Početna >
STUDY RUSSIAN IN RUSSIA at Ryazan State University (RSU)
named for S.A. Esenin!

A Description of Ryazan State University

Ryazan State University named for S.A. Esenin is one of the oldest educational institutions in central Russia . It was established in Ryazan in 1853 as a college for daughters of the clergy, and in 1915 was transformed into a teacher training all-female college. In October 1918 the college became a state pedagogical institute. In 1992 the Russian Ministry of Education announced that RSPU would become one of five teacher-training institutes in Russia to be elevated to “university” status. The university has always been a leading institution for the educational structure in the Ryazan region. More than 80% of the school teachers in the region have graduated from the University.

RSU offers education in 42 specialties and at the present time enrols over 11,000 students. So far the University has educated over 70,000 specialists in 9 departments including Russian philology and national culture, foreign languages, natural sciences, physics and mathematics, pedagogy and psychology, physical education, history and international relations, law and political science, sociology and economics. Some of the alumni have become well-known politicians, business leaders, researchers, and educators.

The university's 52 academic divisions (chairs) do research in over 70 fields, among them computer engineering, physics of low-temperature plasma, differential equations, ecology, Russian and foreign language teaching methodology, cognitive linguistics, global education, advertising methodology, economics and sociology, theology and political science, multimedia technologies and virtual learning. RSU houses over 20 research centres and laboratories. Among them are the Russian Centre for Global Education, the Telecommunication and Distance Learning Centre, the Environmental Studies Centre, the Research Laboratory of Qualitative Theory of Differential Equations, the Research Laboratory for Educational Management, the Research Institute for Pedagogy and Psychology, the Institute of Sociology .

In all of these areas RSU is known throughout Russia as a leading centre for professional training. RSU conducts and supervises over 25% of all research studies in the region and has become a leading expert that provides legal assistance and well-trained professionals for small-scale and middle-scale businesses.

The University is home to a post-graduate school which now offers post-graduate courses in 30 fields of science. Research excellence is a prime objective of all of the post-graduate programs. RSU has 7 dissertation boards in Physics, Pedagogy, Psychology, Sociology, Computer Science, Philology and Linguistics for researchers from different institutions.

Ryazan State University is a well-known venue for a great number of local, national and international conferences on miscellaneous issues and in various fields of knowledge. RSU cooperates with a number of research centres, educational institutions and organizations outside Russia: the British Council, the American Forum for Global Education (USA), Munster University (Germany), Bielefeld University (Germany), Antwerp Institute of Interpreters (Belgium), Nagoya University (Japan), the Environmental Centre of Wisconsin (USA), Indiana University (USA) and many others from Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, France, China, Japan, Belarus, the Ukraine, and Lithuania. All of these institutions continue to be RSU's active partners today. Some international foundations and business organizations participate in various activities of the University.

RSU is technically equipped to face any educational challenge and to react to any system changes. A good library collection (more than 800,000 units of issue) and information resources can guarantee and support various research and academic needs. Today the RSU Library also offers its users a wide range of electronic information services and multimedia products.

University departments are now involved in an innovative “ Virtual University ” project aimed at providing educational services and quality higher education via the Internet. About 100 staff members have completed a Teacher development course in Distant Education Programs and Teaching Methodology. RSU's centre for distant education is now coordinating a few internal projects in developing, 20 designing and piloting electronic learning materials for all of the University's specialties. Ryazan State University is planning to start delivering high quality online degree programs in an e-learning environment that will meet the needs of many students.

University staff members are competent professionals that have always been involved in various national and international educational programs and projects and have always been successful at implementing organizational and structural changes. RSU staff have experience in planning, designing and implementing different innovative curricula for specialties required by modern employers. 

Now the university has launched an EFL refreshment program for staff members who are seeking opportunities to participate in international projects.

Introduction of the elements of the European educational system into Russia 's traditional system of higher education is also characteristic of Ryazan State University . In addition to the existing programs of higher education which result in awarding the degree “Specialist” to University leavers, RSU is getting ready to implement academic curricula aimed at Bachelors and Masters training. The program of training for the Bachelor degree includes the disciplines of specialization, as well as it provides for student's specialty of the wider scope (i.e. Bachelor of Psychology, Bachelor of Theology, Bachelor of Linguistics). 

RSU is convinced that with Russia 's integration into the world community the country's demand in the standard of education accepted in many countries of the world will increase. The international integration processes in the field of education (e.g. the European Bologna process) are targeted similarly. In case of integration of the Russian Federation into the world community and with the increasing number of foreign student enrolment the share of the bachelor training system will definitely grow, too. Ryazan State University is ready for such processes to take place.

RSU is doing its best to adjust to and internalize new educational tendencies at the time of dynamic integration into the European system of education. Participation in various international projects provides faculty and administrative staff at RSU with guidelines by which Russian higher education (education at RSU) can be modified to meet the needs of students who choose RSU for higher education. Our new educational policy aims at strengthening the position of RSU in central Russia as an educational institution and research centre that provides significant support for all types of local and national educational institutions and industries.

Finally, RSU has become one of the leading educational structures that sees its mission in making higher education, professional development and improvement guiding principles for life in an interconnected world.