Information for our partner universities

In this section we will accumulate and publish significant information related to all aspects of bilateral cooperation with our respective Partners at the "University-University" level.

We are looking forward to the realization of various forms of joint activities and to the further deepening of bilateral cooperation with our worldwide Partners!

Please submit respective proposals to the International Research & Technology Department of SPbSU Research Office in case you are interested in staff exchange and to Academic Mobility Department of SPbSU Academic Office in case you are interested in student exchange.

BILATERAL EXCHANGE
Since staff exchange and students exchange are at the present time most common and most significant forms of bilateral cooperation, for their realization in SPbSU we have created the following programmes:

• Students Exchange Programme (SEP)
• Academic Staff Exchange Programme

BILATERAL COOPERATION MANAGEMENT
At the present time there are 6 main guidelines of bilateral cooperation management:

1. International cooperation Top Management

is performed by Vice-Rector for International Affairs

Sergey Vladimirovich ANDRYUSHIN

Tel.: +7 (812) 326-49-43

1. General management of international cooperation in the framework of bilateral agreements at the "University-University" level

is performed by the International Research and Technology Department (for staff exchange and research) of the Research Office of SPbSU

and Academic Mobility Department (for student exchange and study) of the Academic Office of SPbSU.

1. Incoming mobility management
2. Outgoing mobility management
3. Joint participation in international projects and programmes & fundraising
4. Informational support & advertising

Иностранным Партнерам

Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет является одним из крупнейших международных научно-образовательных центров. Ежегодно руководство СПбГУ проводит более 50 различных встреч и заседаний с нашими зарубежными университетами-партнерами, представителями органов власти зарубежных стран; СПбГУ посещают крупнейшие исследователи, политики, ученые. Кроме этого, выдающиеся ученые из различных стран мира и университетов получили звание «Почетный доктор Санкт-Петербургского Государственного университета». О крупнейших предстоящих событиях в международной жизни Университета вы всегда сможете узнать на главной странице нашего сайта.

Университет содействует обмену студентами, профессорско-преподавательскими и научными кадрами, участвует в международных научно-образовательных программах и выставках. Университет имеет богатую практику по приему иностранных студентов на различные программы обучения - ежегодно в Университете проходят обучение более 2000 иностранных студентов.

Партнерами Университета являются высшие учебные заведения Европы, Америки и Азии. Полный перечень межуниверситетских соглашений вы можете найти в разделе зарубежные партнеры СПбГУ.

Кроме того, СПбГУ активно сотрудничает c университетами-партнерами в программах академической мобильности - Campus Europae, Santander University, Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window, Finnish-Russian Cross Border University, Finnish-Russian student exchange program.

Университет является членом крупных международных ассоциаций и активно сотрудничает с международными организациями.

В Университете функционирует ряд совместных образовательных программ, преподаваемых на английском языке: Master of International Business; Master of International Management; Master of International Technology and International Management; MBA; Medical Doctor study program, Medical college's study program; ПОМОР; MA program " Global Sociology: Comparative Perspectives"; Studies in European Societies, ACOPhys (Прикладная и вычислительная физика).

Students exchange programme (SEP) and Freemover programme

GENERAL INFORMATION

Student Exchange programme is available for students from SPbU partner universities who intend to spend 1 or 2 semesters in SPbU, the tuition fee is waived in the framework of bilateral cooperation agreements.
For the information concerning the students who are not from SPbU Partner Universities please see the Freemover (Visiting) Students Programme section at the bottom of this page.

SEP at SPbU is open for both undergraduate and graduate students, and also for postgraduate students who would like to attend lectures and seminars. SEP participants choose 1 host faculty at SPbU to attend lectures, seminars and practical training from the curricula provided for the current exchange period. The average workload for SEP students is 30 ECTS which equals about 20 academic hours per week (1 academic hour or AH = 45 minutes, duration of a class at SPSU is 2 AH = 90 minutes). The minimum number of credits for exchange students is 8 ECTS per semester.

SEP students can also take a free Russian language course (8 ECTS, 8 academic hours per week) during the whole exchange period. Classes are organized usually 2 times per week in groups (10-12 people) depending on students' current language skills. If chosen, a Russian language course is included in the workload for SEP students.

SEP students have an opportunity to study at a full-time Russian language programme at the faculty of Philology (30 ECTS, 20 academic hours per week). The course covers the main aspects of the Russian language (Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing, Grammar etc) and can include other courses, e.g. Russian literature or Media at upper levels. 

SEP STUDY PROGRAMME

SEP students have an individual study plan, which means they can choose any courses from the course catalogue, taking into account the following regulations:

All or most of the courses should be from 1 faculty or a set of faculties mentioned together in the course catalogue. If a student needs to combine courses from different fields of studies, he can add 1 or 2 courses from outside his main field of studies. 

If the student is interested in the Russian language course, he should remember to include it in his study plan.

The average workload is 30 ECTS per semester, the minimum workload is 10 ECTS per semester. 

At the end of the exchange period, SEP students get a Transcript of Records listing all the completed courses with their workload and grades.

SPbU grading scale related to ECTS grading system:

SEP DURATION

• 1 semester (minimum 4 months)
• 1 academic year (2 consecutive semesters, maximum 10 months starting from September only)

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

We consider a SEP application only if it is submitted through the online form 

Please, note that the form will not be submitted without the necessary documents. Important! Problems may occur if your documents are bigger than 1,5 Mb. Please, make sure that each document attached is not more than 1,5 Mb! 

After submitting the online form you will receive an automatic confirmation letter to your e-mail. If you don't receive the confirmation of your application (sometimes it arrives to spam), please, write an e-mail to e.petryanina@spbu.ru to check your application have been received.

We DO NOT require original application documents to be sent by post.

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Please, note that students can be accepted for the full academic year starting from September only! Students who come to SPbU in February can be accepted for one semester maximum.

REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

Please, submit your application through the online form. The following documents should be attached to the form (obligatory documents are marked with *)

1. Nomination letter by Applicant's Home University Exchange Coordinator (necessary for exchange students (coming within a bilateral agreement or Erasmus+ programme), we can also accept nomination by e-mail - in this case please attach a print screen of the e-mail to the online application form; not necessary for freemover (fee-paying) students). List of current student exchange partners can be found here.

2. Motivation letter* in Russian or English (.doc or .pdf, free format, app.1 page long – why you’ve chosen SPbU and what you are going to study here; please name the document “motivation_surname_name”)

3. Study Plan*: pdf, doc. (please, name “plan_surname_name”)
SPbU Academic Offer can be found here.
If you already have a learning agreement from your home university, you can submit it instead of the Study Plan. The plan doesn't have to be signed at the moment of application.

4. Copy of travelling passport* (.jpg or .pdf, the page with photo, full and readable copy; if you need a visa, your passport should be valid at least 1,5 years after the beginning of the exchange period; please, name “passport_surname_name”)

Applicant's passport should be valid minimum 1,5 years after the beginning of planned exchange period! Otherwise Applicant will be unable to get a Russian visa.

5. Confirmation of language proficiency* (Please, attach the confirmation of the language you're going to study in - Russian or English; language proficiency certificate not obligatory but still can be attached for students coming to full-time Russian language courses; obligatory in all other cases; please, name “language_surname_name”)

This could be either an International Certificate or a letter signed by Applicant's Home University Russian language teacher indicating Applicant's current language proficiency in accordance with the European Language Level Self Assessment Grid.

To apply for the courses taught in Russian students need to provide a certificate proving their level of the Russian language – B2 minimum. To apply for the courses taught in English students should provide a certificate of English language proficiency – B2 minimum. Students applying for full-time Russian language course don't have to provide a language certificate.

If the language you're going to study in is your native language, you don't need to provide a certificate of language proficiency.

6. Photo for documents 3*4, .jpg, good quality (not smaller than 450*600pix)

7. Transcript of Records (if any, please, name “transcript_surname_name”)

8. Copies of previous visas to the Russian Federation (if any).

SHORT-TERM RESEARCH PROGRAMME FOR STUDENTS

If you're not interested in taking courses, but plan to conduct research at Saint-Petersburg University, you can come to SPbU for short period (from 1 month to 1 year).

In this case you need to submit the following documents via the online form: Motivation letter*; Copy of travelling passport* - page with photo; Research plan (in free form); Letter from SPbU professor confirming his consent to supervise the planned research; General health certificate in Russian or English language (in free form, please, note that lung x-ray is obligatory for the dormitory; Nomination letter (in case of applying under exchange programme conditions). 

Admission to short-term research programme for students is possible either under exchange programme conditions or on a fee-paying basis. Please, note that if you come on fee-paying basis, you pay for the whole semester of studies even if your research period is shorter.

The deadline for application is at least 2 months before the planned beginning of the studies/research.

FREEMOVER (VISITING) STUDENTS PROGRAMME

Freemover (visiting) students programme is available for students who study at non-partner Universities or are not selected by their home University but who want to study selected courses at SPbU for 1 or 2 semesters without getting a degree, applicants are accepted on a fee-paying basis. Tuition fees depend on the chosen field of studies.

Application procedure for the visiting students is the same as for the SEP students except for the nomination from their home University, which is not necessary.

NON-DEGREE PROGRAMME EVALUATION

If you have already finished your non-degree studies, you can leave your review here.

PROMOTION MATERIALS AND EVENTS

Here you can find materials about exchange and freemover opportunities at SPbU.

Study in SPbU

Saint Petersburg University has several programmes available for international students:

1. If you want to get a degree from Saint Petersburg University, you can consider applying to SPbU Bachelor, Master of PhD programmes. You can apply on fee-paying basis or with the Russian Government Scholarship.
There are Preparatory Courses available for Foreign citizens that help to prepare for admission in the best way.

2. If you want to spend 1 semester or 1 academic year at Saint Petersburg University without getting a diploma of higher education, you can apply for the Exchange or Freemover programme at SPbU. Advantages of the exchange and freemover programmes include an individual study plan (30 ECTS per semester), free Russian language courses, full administrative and academic support and an Official Transcript of Records upon successful completion of the semester.

3. If you want to study Russian language course, you can join the SPbU Russian language courses. There are several programmes available from several weeks to a full year, including summer and winter schools and other programmes.
There is an official certified Russian Language Testing Centre, where you can take the internationally recognised TORFL test.

4. If you want to take a particular course at SPbU or get an understanding about the studies at the university, there are online courses in foreign languages available to all interested applicants.

5. If you want to take a short-term additional educational or professional development programme, SPbU offers a variety of such programmes in Russian or English.