On February 18, the Higher School of Economics presented the results of the annual monitoring of the quality of admission to Russian universities over the past year. For the first time in the 15-year history of the rating (15 years) The top three universities are technical universities: MIPT (96.8 points, -0.2 points by 2024), MEPhI (91.5 points, +1.6 points by 2024) and Central University (87.8 points, +3.1 points by 2024).

The "champion" of 2025 is the field of Computer Science and Engineering. The direction is one of the most widespread. The average score of the USE of the leaders – Moscow Phystech, HSE and MEPhI – was 93.4 points, while the quality of the "payers" is not particularly lagging behind the quality of state employees.

For the first time, the first place in terms of the quality of admission in the country was taken by the field of "Nuclear Physics and Technology" (76.9 points), "Oriental and African Studies" in second place, and "Physics" in third.

Commenting on the monitoring results for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, MEPhI Rector Vladimir Shevchenko noted: "As you know, in tsarist Russia and the USSR, the professions of engineer and scientist had a fairly high social status. In modern Russia, MEPhI, Phystech, and Baumanka are not just "higher education"; they are, first of all, schools of thought. Parents, who themselves are often graduates of such universities, transmit this culture to their children. It is a self—replicating system: the best teachers, the strongest fundamental training - an environment that attracts talents. Besides, today we live in an era of changing technological patterns. Our students are both romantics and pragmatists at the same time. They see that the world is moving towards an agenda related to new energy technologies, artificial intelligence and blockchain, new materials, quantum technologies, and deep biotech. Humanities are, of course, also important, but they should not be divorced from the technological base. Anyone who knows physics and mathematics has a universal set of value creation tools. High-achievers don't just come to us for a diploma, they come for the keys to understanding the world and the opportunity to influence it. I am also convinced that the trend of high-scoring graduates entering leading universities will not only continue, but will increase. The government and the economy will continue to increase investments in engineering education, because the country needs its own industry, its own electronics, its own materials. The demand for "physicists" will grow, which means that the prestige of the engineering profession and the research engineer will increase."

Top 10 universities (with a total enrollment of over 300 students) in terms of the quality of total enrollment

In the top 5 educational areas, which have the highest growth rates in the number of people enrolled in budget places, there is also "Nuclear Physics and Technology", the number of applicants in this area increased by 12.2%.

In addition, the popularity of such enlarged subject groups as "Psychology" (+20.9%), "Business Informatics" (+16.3%), "Vocational Training" (+15.9%), and "Metallurgy" (+10.2%) has increased. The authors of the monitoring believe that these data indicate the transformation of the budget admission structure: along with the continued demand for socio-economic specialties, there is an increased interest in areas combining an applied nature with high employment potential (business informatics, nuclear technology), as well as disciplines focused on the formation of a personnel reserve for the continuing education system (professional training).

In 2025, 815 universities were included in the Monitoring, including 395 main state universities, 329 branches and 91 non-governmental ones. For each of them, the average USE scores of applicants are calculated based on a standardized methodology. At the same time, the analysis mainly uses data on universities with an enrollment of more than 300 people.

For analysis, data is collected on enrollment lists, USE results, training directions, and tuition fees.