Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov (from 1755 to 1917 – Imperial Moscow University) is one of the oldest and largest classical universities in Russia and one of the centers of Russian science and culture in Moscow.
Since 1940 it has been named after Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. Its full name is the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. The abbreviation “MGU” is widely used. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments and seven branches (including six foreign ones – five in the CIS countries and one in Slovenia).
The foundation
The Imperial Moscow University, established in 1755, became the first classical Russian university. The creation of the university became possible thanks to the cooperation of M. V. Lomonosov with I. I. Shuvalov, an enlightened nobleman, a favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Because of their joint work, in June-July 1754, the Project on the Establishment of Moscow University was written and the Governing Senate approved it on July 19.
The reasons the university was planned to be opened in Moscow include its creators called “a great number of noblemen living in Moscow,” the central position of Moscow in the Russian state, the availability of life in Moscow for visitors and the cheapness of their maintenance, the need of residents of Moscow and surrounding for a good education for their children.
After the adoption of a fundamental decision to open Moscow University, by the decree of Elizabeth Petrovna dated August 8, 1754, the Apothecary House in Kitay-Gorod was transferred to it. It was the first of the buildings of Moscow University. The architect Prince Dmitry Ukhtomsky, who allocated one thousand rubles from the funds of the State Office,conducted the preparation of the building. The grand opening of the university was planned for the same (1754) year. However, due to a delay in the repair of the building, it was postponed to the beginning of the next year.
Under Catherine II in 1793, the university moved to the building on the opposite side of Mokhovaya street, designed by Matvey Kazakov. Subsequently, after the Moscow fire of 1812, the architect Domenico Gilardi restored the building.
In the 18th century, the university had three faculties: the Faculty of Philosophy, the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Law.
The university today
Today the University has at its disposal more than 600 buildings and structures, including the Main Building on Sparrow Hills (Vorob’yevy gory). Their total area is about 1 million m². In Moscow alone, the territory occupied by Moscow State University is 205.7 hectares. The new territory of the university that the Moscow government allocated amounts to 120 hectares and has been developed since 2003. In 2005, the building of the Intellectual Center – the Fundamental Library was finished.
There are branches in Astana (Kazakhstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Yerevan (Armenia), Sevastopol and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). From 1988-1995, a branch functioned in Ulyanovsk, which was transformed in 1995 into Ulyanovsk State University. From 1997-2013, there was a branch in Pushchino, which was closed after it was recognized as inefficient during the monitoring of state universities in 2012.
The university has:
• The Scientific Library of Moscow State University is one of the largest libraries in Russia, which presents the entire spectrum of literature in various fields of human knowledge in Russian and foreign languages.
• The Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of Moscow State University (SSC MGU) is a boarding school founded in 1963 with the participation of A. N. Kolmogorov and some other prominent scientists. It is one of the most prestigious secondary schools in the country.
• Student Theater of Moscow State University.
• Research Zoological Museum.
• Herbarium of Moscow State University.
• Creative club “Golden Forests”.
• Alpclub of Moscow State University, which is named after R. V. Khokhlov.
• SKIF MGU is the most powerful supercomputer in the CIS.
• Scientific and educational museum of geography.
• Museum of the History of Moscow University.
• Archive of Moscow State University.
• The Botanical Garden of Moscow State University is the oldest scientific botanical institution in Russia.
• Bulletin of Moscow State University – periodicals of various faculties of Moscow State University.
• MSU Yacht Club.
• V. N. Tikhomirov Nature Conservation Brigade, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University.
• Volunteer student fire brigades of Moscow State University.
Faculties
Since 1755:
Faculty of Philosophy (1755)
Faculty of Law (1755)
Faculty of Medicine (1755)
1930-1941:
Department of Chemistry (1929)
Faculty of Biology (1930)
Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics (1933)
Faculty of Physics (1933)
Faculty of History (1934)
Faculty of Geology (1938)
Faculty of Geography (1938)
Faculty of Philology (1941)
Faculty of Economics (1941)
1952-1973:
Faculty of Journalism (1952)
Institute of Asian and African Countries (ISAA) (1956)
Faculty of Psychology (1966)
Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics (VMK, VMiK) (1970)
Faculty of Soil Science (1973)
1988-1995:
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Regional Studies (FIYAR) (1988)
Faculty of Sociology (1989)
Faculty of Materials Science (FSM) (1991)
Faculty of Fundamental Medicine (FFM) (1992)
Faculty of Public Administration (FGU) (1993)
Military Training Faculty (1995)
After 1997:
Faculty of Teacher Education (FPO) (1997)
Faculty of Arts (2001)
Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics (FBB) (2002)
Faculty of World Politics (FMP) (2003)
Faculty of Global Processes (FGP) (2005)
Faculty of Political Science (2008)
Faculty of Fundamental Physical and Chemical Engineering (FFFHI) (2011)
Faculty of Biotechnology (2013)
Faculty of Space Research, Moscow State University (FKI) (2017)
High Schools
The Graduate School of Business of Moscow State University (HSB MSU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains bachelors, masters, MBAs and Executive MBAs in Management. The faculty was founded in 2001 and about 600 students study at it.
The Moscow School of Economics (MSE MGU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that offers courses such as Economics, Masters in Economics and Problems of Modern Russia and Financial Economics. It was founded in 2004.
The Higher School of Public Administration of Moscow State University (GSPA MGU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains qualified personnel for public service. It was founded in 2005.
The Higher School of Translation of Moscow State University (HSP MGU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains professional translators who are proficient in modern translation technologies. It was founded in 2005.
The Higher School of Public Audit of Moscow State University (GSCA MSU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains specialists to work in the budgetary and financial sphere, in the financial control system of the federal, regional and local levels, atinternal audit departments of state institutions and corporations, in audit organizations. It was founded in 2006.
The Higher School of Television of Moscow State University (HST MSU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains specialists related to television and journalism (television reporters, broadcasters, television producers, film producers, TV and film directors, screenwriters, TV program editors, photojournalists, television critics). It was founded in 2006.
The Higher School of Modern Social Sciences of Moscow State University (HSSMS MGU) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains specialists in modern social sciences — sociology and sociology of knowledge, the economics of knowledge, social management and social control, social philosophy and cultural studies. It was founded in 2006.
The Graduate School of Management and Innovation of Moscow State University is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains designers, technologists, production organizers, and managers in the management of science-intensive and innovative projects. It was founded in 2006.
The Graduate School of Innovative Business of Moscow State University is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains specialists in the field of new technologies for the search, evaluation, production and processing of hydrocarbon raw materials, environmental management and management of natural resources. It was founded in 2006.
The Higher School of Cultural Policy and Management in the Humanitarian Sphere of Moscow State University (HSKPiUGS) is a faculty of Moscow State University that trains graduates in the specialties of managers, producers and leaders in the field of culture, art and sports. It was founded in 2011.
Institutes
• D. V. Skobeltsyn Research Institute of Nuclear Physics
• Institute of Mechanics
• P. K. Sternberg State Astronomical Institute
• A. N. Belozersky Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Biology
• Research Computing Center
• H. N. Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Problems of the Microworld
• Institute for Mathematical Research of Complex Systems
• D. N. Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology
• Institute of Ecological Soil Science
• Institute of World Culture
• Russian-German Institute of Science and Culture
• Institute for Information Security Problems
• Institute of Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
• Institute for professional retraining and advanced training of teachers of the humanities and social sciences
Departments
The preparatory department of Moscow State University (1969-2018) is a structural subdivision of Moscow State University, created in 1969 to improve the general educational level of young people who need social protection and state assistance to prepare to enter the university.
The Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of Moscow State University (SSC MGU) is an educational institution at Moscow State University, established in 1988. Before this date, it was the A. N. Kolmogorov Boarding School, which was established in 1963. The SASC provides upper secondary education (grades 10 and 11).
University Gymnasium (UG MGU) is a boarding school, a structural subdivision of Moscow State University, whichopened on September 1, 2016. Education in the gymnasium is conducted in five profiles: mathematical, engineering, natural sciences, humanitarian and socio-economic.
The French University College is a public institution of higher education founded in 1991 at Moscow State University. A two-year college course provides people with the opportunity to obtain a double degree that is recognized in France and equivalent to the completion of one year of a master’s degree in one of the following humanities: law, history, sociology, literature and philosophy.
In 2016, the French University College in Moscow celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Ranking
As of 2013, it occupies 79th place in the “Shanghai” academic ranking of world universities, although in mathematical sciences it is in the same ranking – 36th place. In the QS World University Rankings, as of 2014, Moscow State University ranks 108th.
Among the possible reasons for the low rating isthe low citation of scientific texts in Russia and bureaucracy. In 2012, Moscow State University lost its place in the ranking of the top 100 universities to educational institutions in Brazil, Turkey, Asia and Israel.
In 2014, Moscow State University became the only university in the CIS to which the Expert RA agency assigned a rating class “A”, meaning an “exceptionally high” level of graduates.
In 2017, in the QS World University Rankings 2017/2018, which QS compiles annually, MSU took the 95th position in the “200 Best Universities in the World 2017”, which is an increase of 13 positions from 2016.
In 2018, it ranked first in the National University Ranking.
In 2018, it moved up seven positions in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) to 86th place.
In the Best Global Universities ranking, it ranks 275th in the world and first among Russian universities.
In 2018, Moscow State University took the overall 199th place in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of the best universities in the world and 33rd place in a similar reputation ranking in 2017.
In 2019, Moscow State University entered the TOP-50 ranking of the best universities in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019), published by the British company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), in five subjects at once – linguistics (21st place), physics and astronomy (26th place), modern languages (33rd place), mathematics (34th place) and computer sciences (48th place).
In the Three Missions of the University Ranking of 2017, Moscow State University was ranked 25th. In the 2020 ranking, the university was ranked 21st.
Address: 119991, Russian Federation, Moscow, Leninskiye Gory, 1. Phone: +7 (495) 939-22-64. Nearest metro Universitet.
