Master's · Bachelor's students and graduates · Places within the government quota
The “Izumrud.Student” Olympiad
Ural Federal University (UrFU)
An international student olympiad run by Ural Federal University (UrFU) in Yekaterinburg, for Bachelor's/Specialist students and graduates. It runs in two stages: an online qualifier and an in-person final. Winners and prize-winners can enter a UrFU Master's on a funded place — and foreign nationals get a wider route than that; read on.
As of the time of writing (26 July 2026) the official page still shows the 2025/26 timetable, which has finished. We've reproduced it below so you know the rhythm of the season and can prepare — not so you can rely on it as a date. The moment new dates appear on urfu.ru you'll find them here, and if you're signed up with us we'll send you an alert.
Can you apply? Read this first
🌍 If you are an international student: the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education allocates Master's places within the Russian Federation government quota to winners and prize-winners who are not Russian citizens — and the official page says this allows admission to a Master's programme at any university in the country, not just UrFU. ↳ The officially announced numbers: 25 places for 2023/24 · 31 places for 2024/25 · 20 places for 2025/26. The figure for 2026/27 has not been announced yet. 🎓 If you're in your third year: the official page says foreign winners in their third year can use the place after a year — that is, once they've finished their fourth year. ↳ The exact wording and conditions are on the official page — check them before you build a plan around this.
20quota placesFor foreign winners in 2025/26 (31 before that · 25 before that)
1official sourceurfu.ru — the final reference
The opportunity
What is this olympiad?
An international student olympiad run by Ural Federal University (УрФУ) in Yekaterinburg. Per the official page's own description, it is held across Russia and the countries of the “near abroad”, for Bachelor's and Specialist students and graduates (бакалавриат/специалитет).
It splits into two stages: a qualifier (отборочный) held online and remotely, and a final (заключительный) held in person on paper at a set venue. Between the two, a “passing score” (проходной балл) is published for each subject area, and whoever clears it picks the city where they'll sit the final.
⚠️ Mind the difference: UrFU also runs an olympiad called “Izumrud” without the word “Student” — that one is for school students (years 8–11) and leads to a Bachelor's, with a completely different timetable. This page is about “Izumrud.Student” only.
The potential prize
What do you gain?
Winners and prize-winners can enter a UrFU Master's on a budget-funded place (бюджетная основа)
Winners and prize-winners who are not Russian citizens: Master's places within the Russian government quota — and the official page says this allows admission to a Master's at any university in the country
The announced numbers for those places: 25 (2023/24) · 31 (2024/25) · 20 (2025/26) — so the number changes every year and is not fixed
Third-year winners can use the place after a year, i.e. once they've completed their fourth year
This is a competitive contest with no guarantee. The number of quota places is limited and changes every season (25 → 31 → 20), and benefiting from one depends on winning or placing and on the ministry's and the university's conditions. The exact wording is on the official page.
How to apply
How do you apply?
The registration steps exactly as described on the official page for the 2025/26 season (the procedure usually repeats, but check the page as soon as the new season opens):
Create a student account on the testing portal dovuz.urfu.ru
Fill in your profile completely: name, institution, year of study and all the other mandatory fields
Verify (confirm) your phone number — without it the application won't go through
Submit the participation application and choose your subject area(s)
Wait for review: 1–2 working days normally, and up to 10 working days at peak times
Once approved, the tests open in your personal account and you can sit them at any point during the qualifying window
📌 An important tip from the official page itself: go by the published passing score, not by an invitation email. The organisers do send email invitations but say plainly that they aren't a reliable channel (spam filters plus list-export conflicts). If you cleared the passing score, turn up and take part.
📜 And from the official regulation — details that matter to you:
• Participation is individual and open to Bachelor's and Specialist students and to graduates — “regardless of place of residence and citizenship” (clause 3.1).
• Participation is free and any fee is prohibited — but travel, accommodation and meals are on the participant or their sending institution (clause 3.3), and the final stage is in person, so budget for it.
• 🎯 A big advantage: winners and prize-winners of previous years' finals go straight into the final and receive a full 100 points in the qualifying stage (clause 3.4) — so taking part this year pays off next year.
• Finals held outside Russia are for those permanently resident outside Russia (clause 3.5).
• The working language is Russian (clause 2.10), and the olympiad has two stages: a qualifier (online or in person) and a final that is in person only (clauses 2.7–2.9).
What a season looks like — the 2025/26 timetable (finished)
1
Registration + qualifying stage (online)
1 September 2025 – 18 January 2026
2
Passing scores published
No later than 19 January 2026
3
Choose your city + upload documents
19 – 27 January 2026
4
Final stage (in person, on paper)
31 January – 2 February 2026
5
Remote paper review + appeals
27 March 2026 (postponed)
6
Results announced and awards
10 April 2026
🔴 This timetable is last season's (2025/26) and it has finished — reproduced from the official page as-is so you know the rhythm and can prepare. These are not the 2026/27 dates.
📜 And the official regulation (clause 1.5) fixes the annual window: the olympiad runs each year from 1 September to 1 April. So the 2026/27 season will fall inside that range — the exact dates are set in the annual “Регламент”, approved by the chair of the organising committee and published on the olympiad's page.
Tracks
The five subject areas
The areas exactly as announced on the official page:
Natural sciences (Естественные науки)Engineering sciences (Инженерные науки)Mathematics and informatics (Математика и информатика)Social sciences and humanities (Социальные и гуманитарные науки)Economics and management (Экономика и управление)
Eligibility
Who can take part?
🎓 Students and graduates of Bachelor's or Specialist (специалитет) programmes — exactly as written on the official page.
🌍 The olympiad is held in Russia and in countries of the “near abroad” — and the announced venues for the final stage in the 2025/26 season were in Russian cities plus Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
⚠️ So, plainly: if you're outside those countries, the final stage is in person and you have to budget travel and a visa into your plan. Only the qualifying stage is online. The 2026/27 venues may differ — check the official page as soon as they're announced.
Common questions
Tap any question to open the answer ▾
💬What's the difference between “Izumrud” and “Izumrud.Student”?▾
They're two completely different olympiads from the same university. “Izumrud” (izumrud.urfu.ru) is for school students in years 8–11 and leads to admission benefits for a Bachelor's. “Izumrud.Student” — the one this page is about — is for Bachelor's students and graduates and leads to a Master's. The timetables are different, so make sure you're reading the right page.
💬What are the 2026/27 dates?▾
Not announced yet as of the time of writing (26 July 2026). The official page still shows the 2025/26 timetable, which has finished. We've reproduced it above so you know the expected rhythm, not so you can book dates against it. Sign up with us and we'll alert you the moment we spot the update.
💬I'm not in Russia — can I take part?▾
The qualifying stage is online, so you can do it from anywhere. But the final stage is in person, and the announced venues in 2025/26 were in Russian cities and in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan only. So if you're outside those countries you have to budget travel. Check the new season's venues as soon as they're announced.
💬Does winning mean a guaranteed free Master's?▾
No. The olympiad is competitive, the places are limited and the number changes every year (25 → 31 → 20). Winning or placing opens up the possibility of a funded place or a place within the quota, subject to the ministry's and the university's conditions — so winning opens the door, and the final decision is an official one.
💬I'm in my third year of a Bachelor's — should I enter now or wait?▾
The official page says foreign winners and prize-winners in their third year can apply for a Master's programme within the quota after a year, i.e. once they've completed their fourth year. So entering while you're in third year isn't wasted — the benefit is just deferred.
Everything here is taken from the official page urfu.ru/ru/students/olympic/izumrud/ at the time of writing (26 July 2026). The timetable shown is last season's (2025/26), which has finished — the 2026/27 dates are not announced yet. The olympiad is competitive and not guaranteed, and the conditions, venues and place counts change — the official page is always the final reference.
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Next season's dates aren't announced yet. Open the olympiad's page on urfu.ru and check, and if you sign up with us we'll send you an alert the moment we spot an update.
