The Ministry of Education and Science has established a "day of silence" for university admissions.

      In Russia, applicants will not be able to change their enrollment applications on the day the universities issue their orders. As reported by Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Andrey Omelchuk, a "day of silence" will be introduced during the admission campaign. This year, the acceptance of applications to Russian universities will begin on June 20. "Applicants will have a clear understanding of their status, and further changes to the consent for enrollment, as well as in the application, will be temporarily suspended. This will allow applicants to calmly plan their next steps, and admissions committees to complete the enrollment process in an orderly manner," Omelchuk's words are quoted by RIA "Novosti." He added that such a cooling-off period was introduced to make the admission process "more predictable and fair for applicants."

      In addition, this year's graduates will submit their admission applications through a unified digital channel on the "Gosuslugi" portal. It is noted that this way they can avoid mistakes and make the procedure uniform. Changes will also be introduced regarding the admission procedure for college graduates: they will be able to take internal exams on the condition of continuing their studies in their field.

      Last week, the State Duma proposed to restrict access to master's programs unrelated to the specialty. A group of deputies developed a bill that gives the Ministry of Education and Science the right to establish a list of specialties that require mandatory continuity of education. The authors of the initiative believe that a master's program implies an in-depth study of the discipline, and without basic knowledge, mastering complex topics in a short time is difficult. As a result, graduates may lack the necessary professional competencies.

      Recall that in May 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the implementation of a pilot project to change the levels of vocational education starting from the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years. It provides for the establishment of two levels of higher education: basic higher and specialized higher. A separate professional higher education level—postgraduate studies—will also appear. This reform was extended until 2030 in January of this year.