The start of the 2026 admission campaign has been announced informally: universities have published detailed admission regulations for the 2026/2027 academic year on their websites.
Do it before February 2
They cover everything – areas of training, minimum Unified State test scores, deadlines for submitting documents, and additional entrance tests. And most importantly is the list of subjects that require Unified test scores to be admitted.
Candidates still have time to “clock”: adjust the elective subjects in the Unified exam application. It must be submitted by February 2..
The application will list the subjects you plan to study. For this year's graduates, two exams are required – Russian and mathematics. Math level – basic or advanced.
Unified State Exam on file
Let us recall that the federal general admission procedure was approved in November 2024, but recently it make modifications.
There are several key points.
Starting this year, admission applications can no longer be submitted through the university's information system. They frequently crash and freeze. Now there are only three ways: directly at the school, through the “Online University Admission” service or by mail.
In addition, from 2026, target locations will be established to identify specific customers and specific types of training and education programs. In this way, each employer will have its own “reserve personnel”.
New for university graduates who want to continue their studies at a university. Previously, they could all enter university without passing the Unified Examination, but only through an internal entrance test. Currently, this option is only available when applying to programs with the same profile as at university. In other cases, you will be required to take the Unified Examination.
There are also many fields where physics is becoming a mandatory exam.
See Olympus
In addition, some universities have adjusted the list of Olympiad exams that grant the right to become students without entrance exams (BVI). Perhaps this is how universities hope to cope with the influx of Olympic students taking up budgets in some areas, leaving no chance for regular applicants.
The problem is serious, it is acknowledged in universities. Last year there was even a proposal set quota to receive individual prize winners and Olympic winners. But such sensitive changes have not yet occurred. Top universities have taken a different path. So, the main innovation at Lomonosov Moscow State University is the correlation of international Olympic competitions with specific areas of training. For many fields (mainly mechanics and mathematics, computer science, physics, economics and some others), it is clearly determined which international Olympiads are considered core. This has not happened before.
The list of Olympic exams granting admission without entrance tests has changed significantly at Bauman MSTU. As RG was informed, this is due to the fact that this is how competition between people in this category can be prevented.
“For those fields where this happened last year, the list of Olympiads that offer BVI has been reduced. These are IT and robotics. This change does not affect other fields, nor the list of Olympiads that grant the right to be admitted to university branches without examinations”, the university explained.
MIPT has reduced the number of Olympic exams by almost a third: from 50 to 35. And the Unified exam score required for Olympians in core subjects is now not 75 but 80 and even higher.
RG found out from universities what other changes and new items await applicants in 2026.
Margarita Kuznetsova, head of the new admissions office at Siberian Federal University:
– At Siberian Federal University, the changes affect several fields: radio engineering, electronic communications design and technology, radio-electronic systems and assemblies, special radio engineering systems, photonics and optical informatics, thermoelectric engineering and heating engineering, electric power engineering and electrical engineering. For admission to these specialties, the Unified Examination in physics has become mandatory. We recommend that all applicants, before registering for the Unified Examination, read the admission regulations on the website. Given the needs of engineering fields and important admissions goals, choosing physics as one of the Unified Examinations is worthwhile. And if there is a need to supplement knowledge, we have opened online training courses in physics.
Kirill Aleksandrov, First Vice President of ITMO University Admission Council:
– The most notable changes in the updated university admission regulations relate to targeted training. If previously the university only allocated target locations according to direction, now each such location will be assigned to a specific customer. For example, admissions rules will now indicate not “5 target positions in the program” but “1 position from Company A” and “1 position from Company B”. The targeted training system will become more transparent – with the new changes, candidates will be able to more clearly design their career path from university to employer.
Dmitry Benemansky, director of the UrFU media center:
– At Ural Federal University in 2026, changes in the list of entrance tests affected 18 fields at once. Most of the changes involved replacing specialized mathematics with physics. Math profile has become an elective subject. This applies, among others, to the fields “Radio Engineering”, “Electronic Device Design and Technology”, “Electronics and Nanoelectronics”, “Radioelectronic Systems and Assemblies”, “Equipment Manufacturing”, “Optical Technology”, “Physics and Nuclear Technology” and others.
In the “Customs” direction, history is added to the list of USE electives, in the “Political Science” direction, computer science and mathematics are added. In the direction of “Intelligent Systems in the Humanities”, mathematics becomes a compulsory subject, history and literature are added to the list of elective subjects.
Applicants to Philosophy will now be able to choose which material to study.
Yuria Anfimov, executive secretary of the admission board of Moscow Polytechnic University:
– The main news of the 2026 enrollment is the opening of the School of Advanced Engineering Design. The school trains experts in aviation, automobiles, shipbuilding and rail transport. The “Transportation and Industrial Design” program has been allocated 30 full-time study places in the school and another 15 part-time study places at the Faculty of Transport. A special feature of the school is the gathering of design engineers and designers into one team. All teachers have experience working in the manufacturing field, students will master vehicle styling, sketching, layout, and prototyping in close combination with real businesses.
Enrollment in IT fields has expanded significantly: the program “Automated Information Processing and Management Systems” received 220 full-time scholarships – this is one of the largest enrollments at the university. There are 91 places for the major “Information security of automatic systems”. 70 budget positions have been allocated for “Intelligent Unmanned Systems”.
Enrollment in engineering and transportation fields has increased.
Olga Rebovets, i. OH. principal KamGU im. Vitusa Bereenga:
In 2026, the university will launch three new educational programs, two of which are directly related to Kamchatka's natural potential.
The program “Electrical Engineering and Electrical Engineering” opens with the profile “Geothermal Energy” – 15 scholarships. This is a rare direction for Russia when training experts to work with renewable energy sources. Graduates will be able to work in electricity companies in Kamchatka, other regions of the country and abroad. Students will receive practical training at leading industry organizations. For admission, you need the results of the Unified State Exam in physics, Russian language and a choice of mathematics, computer science or chemistry.
The Journalism and Communications program is returning following employer and applicant demand – 10 study places have been allocated.
For the first time, the program “Architecture and Urban Planning” was opened – 10 popular locations. Applicants will have to pass an additional creativity test: creative drawing “Composition in Graphics”. The program is associated with the implementation of the federal project “Pioneer Facility”.
The university is also participating in the creation of “Pioneer Campuses” as part of the federal project “Creating a network of modern facilities” of the national project “Youth and Children”.
