Russian students are increasingly choosing to pursue university degrees abroad.  According to the Institute of International Education Open Doors Report, approximately 5,412 Russian students studied in the United States in 2017.  

Over a five-year period from 2012 to 2017, there has been an 18-percent increase in the number of Russian students studying in U.S. schools.

Education in Russia is predominantly state-run and is regulated by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Education (which, until May 2018, were one Ministry). Regional authorities regulate education in their jurisdictions within the prevailing framework of federal laws. Russia’s expenditure on education has grown from 2.7 percent of the GDP in 2005 to 3.8 percent in 2015, but remains below the OECD average of 5.2 percent.

Private institutions account for one  ercent of pre-school enrollment, 0.5 percent of elementary school enrollment, and 17 percent of university enrollment. Education in state-owned secondary schools is free; first tertiary (university level) education is free with caveats; and a substantial number of students are enrolled for full-tuition fees. Male and female students are represented equally in all stages of education, except tertiary education, where women represent 57 percent of students. The literacy rate in Russia, according to a 2017 estimate by the Central Intelligence Agency, is 99.7 percent (99.7 percent for men, 99.6 percent for women). According to a 2017 OECD estimate, 54 percent of Russian adults aged 25 to 64 have attained a tertiary education, giving Russia the second highest attainment of college-level education in the world. Nearly 48 percent have completed secondary education (the full 11-year course); 26.5 percent have completed middle school (nine years), and 8.1 percent have elementary education (at least four years). Women aged 35-39 have the highest rate of tertiary education at 24.7 percent (compared to 19.5 percent for men of the same age bracket).

Opportunities

As many Russian students are interested in pursuing their graduate studies in the U.S., most Russian students choose to major in Business/Management, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Fine/Applied Arts, Maths/Computer Science, and Engineering. Summer English language programs are very popular among Russian high-school and undergraduate students. There is also an increasing interest in elite U.S. boarding schools for pre-college-age children (from the age of 12 and up) from wealthy Russian families.