Open Doors Scholarship: The Full Guide

What Is the Open Doors Russian Scholarship Project?

Open Doors is an international competition that awards fully tuition-free places at leading Russian universities. It is run by the Association of Global Universities with backing from Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Rossotrudnichestvo, and it has been held every year since 2017.

The scale is significant: participants have come from 185 countries, roughly 146,000 people have taken part, and more than 6,300 winners have been produced so far. Winners enrol at one of 24 participating Russian universities with their tuition paid by the Russian government under the state quota.

The single most useful thing to understand: the entire competition runs online. There is no exam centre to travel to, no application fee, and no IELTS or TOEFL requirement.

Who Can Apply for Open Doors

The competition is open to foreign citizens, stateless persons, and Russian compatriots living abroad. There are four tracks:

• Bachelor’s track — for applicants who have completed, or are completing, secondary school
• Master’s track — for applicants holding, or finishing, a bachelor’s degree
• Doctoral track (PhD equivalent) — for applicants holding, or finishing, a master’s or specialist degree
• Post-doctoral track — for applicants who already hold a PhD, Candidate of Science, or Doctor of Science at the time the portfolio is submitted

Russian citizens are not eligible. There is no age limit and no minimum GPA cut-off, though academic strength clearly helps.

Subject Areas Available

Open Doors is organised into fourteen broad subject areas rather than individual degree programmes:

• Applied Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence
• Biology and Biotechnology
• Business and Management
• Chemistry and Materials Science
• Clinical Medicine and Public Health
• Computer and Data Science
• Earth and Environmental Sciences for Sustainability
• Economics and Econometrics
• Education and Psychology
• Engineering and Technology
• Physical Sciences and Technology
• Politics and International Studies
• Russian Language and Culture
• Urbanism and Civil Engineering

You may enter more than one subject area, and each one needs its own motivation letter. Be careful with the second-stage timetable, because some subject areas sit their tasks on the same day. If you win in several areas, you must ultimately pick one subject area and one degree programme.

Open Doors 2026/2027 Timeline

These are the published dates for the current cycle. Always confirm them on the official site before you plan around them.

Stage	Dates
Registration and portfolio preparation	20 August – 1 November 2026
Portfolio submission deadline	1 November 2026
Stage 1 — portfolio grading	2 – 12 November 2026
Stage 1 results announced	13 November 2026
Stage 2 — registration	13 – 16 November 2026
Stage 2 — task sessions	17 November – 7 December 2026
Stage 2 results announced	11 December 2026
Appeals window	11 – 13 December 2026
Bachelor’s and master’s winners announced	21 December 2026
Stage 3 — doctoral and post-doctoral interviews	22 December 2026 – 26 February 2027
Doctoral and post-doctoral winners announced	26 February 2027

How the Three Stages Work

Stage 1: Portfolio

You build a portfolio in your personal account on the Open Doors platform. Only two items are strictly mandatory: a motivation letter and proof of your education level. If your final diploma is not ready, an official transcript or grade sheet is accepted at this stage.

Everything else is optional but raises your score: research papers, conference presentations, certificates, competition awards, and language certificates. Certified translations are not required at this stage. There is also an entrance test to complete inside your account before the portfolio can be submitted.

Your motivation letter should cover your academic and career goals, your achievements, why you chose that subject area, and why Russia. Doctoral applicants are strongly advised to summarise their thesis and outline a research plan.

You can withdraw and re-submit your portfolio to make edits, but only until early November — check the exact cut-off date in your account.

Stage 2: Proctored Tasks

Everyone who clears the portfolio round sits a three-hour proctored online task session. Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral tracks all take this format. Mobile phones and other devices are banned, you cannot open other browser tabs, and screenshots are prohibited — breaking these rules voids your result with no appeal.

Each subject area publishes its own programme and a set of sample tasks. Work through these before the exam; they are the single best preparation resource available.

A stable internet connection matters more than most applicants expect. A wired connection is recommended, because Wi-Fi and mobile data can drop mid-session even when they appear fast. There is one reserve day per subject area if you miss the main session for a valid reason, and you must register for it in advance.

Post-doctoral applicants take a different route at this stage: they submit a video presentation of their research results instead.

Stage 3: Interviews (Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Only)

Doctoral candidates book interviews with up to three prospective research supervisors. Post-doctoral candidates interview with up to six research project leaders. You need at least one supervisor to recommend you in order to be declared a winner. Doctoral winners do not choose a university directly — they choose a supervisor, and study wherever that supervisor works.

What the Open Doors Scholarship Covers

Covered	Not covered
Full tuition for the whole degree, paid by the Russian government	International flights
A monthly stipend (amount varies by university)	Accommodation and dormitory fees
One free preparatory year of Russian, if your programme is taught in Russian	Medical insurance
Admission without entrance examinations	Food, transport, and personal costs

Dormitory accommodation at Russian universities is generally inexpensive, but you pay for it yourself. Budget realistically: tuition is free, living is not.

Choosing Your Universities

During registration you select between one and six universities in priority order. If your first choice does not run the degree programme you want, your application moves down your list. The final choice is confirmed only after you win.

Several universities in the Open Doors consortium are also RUSBASE partner universities, including Sechenov University, HSE University, ITMO University, RUDN University, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, LETI, Kazan Federal University, and Novosibirsk State University. If you are already considering one of these, entering Open Doors costs you nothing but time.

Practical Details Worth Knowing

• Language certificates are not required, but uploading proof of your Russian or English level can raise your portfolio score.
• You can only use one government quota route. If you win Open Doors and are also selected through Rossotrudnichestvo, you must pick one.
• Programmes are taught in Russian or English depending on the university. A Russian-taught programme comes with a free preparatory language year, and your place is held for the following academic year.
• You can work while studying in Russia without a separate work permit, remotely or on site.
• Previous accounts do not carry over. If you competed last year and did not win, create a new account.
• Personal details cannot be edited after registration by yourself — you have to contact the organisers through the feedback form.
• Appeals apply only to Stage 2, within two days of results. There is no appeal for the portfolio round or the interviews.

How to Improve Your Chances

Three things separate winners from the rest, and none of them require a perfect academic record:

1. Start the portfolio early. Registration runs for over two months for a reason. Applicants who upload everything on the final day almost always leave points on the table.
2. Complete the sample tasks. Stage 2 is where most people are eliminated, and the published sample tasks show you exactly what the format looks like.
3. Write a specific motivation letter. Generic letters about “wanting to study abroad” score poorly. Name the research area, name the reason, and connect it to something you have actually done.

If You Do Not Win

Open Doors is competitive, and not winning is the normal outcome for most applicants. You have three realistic alternatives:

• Apply again next cycle — there is no limit on attempts
• Apply for the Russian Government Scholarship through Rossotrudnichestvo, which runs separately and offers around 15,000 places annually
• Enrol on a self-funded basis, where tuition at strong Russian universities starts from roughly $1,900 per year — often lower than the total cost of studying in most other destinations

Certificates from other olympiads and competitions also strengthen a government quota application, so competition results are rarely wasted effort.

Where to Apply

The official Open Doors platform is od.globaluni.ru, and the organising committee can be reached at opendoors@globaluni.ru. Registration and participation are free. Nobody can sell you a guaranteed place, and any agent claiming otherwise is not being honest with you.

If you are weighing Open Doors against self-funded admission, or you want help deciding which of the 24 universities fits your subject area, RUSBASE offers free consultations with our on-ground team in Russia.