Indian students looking to pursue higher education abroad now have a new pathway, as the Russian government has announced 300 fully funded scholarships for the 2026–27 academic year. These scholarships cover studies at several top Russian universities and are available across a wide range of subjects.
The programme supports admissions into undergraduate, specialist, postgraduate (master’s), PhD programmes, as well as advanced training courses. Under this scheme, most universities waive tuition fees completely, except for Lomonosov Moscow State University and MGIMO, which follow separate policies.
Students can choose from multiple fields, including medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architecture, agriculture, management, economics, humanities, mathematics, space science, aviation, sports, and arts. Many engineering and medical programmes are also offered in English. For those who need language support, a one-year Russian language preparatory course is available before starting the main programme.
Applications must be submitted only through the official portal: education-in-russia.com. Submissions through any other site will not be accepted.
The selection process has two stages. In the first stage, candidates are shortlisted based on academic performance and documents such as recommendation letters, research work, and certificates from competitions. Those selected move to the second stage, where they are allocated to universities and guided through visa procedures by Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The deadline for the first round of applications is January 15, 2026. India’s Ministry of Education has confirmed that it has no role in the nomination or selection of students for this programme.
