Education Desk Mumbai

Indian students planning to study abroad now have a new opportunity as the Russian government has opened applications for 300 fully funded scholarships for the 2026–27 academic year. The programme allows students to pursue higher education at several leading Russian universities, covering a wide range of courses across multiple disciplines. The scholarship scheme is open to undergraduate, specialist, postgraduate and doctoral programmes, along with advanced training courses. Under this initiative, students are exempted from paying tuition fees at most universities, except at Lomonosov Moscow State University and MGIMO.

Courses Available

-Medicine and Pharmacy

-Engineering and Architecture

-Agriculture

-Management and Economics

-Humanities

-Mathematics and Natural Sciences

-pace Science and Aviation

-Sports and Arts

Several engineering and medical programmes are also taught in English. For those unfamiliar with Russian, the government provides a one-year language preparatory course before the degree begins. The selection process takes place in two stages. In the first stage, applicants are evaluated based on their academic performance and documents such as recommendation letters, research work or certificates from academic competitions. Those who make the shortlist go on to the second stage, which includes placement in suitable universities and the visa process, which is overseen by Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Applications for the first round should be received no later than January 15, 2026. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, has further clarified that it is not involved in the nomination or selection of candidates under these scholarships. All applications are to be submitted only through the official web portal, education-in-russia.com; the authorities have warned that entries via any other platform will not be considered.