, Academic transcript for John Smith, etc.

Step 5: Arrival and Enrolment

Before your Arrival in Moscow and other HSE University’s Campuses

1. Recognition of international qualifications

Fill in an application form in the section Recognition in your personal account following the instructions. Please note that you need to complete the procedure of recognition from February 14, 2025 till August 18, 2025.

Information on Recognizing International Qualifications

If your documents are issued not in Russian language, make translations (with a notarization to be obtained at the notary’s office). Translation can be done in the territory of the Russian Federation or in the country of your residence. The detailed information about correct translation is available here.

Legalization of your certificate of education/diploma and transcript

Depending on the country where your education document was issued, you should complete the legalization procedure. You can find a full list of countries with respective legalization requirements here (PDF, 400 Кб). Each country has its own criteria for legalization.

You can have both education documents and related copies legalized.

More details about recognition and legalization procedure are here.

If you have any questions about the procedure for recognizing international qualifications, please contact us by e-mail: recognition@hse.ru

IMPORTANT! The aforementioned procedure is mandatory for all foreign citizens who apply for admission to study at HSE University; it is provided on a free-of-charge basis. If you hold a Russian certificate of education /diploma from a Russian university, you should also fill in a respective application form in your personal account.

2. Enrollment

2. Enrollment

Step 1.

Starting from July 14, 2025, the "Enrollment Documents" section is available in the personal account of international applicants. You are required to complete and submit the following documents electronically:

Enrollment Request Form
Enrollment Consent
Consent for Processing of Personal Data
Consent for processing of personal data, permitted for distribution
Acknowledgement of Visa and Migration Rules by International Students

Important:
Templates for all the documents listed above are available in the "Enrollment Documents" section of the personal account. This section becomes available after the recognition procedure is completed and after the payment for the first semester is confirmed (for fee-paying applicants).

Step 2.

Enrollment for state-funded (quota) places

Important:
To be enrolled in a state-funded place, your status on the official platform https://russia-edu.minobrnauki.gov.ru must be marked as "Directed" or "Distributed".

For the Moscow campus:
Between August 25 and 30 (for applicants from visa-required countries – until October 31, 2025), enrollment is conducted in person. You must appear at the Admissions Office for international applicants with original copies of all documents that were uploaded in the "Recognition" and "Enrollment Documents" sections of your personal account.

Once the section "Enrollment Documents" is correctly completed, you will receive a notification confirming that your documents have been accepted. After that, you will need to fill out the "Arrival to the Admissions Office" section. The section is open until August 19, 23:59.

Address of the Admissions Office in Moscow: Pokrovsky Boulevard 11, Building 10 (Entrance No. 1 from Pokrovsky Boulevard).

Important:

Admission will be conducted strictly by appointment, which must be scheduled in the "Arrival to the Admissions Office" section of your personal account.

For the Perm campus:
Between August 25 and 30 (for visa-required countries – until October 31, 2025), enrollment is also conducted in person. You must bring the original documents uploaded in your personal account.

Address of the Admissions Office in Perm: Studencheskaya Street 28, Room 205, phone: +7 (919) 486-61-31, Email: admissionsperm@hse.ru

For the St. Petersburg campus:
From July 17 to August 30 (for visa-required countries – until October 31, 2025), enrollment is conducted remotely (online) based on documents submitted via the applicant’s personal account.

For questions about enrollment in St. Petersburg: Center for International Education, Phone: +7 (812) 644-59-11 ext. 61583, Email: iadmission-spb@hse.ru

For the Nizhny Novgorod campus:
From July 17 to August 30 (for visa-required countries – until October 31, 2025), enrollment is conducted remotely (online) based on documents submitted via the applicant’s personal account.

For questions about enrollment in Nizhny Novgorod: International Office, Phone: +7 (831) 436-74-09 ext. 6306, 6513, Email: admissionsnn@hse.ru

Enrollment for fee-paying places (all campuses)

From August 25 to August 30, 2025, enrollment is conducted remotely (online) based on the following documents submitted via the personal account of the international applicant:

Enrollment Request Form
Enrollment Consent
Consent for Processing of Personal Data
Consent for processing of personal data, permitted for distribution
Acknowledgement of Visa and Migration Rules by International Students
Payment receipt for the first semester

Important:
Enrollment for fee-paying places is based on ranked lists of applicants within the established number of seats for each undergraduate and graduate programme.

Lists of applicants included in the enrollment orders are published on the page https://admissions.hse.ru:

Master’s programmes – no later than August 27, 2025
Bachelor’s programmes – no later than August 27, 2025

Important:
Upon arrival for studies, international students must personally sign the original copy of the educational services agreement at the academic office of their degree programme within five working days from the start of classes.

Please note: For applicants to Moscow and Perm

If your name is included in the list of applicants scheduled for enrollment (for the Moscow and Perm campuses), and you are already in Russia, you may come to the Admissions Office for international applicants to submit documents in person between August 25 and 30, 2025. Please inform the Admissions Office staff in advance:

Moscow: Center for International Admissions
Email: inter_doc@hse.ru

Perm: Office for International Cooperation
Phone: +7 (919) 486-61-31
Email: admissionsperm@hse.ru

3. Visa application

Visa applications shall be submitted in the section Visa (Виза) in your personal account.

If you have been recommended for admission to a government-funded place, information about your visa invitation is expected to be available in Russia-edu.ru system in July - August.

If you have been recommended for admission to a fee-paying place, a copy of your visa invitation will be posted in the section Visa (Виза) in your personal account within 45 days since you submitted this section.

Please note that applicants who arrive to study in Russian universities from the following countries DO NOT NEED to apply for a student visa: the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of South Ossetia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Tajikistan, Ukraine, Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as holders of diplomatic visas.

You can find detailed information by referring to Visa and Registration Centre.

4. Housing for international students

For campus in Moscow

Places in the University dormitories are provided for those who have obtained the recommendation for admission with the full scholarship. The check-in referral to the dormitory of HSE University will be available on the day of enrolment.

The validity period of the check-in referral is 10 days.

The average cost of a place in a dormitory in Moscow is about 2000 rubles per month.

IMPORTANT! Check-in at the dormitory will be possible no earlier than August 24, 2025.

In accordance with the "Internal Regulations of the HSE Student Dormitory", in order to move into a dormitory/residential complex a student must have:

Passport.
Certificate of preventive vaccinations, including measles (form №156/93) or a certificate of vaccination in any form (with a notarial translation into Russian).
The reference in the form 086/у or the certificate in the form of Appendix № 8 to the "Rules of residence" with marks about fluorography, blood test on HIV, Hepatitis B and the conclusion of the therapist about absence of contraindications to accommodation in a hostel (valid for 6 months) or copies of medical certificates received after passing the medical examination (MODF), or a copy of dactocard received within the requirements of FZ-274.

Important! If a medical certificate 086/y or MODF or dactocard is not available, the above documents must be presented within 30 calendar days from the date of check-in at the dormitory. Prior to obtaining the above medical documents, a student must present a certificate of absence of tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis B with a therapist's note that there are no contraindications for living in the dormitory with notarial translation into Russian (the certificate is valid for 6 months).

Medical policy covering the entire period of stay in Russia - VMI from a Russian insurance company or international / tourist policy (with a notarial translation into Russian).
Your migration card received upon the crossing of the border of the Russian Federation (in the airport or any other border checkpoint in Russia) or a copy of your entry visa.

IMPORTANT! Please make sure to state the purpose of your visit as Study (Учеба) in your migration card. If in your migration card is indicated another purpose (for example, "Private"), then moving to the dormitory will be impossible.

Trainees are citizens of the Republic of Belarus; foreign citizens who have a residence permit, temporary residence permit or temporary residence permit on the territory of the Russian Federation:

Passport.
Certificate of preventive immunization, including certificate of measles vaccination (form №156/93) or a certificate of vaccination in any form (with notarial translation into Russian).
The reference in the form 086/у or reference in the form of Appendix № 8 to the "Rules of residence" with the marks about fluorography, blood test on HIV, Hepatitis B and the conclusion of the therapist about the absence of contraindications to stay in the hostel - the term of validity of certificates is 6 months.
Health insurance policy (for those who have a residence permit and/or work in Russia) or a health insurance policy issued by a Russian insurance company covering the entire period of stay in Russia or an international policy (with a notarized translation into Russian) / tourist policy.

Important! MHI policy is issued from the registration date until the end of the calendar year and requires annual renewal.

IMPORTANT! Please make sure to state the purpose of your visit as Study (Учеба) in your migration card. If in your migration card is indicated another purpose (for example, "Private"), then moving to the dormitory will be impossible.

For students admitted to fee-paying places, a special accommodation service is launched. Using this service you will be able to choose one of the available variants for living outside the HSE University. More details about the service for choosing accommodation options are available on the website.

For campus in Saint-Petersburg

Dormitory places will be allocated via the applicant's personal accounts. You will get access to the Dormitory section in your personal account, once you’ve completed the Enrolment Consent and Recognition of Foreign Education and (or) Qualifications sections but no earlier than August 2025. Therefore, by the time you visit us to submit your documents, a place at the dormitory will have already been assigned to you. Please download and print out an accommodation referral form to present at the dormitory.

IMPORTANT! Check-in at the dormitory will be possible no earlier than August 28, 2025. At the dormitory, international students shall submit the following:

the original copy of health certificates (general health certificate or form 086y);
chest X-ray screening;
copy of a certificate of vaccination;
medical insurance policy;
copies of passport, visa, and migration card;
2 (two) 3x4 photographs (matte or glossy)

For campus in Perm

At the time of arrival to study at HSE Perm, each applicant will be provided with a place in one of the dormitories of the university. Please email admissionsperm@hse.ru to find out the address of the dormitory where you will be assigned.

IMPORTANT: Admission to the dormitories will be possible from August 18, 2025.

The average cost of a place in the dormitory: 700 rubles per month.

At check-in in the university dormitory international students provide:

a copy of a passport and a copy of a notarized translation of the passport into Russian;
medical insurance valid on the territory of the Russian Federation, acquired before arrival in the Russian Federation or right after arrival;
health certificate (086u form). When issuing a medical insurance, a medical examination can be included in the list of services, which the student will be able to undergo upon arrival in the Russian Federation. A health certificate can be given on the results of the medical examination;
a certificate of HIV/AIDS status;
fluorography result;
a vaccination certificate (form No. 156/93).

For campus in Nizhny Novgorod

For all international students HSE University’s dormitories are available, places are distributed via their personal online accounts. Access to the section Dormitory (Общежитие) in your account will be available after completing the section Offer of Admission (Согласие), as well as the recognition procedure, but not earlier than August 2025. Therefore, by the moment of your arrival to study, a place in one of HSE University’s dormitories will be reserved for you. Please download and print out an accommodation referral form to present at the dormitory.

IMPORTANT! Check-in at the dormitory will be possible no earlier than August 28, 2025. At the dormitory, international students shall submit the following:

a certificate of vaccinations carried out or a copy of a certificate of preventive vaccinations (form No. 156 / y-93);
a voluntary health insurance policy (VHI) valid in Russia. The voluntary health insurance policy should include medical examination, which is to be done after the arrival to Russia. After the medical examination, a student will be provided with the certificate that should be handed to the dormitory.

Please see all the details about HSE Dormitories in Nizhny Novgorod here.

5. Submission of documents upon arrival in Moscow

After you arrive in Moscow, you should contact your Study Office.

Please be ready to present the following documents:

For students admitted to government-funded places:

your passport and a copy of your passport with a notarized Russian translation (if necessary);
original certificates of education (diploma + transcript) with respective copies of a notarized Russian translation (if necessary);
a copy of your migration card received upon the crossing of the border of the Russian Federation (in the airport or any other border checkpoint in Russia) or a copy of your entry visa.
2 (two) 3x4 photographs (color or black and white);
a voluntary health insurance policy (VHI) valid in Russia. You must have a valid VHI policy during the entire period of study. More information about Medical Aid & Insurance for international students is available here.

For students admitted to fee-paying places:

your passport and a copy of your passport with a notarized Russian translation (if necessary);
original certificates of education (diploma + transcript) with respective copies of a notarized Russian translation (if necessary);
a copy of the education agreement signed by the “Client” side;
a confirmation of payment for Semester 1 of the current academic year;

IMPORTANT! Upon arrival for studying, the contract will be signed personally by the “Client” and the “Contractor”. If the “Client” under the contract is a legal entity or one of the student's parents, it is necessary to provide 3 (three) copies of the contract with the personal signature of the “Client”.

a copy of your migration card received upon the crossing of the border of the Russian Federation (in the airport or any other border checkpoint in Russia) or a copy of your entry visa.
2 (two) 3x4 photographs (color or black and white);
a voluntary health insurance policy (VHI) valid in Russia. You must have a valid VHI policy during the entire period of study. More information about Medical Aid & Insurance for international students is available here.