The foundation year, explained: what you actually learn

The preparatory faculty (podfak) is a one-year programme that most degree tracks in Russian require before enrolment. It is often described as “a year of Russian language,” which is only half true.

Alongside intensive Russian (about 20 hours a week), you study the core subjects of your future degree in simplified Russian: mathematics and physics for engineering tracks, biology and chemistry for medical ones. By spring, classes are conducted entirely in Russian, and the final exams double as your university entrance assessment.

Who can skip it? Students entering English-language tracks — most MD programmes at Sechenov and several master’s tracks at ITMO. For everyone else, the foundation year is not lost time: students who complete it consistently outperform direct-entry students in their first degree year.