The full name of the institution is the National Research University Higher School of Economics, abbreviated as HSE. The unofficial name is the result of student folk art - "HSE".
This university is among the top 5 best universities in the country and is rightly considered the most progressive and prestigious among the capital's institutions.
General information about the Higher School of Economics NRU
The university operates on a budgetary-commercial basis: the institution receives state subsidies, income from its own research projects, contract students and from third-party sponsors and organizations. Such multichannel injections into the university’s budget enable the institution’s management to constantly improve the HSE material and technical base and the quality of education itself.
There are 128 research centers, 36 research and design laboratories, 32 international laboratories under the supervision of foreign researchers working at the Higher School of Economics NRU. HSE conducts the most intensive international activity among metropolitan universities, cooperates with 298 foreign partners, has 41 double degree programs with foreign universities.
It is noteworthy that from the very day of its foundation, the institution has been headed by a permanent rector, Y. I. Kuzminov.
“Not for school, but for life, we learn” - the motto of the Higher School of Economics.
History of University
The Higher School of Economics cannot boast a turbulent history. The first brick of this European-oriented university was not laid by Peter I himself, and his corridors were not trampled by Lomonosov or Nietzsche.
This is a relatively young, but very intensively developing, progressive university. If schools were identified with cities, then HSE would be Singapore or Hong Kong.
So, the school was opened for students from November 17, 1992. Already in 2009, this university on a competitive basis received the title of National Research University.
In 2012, he absorbed the Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM) and the State Academy of Investment Specialists.
This association also to some extent influenced the transformation of the university into one of the best educational institutions in the CIS, which from the moment of its foundation has been guided by the best educational institutions of the old British and American women. And this is not only a matter of vigorous international activity, but also of the very manner of training, the construction of educational programs, material support and the organization of leisure for students.
Transition to the Bologna education system
The Higher School of Economics is the first university in Russia that switched to the Bologna educational system. In addition, the university's faculty and teaching staff was recruited from among current politicians and public sector workers, and the university itself was created with the assistance of the government. Which gives the right to assert that at the initiative of the HSE this very Bologna system was introduced in our country. Many of the top management of the university took part in the educational reform, as a result of which the exam was introduced. Then a list of so-called inefficient universities was created.
HSE Lyceum and Center for Pre-University Training
A lyceum works at the university. It offers specialized training for students of grades 10-11 in 8 directions. You can enter the Lyceum on a competitive basis. Education is free, but the selection among those who wish is pretty tough. After training, the graduate passes the exam on a common basis. Upon admission to the HSE University, the fact of studying at the Lyceum does not add any chance to the applicant. But given that the quality of teaching at the Lyceum is higher than in secondary schools, its graduates are more likely to successfully pass exams and enter the desired university.
The HSE-based pre-university training center operates on a contract basis. There is a department for students from 5th to 8th grade and for future applicants (9-11th grade). Again, passing training courses at the HSE does not directly affect the chances of entering this university, but it increases the chances of successfully passing the exam.
University structure: faculties and educational programs
The Faculty of Mathematics is one of the most serious faculties, it has a special prestige. No less than the winners of the All-Russian Mathematics Olympiad get to the faculty without a competition.
Not so long ago, in 2013, members of the faculty’s international expert council, Fields medal laureates, P. Deligne and Smirnov, rightly placed the bachelor’s educational program on a par with the best programs of world universities. Well, if objectively and extremely honest, the program is really not inferior to that in specialized technical universities, despite the fact that mathematics students at the HSE get the opportunity to extend their studies in Tokyo, Bremen, Paris on a bilateral program. And the cooperation of a mathematics course with economic disciplines further unleashes the hands of graduates in choosing a profession.
Faculty of Physics. The true success of students who study at this faculty is regular practice in real research of the basic organizations of the university - laboratories of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM) has been a structural element of the HSE since 2016. MIEM, being one of the most powerful universities in the computer and technical field, after merging with the HSE, further strengthened its position by gaining access to its modern laboratories, especially the space security center. Today, this faculty is one of the few whose graduates can compete in knowledge with specialists who are trained for NASA.
The Faculty of Computer Science is located in a new building, rebuilt and equipped so that the eyes of geeks enrolled in computers are shining like the case of a new MacBook. This faculty closely cooperates with Yandex; it prepares the elite of programmers. Who-who, and his graduates have no problems with employment a priori.
The only thing is that this very elite often settles down behind the hill, which is facilitated by the close international relations of the HSE with the universities of highly industrialized states. It’s not for us to condemn such geniuses, they also want to find the best use for their skills, abilities and brains. It’s not their fault that in the homeland they can reveal their potential by 30%. Plus financial motives, where without them? Russian companies of these graduates are taken away instantly with all their ingenious quirks. Most employers make extremely positive reviews of the HSE as a training center for highly qualified personnel, especially from the Faculty of Computer Science.
The Faculty of Business and Management prepares specialists in the main economic areas: management, corporate governance, administration, marketing. She prepares quite well, but the “trick” of the faculty is the best logistics school in the country today (the educational program “Logistics and Supply Chain Management”).
Faculty of Law. It is safe to say that this faculty prepares the best lawyers of Russian modernity. This is not unreasonable, because the university itself was not created without the participation of the administrative and ruling elite. It is important to note that students are taught material with a huge emphasis on practice. They invite specialists from government agencies, practicing lawyers, etc.
Faculty of Humanities . You can’t call this faculty specialized for HSE; experts also note that humanities are trained here with the understanding that their specialization is a priori inferior to that of computer scientists or economists. But the faculty has the strongest school of foreign languages. Also, most of the lectures are public and optional for students of other specialties. Every student who wants to broaden his horizons can come to cultural studies, philosophy, and additional courses of foreign languages.
Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design. This faculty is the patrimony of female students, males are even less than at the pedagogical institute. Apparently, the laurels of Anna Wintour or Carrie Bradshaw haunt more women. But seriously, the faculty prepares not only journalists, but rather full-fledged specialists for media communications with a focus on working in the Internet environment, PR companies, and design institutions.
The Faculty of Economic Sciences is the most specialized and largest faculty. Student reviews on economics and statistics at the HSE as a direction in training sound rather ambiguous. Allegedly, the academic load among students is on the verge of excessive. But the cooperation with world transnational corporations and universities, which is available at this faculty, gives students access to unique knowledge and the possibility of limitless development and successful employment anywhere in the world. Future Henry Fords and Adam Smiths are released here. Let us drop our eyes on the fact that the notorious S. Mavrodi has successfully unlearned here.
International Institute of Economics and Finance (ICEF)
This faculty should definitely be discussed separately. This is a diamond among pearls. A unique educational institution in the CIS. To create it back in 1997, the HSE and the London School of Economics (one of the three leaders in economic education in the world) joined forces. And it turned out such a grandiose brainchild. Graduates of the institute receive both candy and ice cream - a HSE diploma and a diploma from the London School of Economics.
The competition is merciless, and the load at the faculty is impressive. From the very first school day, all training is conducted in English. Budget places are only for winners of the All-Russian Olympiad. HSE enthusiastic reviews of international relations only fuel public interest in this university. Students spend a third of the course in London, absorbing all the practical knowledge that the experience of such an education can give. The excitement surrounding the admission to this faculty is enormous, even the tuition fee of 600 thousand rubles a year does not stop applicants.
If you don’t have the courage and finances to study at ICEF, you can get a bachelor’s degree at another faculty, and apply for a master’s program under a double diploma program. The HSE has 40 such programs.
Features of training at the HSE
There are a large number of educational features at HSE. Student reviews note that studying at this university does not look like standard education in our country at all. But this is just easy to explain - the university eagerly draws on the experience of successful world educational institutions. And if we pay attention to the success of HSE graduates, then the rest of the national universities would also like to expand their views on teaching and not turn their backs on successful international experience.
The Higher School of Economics was one of the first national universities to switch to a 4 + 2 study program (undergraduate, graduate). The academic year is not divided into semesters, but into modules, there are four of them; certification is waiting for students at the end of each student. The sum of the ratings for the modules determines the annual rating.
The rating system is ten-point, in the European manner.
In the tactics of constructing the educational process, a focus on success is visible. Students are immediately prepared to be confident, competitive and extremely motivated. The university has a rating system. HSE students' reviews of these same ratings are full of devilish emoticons, but even dissatisfied, tired students admit that nothing motivates like this same rating risk.
So what's the deal? Yes, everything is simple. Highly rated contractors receive discounts or are transferred to the budget. High-ranking state employees retain a scholarship, with an average rating, they lose a scholarship, and with a low rating they are transferred to a contract. This encourages students to be active, to learn non-stop, to get used to the conditions of a highly competitive environment.
There is no such subject as “Physical Culture” at the university. There is a gym, various sections, courses, etc. Please develop, take care of your health and physical condition. But this is a matter of choice.
Positive feedback from students about the HSE
Subjective opinions of students can only be the views of children. Often, feedback from HSE students is based on personal success or failure in the learning process. But quite a few young people dare to present their opinion about HSE objectively and rationally.
A huge plus for the university - for this fact alone it is necessary to erect a monument in the form of a happy student - there is practically no corruption in the HSE. This is noted by most students. Either the reason is the intensive financing of the university’s activities by sponsors, or the fidelity to the principles of “European transparency”, but the students agree that getting a diploma only with knowledge is very real.
The quality of knowledge, lectures and teacher training varies from faculty to faculty. If we analyze the reviews about the HSE in Moscow, then the students agree that the quality of teaching on the humanitarian and political science profile is slightly behind.
None of the reviews will describe the quality of education as eloquently as the statistics on employment by profile after graduation from this university: 94% of graduates found a suitable job. This despite the fact that 48% warmed up a warm corporate place even before graduation. Leading companies send their recruits to prestigious universities so that they look at valuable personnel when they are still sitting on the student bench.
What are the negative aspects of studying at the HSE?
Most of all, students complain about the load and the need to obtain knowledge in the conditions of permanent competition. To talk about whether it is possible to push the foreheads of students who were children yesterday, is endless. But the HSE leadership has made a choice, and is not going to cancel the rating system.
Students are also indignant over the Anti-Plagiarism system. There is a university program on which every work is checked. Only 20% of citation is allowed in the text with an exact indication of the source. Everything else is the author’s personal judgments, conclusions, etc. Naturally, this greatly increases the time for preparing essays and term papers for students.
Dormitories of the Higher School of Economics
HSE bodies are scattered around the city, as are hostels. Today, the Higher School of Economics has 9 dormitories. HSE hostel reviews are mostly positive, but ironic. All the humor is that they are located in the suburbs, and the road from the place of residence to the academic building is an inexhaustible soil for student jokes. If we discard this inconvenience, then the rest of the HSE dormitories are made "for people." They are apartment type, they have all the amenities. In Moscow there is a dormitory of a corridor type. It is cheaper and closer, but suitable only for residents who are unpretentious in terms of comfort.
All hostels have free wireless Internet access at any time of the day.
The atmosphere in the hostel is upbeat, productive and motivating. The HSE did an elementary and ingenious thing, paid tribute to the desire of each person for domestic comfort. They made modern classrooms and dormitories for students, and they don’t care how to accumulate water in basins, wash their hair over the sink, etc. They take care of acquiring knowledge and self-development.
Master's program at HSE: student reviews, master's programs
University accepts documents to the magistracy in electronic form. After approval of the electronic application, the originals can be brought to the selection committee or sent by mail.
All applicants pass the competition in the form of entrance exams (most often economics + English + mathematics, but disciplines vary depending on the faculty).
An enrollment order is issued sometime in mid-August, two weeks before the lectures begin.
Master's programs in HSE look very attractive. Almost all of them are bilateral and give students the opportunity to obtain double diplomas and get a unique learning experience in the best universities in the world. Today, the HSE collaborates with the universities of Humboldt in Berlin, the Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris, Mason in New York, with 10 universities in Britain, including the London School of Political Science, as well as higher institutions in Canada, the USA, Luxembourg, Finland, etc.