2026 Open Doors Scholarship in Russia | How To Apply

The Open Doors Scholarship Program is aimed at talented foreign students who would like to enroll in master’s and postgraduate programs in Russia for free.

The winners of the Open Doors are granted a free early admission at any Russian university, without entrance examinations and with tuition fees covered by the Russian Federation.

The competition winners will be able to enroll in a program using a single-window system, choosing any of Russian universities. The language of instruction is English or Russian depending on the chosen program and the university.

Open Doors Scholarship 2026 Summary

• Host Country: Russia
• Study Abroad: Study in Europe 
• Category: Undergraduate Scholarships | Postgraduate Scholarships | Masters Scholarships | PhD Scholarships 
• Eligible Countries: All Countries 
• Reward: Full Scholarships 
• Deadline: November 16, 2025,

Open Doors Scholarship 2026 Details:

The Open Doors Russian Scholarship Program Olympiad now has four tracks – for prospective Undergraduate, Master’s, Doctoral, and Post-doctoral students. 

The Open Doors International Olympiad is starting for the eighth time! Depending on the chosen direction, the winners of the Olympiad will be able to enroll for free in the bachelor’s, master’s, or postgraduate programs of their chosen University. Or, if the postdoctoral track is chosen, to get employed as a researcher in one of the suggested research projects.

Winners of the doctoral track will be able to choose a future research supervisor and pass an interview with them during the Olympiad. Postdoctoral track winners will be interviewed by research project leaders.

The first round is a competition of portfolios, and the second round is a problem-solving challenge. The third round of the Olympiad involves the selection of a prospective research supervisor for the chosen doctoral program (analogous to Ph.D.) and an interview with him/her.

The competition is open to foreign citizens and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad, having a Bachelor’s degree or completing a Bachelor degree program in the year of the Olympiad for the Master’s track and having a Master’s or Specialist’s degree for the doctoral track (analogous to Ph.D.) in the year of the Olympiad.

2026 Open Doors Russian Scholarship Requirements:

To be considered for the 2026 Open Doors Russian Scholarship Program, you must satisfy the following criteria:

• The competition is open to foreign citizens and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad, having a Bachelor’s degree or completing a Bachelor’s degree program in the year of the Olympiad final for the Master’s track and having a Master’s or Specialist’s degree for the doctoral track (analogous to PhD) in the year of the Olympiad final.
• All participants are expected to agree to the processing of personal data.
• The official languages of the Olympiad are English and Russian.
• The Olympiad is organized in Subjects, uniting several fields of Master’s studies (for the Doctoral track – several fields of doctoral studies). A Subject is a set of degree programs, having the same fundamental theoretical basis.
• The list of Subjects is published on the websites of higher education institutions – organizers of the Olympiad.
• The winners of the Olympiad, having a Bachelor’s degree are eligible to be admitted to Master’s degree programs run by Russian universities in the fields of study corresponding to the profile of the Olympiad within the quota established by the Government of the Russian Federation for foreign citizens and stateless persons (hereinafter – quota)

How To Apply for Open Doors Scholarship 2026 (Step by Step)

The following are the procedures involved in the application for open Doors Scholarship 2026;

• Participants are requested to register online in the Olympiad registration system from September 1 to November 16. It can be done from any computer with internet access.
• To register for the Open Doors Scholarship, applicants should click the “SIGN UP” button on the Olympiad website.
• After successful registration, participants gain access to their personal accounts.
• By registering, participants give their consent to the processing of personal data in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
• A participant may register and take part in the Olympiad only once (possessing a single account) during the year when the Olympiad is conducted. Any breach of this rule results in the participant’s disqualification.
• During the registration, each participant provides his/her personal data, login (which is the same as the participant’s email address), and password. After the registration, the participant is automatically subscribed to all notifications of the Olympiad schedules and procedures.
• After the registration, the participant gets access to the information about the structure of the portfolio, the criteria for its evaluation as well as the demo versions of the tasks of the second stage.
• Click on the link below to begin your application.

USE THIS LINK TO APPLY