SPbU International — to a PhD
If you're a foreign Specialist or Master's student who wants a PhD at Saint Petersburg University on a budget-funded place, this is your route. An olympiad built specifically for foreign nationals, fully remote, assessed on your scientific portfolio and a language test.
An extra benefit for the Master's track: winners and prize-winners may apply through the Russian Government quota path for Master's programs 2026/27 — subject to the list's and the quota's conditions
Official file (PDF) ↗The new season usually opens mid-November — sign up with us and we'll alert you as soon as it's confirmed.
International students are eligible according to the official list (the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education's 2026/27 Master's list). Admission benefits themselves vary by programme, track and admission rules.
🎓 Who exactly? The regulation says: foreign students on Specialist and Master's programmes — with the aim of admitting them to programmes for training scientific and teaching staff at doctoral level (аспирантура).
🏛️ And the legal basis is named explicitly: Russian Government Decree No. 2150 of 18/12/2020, and Ministry of Science Order No. 1378 of 3/11/2020.
🔬 And the nature of the assessment matters here: the portfolio measures “academic and/or scientific achievements” — and for a doctoral route that means your research and publications are your strongest card. Start gathering them now.
🚫 And one restriction genuinely excludes people: if you already hold a doctorate or a Candidate of Sciences degree (кандидат наук) from any country — enrolment is explicitly not permitted, and participation itself is conditional on not holding one.
📄 Source age: these clauses and figures come from the 2025/2026 season regulation published on abiturient.spbu.ru — the university issues a new one each season, so check it when it lands.
What is this olympiad?
“Saint Petersburg University's Open International Olympiad for Foreign Specialist and Master's Students” — the university runs it to select foreign nationals for doctoral study (аспирантура) on federal budget places within the Russian government quota.
🔀 This is the third version of the same olympiad: one for school students (← Bachelor's), one for Bachelor's students (← Master's), and this one for Specialist and Master's students (← PhD).
The format: each subject has a document competition (portfolio) + an oral-written Russian test. There is no subject exam — your scientific file is what gets assessed.
What could you reach?
🎯 How it actually works: the university's admissions committee sends your name to the ministry as a recommendation for a place within the quota, and the ministry is what issues the final study referral. So winning opens the door and you hold official backing from the university — but it doesn't secure you the place. And tuition coverage ≠ living coverage, so prepare your budget.
🗣️An exemption from the Russian test — if you already studied in Russian
📄 Source: the olympiad's official regulation — 2025/2026 season
💻Exam day — rules that can disqualify you
📄 Source: the olympiad's official regulation — 2025/2026 season
⚠️Things to watch out for
📄 Source: the olympiad's official regulation — 2025/2026 season
The timetable and the steps
On the university's site. You submit an application addressed to the rector in one or more subjects — a maximum of 3, then print it, sign it and upload it.
The regulation says the correspondence between study programmes and olympiad subjects is set by the admissions committee and published on abiturient.spbu.ru no later than 5 February. So your subject determines which programmes you can enter — read the table before you choose.
Proof of identity + its notarised Russian translation, your education document and its annexes + their translation, consent to data processing, and a copy of your study visa if you have one. 🟢 And if you haven't graduated yet: the regulation lets you submit a certificate from your university with your grades for all completed study periods instead of the diploma.
Each subject includes a document competition whose purpose is “to reveal the participants' academic and/or scientific achievements” — meaning your research, publications and participations are what get assessed. It must be uploaded before 6 February.
To prove Russian at ТРКИ-II (B2) level for subjects held in Russian. For subjects held in a language other than Russian: ТЭУ (A1) is enough, plus a written test in that language. All tests are remote — official text.
The participant lists, with the winners' list marked out, are published on the admissions committee's site no later than 13 March. And the regulation says the “winner or not” decision is taken for each participant individually — there is no relative ranking between you.
Before 20 March you must email [email protected] confirming you wish to study (or declining) using a form attached to the regulation, and submit your admission application and upload the full document file: the form in block capitals with a colour photo · a medical certificate of no health contraindications and freedom from all types of hepatitis and tuberculosis · an HIV-free certificate · a 3×4 photo.
🔴 All documents must be in Russian or with a notarised Russian translation, or from a body authorised under the law and international agreements. A notarised translation takes time and money — start it now, not after you win.
The subjects
The subject list and the table mapping them to doctoral programmes are published on the international admissions page — check it before you choose:
Who can take part?
The regulation says: foreign nationals and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad — you are the intended audience.
The regulation says: you are on a Specialist or Master's programme (in Russia or abroad) and complete it in 2026. Or the regulation: you completed it earlier.
If you're a Bachelor's student, your version is the one leading to a Master's.
The regulation requires that you do not hold: a diploma of completed doctoral study (аспирантура/адъюнктура) · a certificate of its completion · a Candidate of Sciences degree (кандидат наук) — and that you are not completing a doctoral programme in 2026.
And it is confirmed from the enrolment side: enrolment is not permitted for anyone holding any of those documents — regardless of the country the diploma was obtained in. So a doctorate from anywhere in the world closes this door.
The portfolio measures academic and scientific achievements — research, publications and conferences are the strongest card on a doctoral route.
The regulation lists 25 subjects, and only two are specified as being in English (Mathematics and Mechanics · Management) — those are the ones where A1 suffices. So here Russian is a real requirement for most routes, unlike the Bachelor's version with its 11 English-language subjects.
🟢 Unless you completed your previous level in Russian in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Abkhazia or South Ossetia — the regulation then exempts you from the test on production of the document.
A certificate from your university with your grades for all completed study periods is allowed instead of the diploma.
Tap any question to open the answer ▾
💬How many subjects can I enter?
A maximum of 3 subjects. And your subject determines which doctoral programmes you can enter — the mapping table is published no later than 5 February.
💬Are the tests in person or online?
All of them are remote — official text on the olympiad's site.
💬🗣️ My Russian is weak — are there subjects in English?
There are only two. This route's regulation lists 25 subjects, and two are specified as «на английском языке»: Mathematics and Mechanics and Management. Those two require only A1 Russian + a written test in English.
🔴 Note the difference: the Bachelor's version (→ Master's) has 11 English-language subjects out of 42 — far wider. If you're a Bachelor's student, this isn't your page anyway. But on this doctoral route, B2 Russian is a real requirement for 23 of the 25 subjects.
🟢 There is one exemption though: the regulation says the Russian test counts as passed without an exam if you submit a document proving you completed your previous level in Russian in: Russia · Belarus · Kazakhstan · Kyrgyzstan · Abkhazia · South Ossetia.
💬🚫 I already have a doctorate from my country — can I take part?
No. And this is the clearest point in the whole regulation. It requires that you do not hold a diploma of completed doctoral study (аспирантура), nor a certificate of its completion, nor a Candidate of Sciences degree (кандидат наук), and that you are not completing a doctoral programme in 2026.
And it is closed from the enrolment side too: “enrolment … is not permitted regardless of the state in which the relevant diploma was obtained” — so a doctorate from anywhere in the world excludes you, not just a Russian one.
👥 So who is this route for? Someone who holds a Specialist or Master's degree and wants a first doctorate.
💬What matters most in the portfolio for a doctoral route?
The regulation says the document competition aims “to reveal academic and/or scientific achievements”. On a doctoral route that means published research, conferences and scientific participations. Start gathering and documenting them now — a portfolio isn't built in a week.
💬Does winning mean I've been admitted?
Winning opens the door — and the ministry is what issues the final decision. The regulation says the university's admissions committee gives winners an official recommendation to study on budget places within the quota — meaning the university itself nominates you to the ministry, and that is the strongest backing you can enter the quota with. After that the ministry issues the final study referral.
🟢 And something in your favour: the “winner or not” decision is taken for each participant individually — the regulation announces no closed number of winners, so you are not competing for a pre-set number of slots.
💬🔴 I found two websites — which one is mine?
int-olimpiada.spbu.ru is yours (the Open International one for foreign nationals). Whereas olympiada.spbu.ru is the local “school students' olympiad”, whose benefit is conditional on your ЕГЭ result, whose final is in person and whose costs are on the participant.
This opportunity is competitive — and winning gives you an official recommendation from the university's admissions committee to the ministry (рекомендация) for a place within the government quota, and the final decision is issued by the Ministry of Science. So the recommendation is the door — but it is not the place itself. Final reference: int-olimpiada.spbu.ru and the international admissions page at abiturient.spbu.ru — the dates change every season, so open them and check before any step.
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