Russian Courses for International Students

This year, HSE Nizhny Novgorod is launching two programmes of Russian as a foreign language.

The Summer Preparatory Course is an intensive course in Russian for international students who have a basic knowledge of Russian and who have enrolled in degree programmes at HSE. The programme will help them adapt to their new social and language environment, improve their Russian skills, and provide them with basic knowledge in their chosen field.

The Summer Preparatory Course starts on July 31, 2017, and it lasts three weeks (100 in-class hours). Those students who successfully complete the Summer Preparatory Course will receive a 25% discount valid throughout the whole period of their degree studies at HSE. Participants will be provided with dormitory accommodation.

On October 1, 2017, a longer Russian Language Preparatory Course kicks off. This course is for international students who have completed their secondary education, and for Russian citizens for whom Russian is not a native language.

This programme helps students improve their language skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing), as well as to adapt to their new educational environment. In addition to Russian, participants will study subjects related to their area of specialization. The course offers participants who already have B1 level (the first certified level) Russian additional skills that will enable them to pass the TRKI-1 exam. Students who complete this programme and pass the Russian language exam receive a certificate giving them the right to continue their education at Russian universities’ undergraduate and master’s programmes.

The programme lasts 10 months. International students who complete the Russian Language Preparatory Course will get a 25% discount for the whole period of their further degree studies at HSE.

Talking about the importance of such programmes, Natalya Gronskaya, Deputy Director of HSE Nizhny Novgorod, emphasized:

'In addition to the growing number of English-taught educational programmes offered at HSE, we would like our international students to have the opportunity to study in Russian. This way, they would be able to master a profession and learn about Russian culture, understand the country and form their own view of Russia and the Russians.'