Summary of Russia`s 2025/2026 University Admission Campaign
According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Minobrnauki), the admission campaign for the 2025/2026 academic year has concluded with an impressive outcome: 99.6% of all state-funded university places were successfully filled.
The preliminary results of the 2025 campaign, along with planned changes for the upcoming year, were discussed at a recent meeting of the Ministry`s Public Council. The session was inaugurated by the head of the department, Valery Falkov.
Out of a total of 441.9 thousand state-funded places allocated for bachelor`s, specialist`s, and the newly introduced basic higher education programs for the 2025/2026 academic year, a remarkable 99.6% were occupied. Applicant demand was particularly high for fields such as `Informatics and Computer Engineering,` `Economics and Management,` `Education and Pedagogical Sciences,` `Clinical Medicine,` and `Mechanical Engineering.`
Furthermore, approximately 29,000 individuals were admitted under a special quota, accounting for 55.1% of the designated volume. While education legislation stipulates that this quota must constitute at least 10% of the total state-funded places, it is noteworthy that 328 out of 877 universities surpassed this minimum threshold.
Pilot programs encompassing basic and specialized higher education, as well as postgraduate studies, continue to attract significant interest from prospective students. In 2025, these programs received 269.4 thousand applications, marking a substantial increase from 173 thousand applications in 2024. The average Unified State Exam (USE) score for applicants admitted to pilot programs was 4.1 points higher than the national average for comparable programs.
