The Open Olympiad for foreigners has started at RUDN University

Participation is open to prospective and final-year university students who do not hold Russian citizenship, compatriots living abroad and stateless individuals.

The Open Olympiad runs from January to April 2026 across 10 disciplines. Computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, social science and Russian language are available for undergraduate and graduate programs, while ecology, advertising and public relations and economics and management are available for graduate programs only.

The Olympiad is conducted in Russian, English, French and Spanish. It can be held in person at one of RUDN University's partner universities abroad in the presence of university faculty. Alternatively, it can be held online using a proctored testing module. Depending on their score, participants receive an invitation to an online interview with faculty.

Winners will be able to study at the university free of charge under the Russian government quota. They will also have the opportunity to participate in the RUDN ‘Brilliant Students’ scholarship competition, which awards 25,000 rubles per semester. Winners will also be able to study free of charge under the Russian government quota, if there are still places available after the winners are accepted or receive a tuition discount.

The Olympiad has been held since 2016, with more than 20,000 people participating during that time. In 2025, 15,271 people from 130 countries participated both offline and online, including 49 of 50 African countries. The top five countries in terms of number of participants were Angola, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Egypt. Among the Middle Eastern countries were Yemen and Lebanon, among the Latin American countries were Haiti, among the CIS countries were Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and among the Asian countries were Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

You can register for the Olympiad on the event website.