In a statement released at the start of the new academic year, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education announced that nine of the 17 universities taking part in the country’s pilot project for higher education reform have now fully restructured their programmes under the new model. Minister Valery Falkov noted that both students and employers have shown markedly greater interest in the redesigned courses since the project began.

The pilot, which first launched in 2023 with six institutions, was expanded to 17 universities by presidential decree in January. Its core purpose is to replace the bachelor’s–master’s structure inherited from the Bologna system – adopted by Russia in 2003 – with a tiered system of basic higher education (lasting four to six years) and specialised higher education (one to three years), followed by doctoral study. The ministry plans to complete the transition for all Russian universities by 2030, with individual groups of specialities beginning the change from 2027.

For the coming academic year, 42,400 state-funded places have been allocated across the 17 pilot universities, which will offer 581 new educational programmes. Between 2023 and 2025, more than 33,500 students enrolled in pilot programmes. The ministry reports that the first phase of implementation has been successfully completed, and that rectors at participating institutions expect to fill all of their state-funded positions.

The reform marks a deliberate departure from the Bologna framework, which had been in place for two decades. The new model is designed to strengthen the practical orientation of degrees and to link curricula more closely to labour market demands, without imposing uniform study durations. According to the ministry, the flexibility of the new system – combined with a mandatory fundamental core – has begun to attract greater interest from both applicants and employers.

As the academic year begins, nine universities have already rewritten their entire course offerings to match the new standards. The remaining eight pilot institutions are expected to complete their restructuring in the near future, while the wider system prepares for a phased, nationwide shift that the government aims to conclude before the end of the decade.