The Russian State University for the Humanities is a higher education institution with rich traditions and many years of experience in both educational and scholarly work. The RSUH was founded in 1991 on the basis of the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives, which had for years trained highly qualified specialists in history and archival studies; its graduates were true professionals in their fields, the pride and joy of the Russian scholarhip. It is clear that it would have been impossible to found the RSUH without the solid foundation laid by several generations of researchers and educators. It is this fact coupled with the recognized need to transform the university into a very different educational institution capable of meeting today’s challenges and of assimilating current educational practices, that contributed to the successful development of the RSUH at the time when a new Russia was emerging.
The RSUH is the first innovative project of the Russian education in the humanities. Its foundation saw new methods of teaching and many new approaches to research in the humanities developed through fusing the best achievements of both Russian and foreign scholarship, and also through the wide use of information technologies in education.
Over the years, many new divisions, departments and research centers were established. Today, the RSUH educates students in 39 specialties; its faculty numbers more than a thousand members some of whom are internationally acclaimed. Tens of thousand of students study at the University. The RSUH’s faculty are actively involved in research and use their results in their teaching thus constantly perfecting the methodology and scholarly basis of teaching. This allows to classify the RSUH as a research university. Such universities are particularly popular and relevant today.
The RSUH offers various forms of education: pre-college preparatory courses, vocational education, higher education at the college level, further education, and various graduate degrees. Besides education and research, our students are also involved in various associations and participate in various events which allows them to gain social and organizational skills. A special web site student.rggu.ru has been set up for our students.
The RSUH’s unique research library holds a special place in the university life. It contains more than a million volumes, including the most recent scholarly publications. The University has its own university press which provides students and faculty with the necessary resources for study and research.
A lot of attention is given to using informational technologies in the education process. Students have access to a multimedia library, to multiplex classrooms and computer classrooms with state-of-the-art equipment.
The University’s trademark is its Museum center which includes the I.V. Tsvetaev educational Art Museum, the embodiment of Tsvetaev’s dream of a museum that also functions as an educational establishment. It houses works by artists from Russia and other countries, and holds exhibitions of students’ works.
The RSUH is not just a University in the traditional sense, but an educational network with many branches and offices in various regions of Russia. Their development in unison with the central branch is one of the University’s top priorities. This is accomplished through faculty internships, additional training for faculty, through exchange of educational and scholarly literature, and through the creation of joint academic forums. There are plans for an electronic University which will broadcast Moscow lectures to the regions.
The RSUH is actively developing international contacts. Every year, up to a 1000 students and faculty from the University and its partners participate in international exchange programs. There are 14 international centers for education and research which train professionals and carry out research in over 20 regional studies programs. The university participates in international projects and programs in the education in the humanities. Various conferences and cultural events which involve representatives from various embassies occupy a prominent place in the University life.
Today, Russia is developing new educational standards and becomes integrated into the world educational space. The RSUH is at the forefront of this process. One of the key tasks of the university is to increase the students’ mobility, to develop the “integrated” educational model. It’s especially important today given the gradual emergence of the international labor market, give the ever greater internalization of the knowledge in the humanities.
Since its foundation, the RSUH has been one of the most famous universities in Russia. We can say with complete confidence that we are educating the country’s future, as the vast majority of our students form the elite of the Russian society; in varying degrees, they are involved in electing the direction of Russia’s development. This is the most important result of our work, we are proud of it, and we look into the future with confidence.
We will be glad to see you in our University. You are welcome!
