Step 1: Submitting Entry Documents for Study

The Admission Rules are provided on the official university website (in Russian). There are several ways to submit documents for admission:

1) via PSU information system at the link https://lk.pnzgu.ru/cabinet
2) via the service "Go online" on the Russian integrated portal "Gosuslugi"
3) via regular mail
4) during personal visit to the Admissions Office (40 Krasnaya Street, building 8, floor 2)

The following documents (originals) are required for submission:

1) original of a passport
2) notarised translation of a passport (page with personal information)
3) education document(s)
4) notarised translation of education document(s)
5) 2 photos (3х4 cm) made on matte paper with your surname written in pencil on the backside of each photo
6) medical certificate

Education documents received abroad must be legalised by the Consulate of the Russian Federation after being legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued the documents. For more information please visit the website of the National Information Centre. You also have to follow the recognition procedure in the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor). More details are provided on the website.

Please note that some countries have international agreements on mutual recognition. If your document is subject to international agreements  or the university you graduated from is included in the list of the Government of the Russian Federation, then you do not need to follow a recognition procedure.

The medical certificate should state the absense of dangerous infectious diseases. You should also provide HIV negative certificate, which is valid for three months since the date of medical testing. Foreign citizens who apply to Penza State University must have the vaccination card (vaccination certificate) against: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Measles, Mumps (or epidemic parotitis), Rubella, Poliomyelitis (or polio), Viral hepatitis B. The certificates must contain information about the date of vaccination, the name of the drug, the series of the drug and the injected dose. If this information is unavailable or inadequate at the time of enrollment, you must be vaccinated at the Clinical Medical Centre (Penza, 26 Marshala Krylova Street, residence hall 5).

Step 2: Submitting the Application and Necessary Documents for Issuing Invitation for Entry into the Russian Federation

To receive an invitation from Penza State University you need to submit an electronic application and scanned copies of necessary documents (see below) at email pnzgu@pnzgu.ru.

1) passport (original document)
2) education document(s)
3) translation of a passport into the Russian language*
4) translation of education document(s) into the Russian language*

* Translations must be notarised in the Consulate (Consular Departments of the Embassy) of the Russian Federation in your country.

Note that the passport that you will indicate in your visa application as your travel document must be valid at least 18 months after the expected date of entering the Russian Federation.

If you do not provide translation of the passport and education documents, it must be done upon arriving in the Russian Federation and applying to the Admissions Office (see Step 6). In this case you must address qualified translators and notarise translations of the documents. For translation services you may refer to the Language and Examination Centre.

Step 3: Receiving the Invitation and Applying for a Russian Visa

Average processing time for invitations is 25-30 days. When the invitation is ready we will send it to you by email.

On receiving the invitation, you have to contact the nearest Consulate (Consular departments of the Embassy) of the Russian Federation in your country to apply and receive a Russian visa. A description of a Russian visa, rules for obtaining a Russian visa and a list of the Russian Consulates worldwide is given at RussianConsulate.info.

Step 4: Preparing Migration Documents

The following documents are necessary when crossing the border of the Russian Federation:

1) original of a passport (identity document);
2) permit for entry and stay on the territory of the Russian Federation (visa);
3) migration card (filled on arrival in airports before passport control).

Step 5: Arriving in Russia

On receiving your visa, you have to buy air tickets to Moscow and travel tickets to Penza and inform the International Office for Education (at email student-accommodation@pnzgu.ru) on the date of your arrival in Penza. You can travel from Moscow to Penza by air − from Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo or Vnukovo airports, by train − from Kazansky or Paveletsky Railway Station or by coach, there are coach services at Shchelkovsky and Juzhnye Vorota bus terminals (More detailed information is given here).

If you want a university staff member to meet you at the airport, railway station or bus station in Penza, you have to inform the university in advance (at email student-accommodation@pnzgu.ru) on the date and time of your arrival, flight number or train car number. On receiving this information, you will obtain the confirmation from the Department of Foreign Student Accommodation with the details of meeting.

If you choose to travel to the university on your own, you need to get to residence hall 6 (block 1), which is located at 14 Lermontova Street and apply to the Department of Foreign Student Accommodation (Penza, 37 Lermontova Street, building 11, office 118). 

Step 6: Obtaining Migration Registration, Checking-in, Accommodating

On arrival in Penza, you must apply for migration registration. To do this, you need to submit to the Department of Migration and Visa Support (Penza, 37 Lermontova Street, building 11, office 356) the following documents: 

1) original of a passport
2) notarised translation of a passport
3) 5 copies of a passport (It is necessary to copy all pages except for blank ones. Copies should be made on the same A4 sheet from two sides with two-page openings of the passport)
4) original of a migration card with the border crossing mark
5) 5 copies of a migration card with the border crossing mark
6) copy of a contract for paid educational services (If you arrive from another higher education institution) or a referral to study (If you are studying under the direction of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation)
7) copy of a rental agreement or a certificate of ownership or an entry in the Unified State Register of Taxpayers (If you do not live in PSU residence hall) (sample of a rental agreement)

After migration registration you will be given an accommodation check-in form.

To be admitted and accomodated in the residence hall you must undergo medical check-up during the first 3 days of your arrival in Penza. Medical check-up is provided at the Clinical Medical Centre, located at 26 Marshala Krylova Street (residence hall 5). If you already have medical insurance (voluntary health insurance certificate), which covers the costs of medical examination, then this procedure (medical check-up) is free of charge. You may seek advice on obtaining the medical insurance certificate in the Department of Foreign Student Accommodation or in the Admissions Office.

Step 7: Facing Entrance Trials

To enter the university you have to go through entrance trials according to the established procedure of Admission Rules. After sucessfully completing the entrance trials, you will be admitted to the university and begin your studies on 1st September.

You do not need to undergo entrance trials, if you would like to apply for pre-university training courses.

Step 8: Enrolling at the University

Enrollment order is issued several days prior to the beginning of the academic year. The academic year for first-year students starts on 1st September, for the students of the Pre-University Training Office starts on 1st September or 1st October.

Important:

Students are enrolled only after confirmed payment of the university fee and accommodation fee, as stated in the education agreement and accommodation agreement correspondingly.

We strongly recommend getting familiar with educational regulations adopted at Penza State University. These regulations are approved by the Rector Order No. 869/O dated 1 October 2014 and amended by the Rector Order No. 1240/O dated 19 December 2016. You can read an extract from the REGULATIONS following this link.