Mind and mind: Russia has updated the state rating of universities and colleges
In the Russian Federation, the state university rating has been updated, thanks to which it is possible to assess the demand for graduates in the labor market. It is calculated separately for various fields of study and levels of education — master's degree, residency, specialty and colleges. When compiling, real indicators are estimated: the level of employment of graduates and their median salary. Previously, the lists were more generalized and covered eight areas, but now they are divided into 52 groups of specialties. At the same time, not only the largest universities are becoming leaders in certain categories. The information about which universities are in the top is in the Izvestia article.
How has the rating of educational institutions changed in 2026
The position of universities in the national ranking of x universities is determined on the basis of two equivalent indicators — the level of employment of graduates two years after graduation and their median salary. Both criteria have the same weight and reflect the actual results of specialist training.
The ratings are divided into eight areas of education, each of which includes a detailed 52 enlarged groups of specialties. Among them are humanities (six areas), healthcare and medical sciences (five areas), engineering, technology and technical sciences (23 areas), art and culture (two areas), mathematics and natural sciences (six areas). There are also social sciences (seven directions), education and pedagogical sciences (one direction), agriculture and agricultural sciences (two directions). This is the main difference from the first draft, which was published in 2025 - only eight of the most common areas were used there.
The lists are also compiled by level of education: separately for bachelor's and specialist's degrees, as well as for master's and residency programs. In addition, there are ratings for universities with a small number of students — if the graduation rate is less than 1% of all graduates or less than 100 bachelors and 50 masters. If three or fewer people graduate in a particular specialty, the organization is excluded from the rating in this area. At the same time, the same university can be presented in several lists at once, depending on the training programs. In total, 185 different ratings have been formed.
The colleges, in turn, are distributed in 24 integrated areas, including nuclear, mining, transportation, construction, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.Five departmental groups are also taken into account — institutions under different ministries and services. These include, for example, law enforcement agencies and organizations subordinate to the Federal Penitentiary Service. Subgroups with a small number of graduates are also provided for secondary vocational education. However, colleges can only be represented in one ranking — according to their main field of study. As a result, 47 ratings were generated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin set the task of creating the rating for the government back at the SPIEF in 2023. The development and implementation of this mechanism is part of the activities of the Cadres national project.
The best educational institutions for applicants in 2026
Izvestia studied the updated state ratings. The top includes not only educational institutions that are usually considered the most attractive for admission, but also lesser-known ones from the regions. Thus, Bryansk State Agrarian University, the Timiryazev Russian State Agrarian University in Moscow, the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University, Moscow), the Arctic State Agrotechnological University (Yakutia) and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences are among the leaders in the field of veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (bachelor's degree and specialty, with a larger number of graduates).Gorin City State Agrarian University.
In nanotechnology and nanomaterials (with a higher number of graduates), the leading universities include Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin (Sverdlovsk Region), St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI" named after V.I. Ulyanov, Chelyabinsk State University, Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G.. Shukhov and the National Research University Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky.
The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow), Innopolis University in Tatarstan, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and the National Research University have taken the lead in the Master's degree in Computer Science and Computer Engineering (with a larger number of graduates).et "Higher School of Economics" (Moscow campus), St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI" named after V.I. Ulyanov and the National Research Technological University "MISIS". At the same time, MIPT took seven first places in various lists, and MEPhI and its branches — ten.
In general, regional universities are leading in 45% of the ratings.
Among the organizations of secondary vocational education in the field of metallurgy (with graduates above the median value), the leaders were the Norilsk College of Industrial Technology and Service, the Kamsky State Automobile Mechanical College named after L.B. Vasiliev, Cherepovets Metallurgical College named after Academician I.P. Bardin, Pervouralsky Metallurgical College and Lipetsk Polytechnic College.
Such ratings should not be perceived as an absolute assessment of quality, said Sergey Roshchin, Vice Rector of the Higher School of Economics, Head of the Labor Market Research Laboratory. In his opinion, it is more important to take into account general trends, in particular, how the quality of education affects the interaction of graduates with employers.
Why do we need a state rating of educational institutions?
The rating is important for understanding one's own prospects after graduation, both in salary and employment, in principle, says Valeria Alekseeva, founder of the Valeria Alekseeva Chinese Language School. Its main task is to broadcast to applicants and their parents the real picture of life that the graduate will receive along with the diploma. Now many people are still moving blindly - a young man gets a higher education, "to be" or for the sake of a diploma, she noted.
Perhaps most of the graduate students have already decided where to enroll in 2026, but such a mechanism can be useful for students in grades 8-9, says Boris Ilyukhin, senior researcher at the Center for Economics of Continuing Education at the Presidential Academy. It will make it possible to adjust or plan the educational trajectory in a timely manner, the expert added.
According to Elena Kuznetsova, Director of the Institute for Economic Research "Yakov and Partners", the best practices in the field of digitalization of government data in Russia have turned out to be the best. For example, in the Middle East, the database on educational institutions exists separately from the database on employment. A similar situation is observed in China, that is, there is no consolidated analytics. However, it is important for applicants to consider this parameter.
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