Saint-Petersburg State University

St Petersburg University

St Petersburg University dates back to 1724, when Peter the Great founded the Academy of Sciences and Arts as well as the first Academic University and the university preparatory school in Russia. SPbU has given the world many famous people in science, politics, business, sports, literature, and art.

The University has Nobel Prize winners among its staff and alumni: physiologist Ivan Pavlov, biologist Ilya Mechnikov, physical chemist Nikolay Semyonov, physicists Lev Landau and Aleksandr Prokhorov, mathematician and economist Leonid Kantorovich. SPbU is also an alma mater to outstanding researchers, scholars, academics, political and social leaders: Dmitry Mendeleev, Vladimir Vernadsky, and Dmitry Likhachev to name but a few. The world owes to our University most prominent cultural leaders, writers and artists: Ivan Turgenev, Pavel Brullov, Alexander Blok, Alexandre Benois, Sergei Diaghilev, and Igor Stravinsky. Among the University alumni we are also proud to mention leaders of the Russian Government: Boris Sturmer, Alexander Kerensky, Vladimir Lenin, Presidents of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.

The University is consistently ranked highly in international university rankings (Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities) and subject rankings, which proves the success of our development strategy.

The University is fully-equipped to provide a diverse range of opportunities for education, research, and creativity: the richest M. Gorky Scientific Library, a comprehensive digital collection of scholarly editions, a state-of-the-art Research Park, laboratories headed by leading scientists, museums, a publishing house, sports clubs, a University choir, orchestras, drama and dance studios, and many more.

In 2009, the Federal Law granted St Petersburg University and Moscow State University the special status of ‘unique scientific and educational complexes …. instrumental in the development of the Russian society. SPbU was granted a privilege to set its own educational standards, award its own diplomas and state-recognised academic degrees of Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences.

St Petersburg University Today

• Over 4 700 academic staff members;
• 490 main educational programmes and more than 750 additional educational programmes;
• More than 1600 internship contracts and partnership agreements;
• 500+ foreign organisations and partner universities from 65 countries;
• 9 Nobel Prize winners;
• 23 resource centres of the University Research Park;
• More than 7 mln depository items in stock at the M. Gorky Scientific Library of St Petersburg University;
• Over 13 000 places in the University halls of residence.

We help our graduates to build a successful career:

• Dynamic career and employment services;
• SPbU days of career with representatives from JTI, SUN InBev Russia, Intel, Unilever, P&G, MARS, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche, KPMG, Ernst&Young, Toyota, Nokian Tyres, International Paper;
• Employers input in the development and evaluation of educational programmes.