Who Can Enroll at Strelka?

Studying at Strelka is first and foremost teamwork. It implies the sharing of knowledge and experience between members of various professions. This is why the institute is interested in receiving applications from representatives of all occupations — from architects and designers to mathematicians and social scientists. Strelka has an internal quota that limits admissions from one profession, but these numbers can be adjusted when necessary.

Our ideal prospective student is a university graduate under 35 (holders of Master’s and doctoral degrees are preferable), with professional work experience and fluent English. The admission committee welcomes applications from all regions of the country because one of the aims of the Institute is the development of not only, and not so much, Russia’s capital, but particularly its regions. Out-of-town and foreign students are provided with housing assistance in the form of an extra allowance in the amount necessary to rent accommodation.

The most important ingredient is personal motivation, whether it be a desire to be directly involved in urban development, work in the government sector, start one’s own business, or undertake fully-fledged research in a topic of interest.

Admissions Procedure

To enroll at Strelka, you must fill in an application form on the institute’s website and upload a number of documents, starting from March 1 till August 10.

List of Required Documents

1. A completed application form.

2. Argumentative essay. In it, raise a problem that is of interest to you, suggest and explain a solution to it. The essay must be in English and not exceed 2000 characters with spaces.

3. A portfolio. All projects and written work submitted to the admissions committee must include comments in English explaining the tasks and justifying the solutions adopted. Architects and designers are encouraged to include up to 10 projects in their portfolio (in total not exceeding 10 A4 pages in PDF format). Journalists, social scientists, culture studies scholars and professionals from other fields must submit up to five written works – articles, presentations, business plans, screenplays, studies, extracts from research papers. Work is also accepted in the form of videos (links to YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) of not longer than five minutes in length.

4. A certificate confirming English proficiency: Academic IELTS score of at least 7; TOEFL iBT score of at least 85; or a university degree in linguistics. Information on English test preparation courses run by Strelka jointly with the Integrated Training Centre can be found on the ITC’s website.

Applications submitted without one of the abovementioned documents will not be considered.

The average competition for admission at Strelka is six to seven applicants per place. All applications submitted through the website will be considered by an admissions committee comprising Strelka lecturers, members of the Board of Trustees, and graduates. Members of the admissions committee will assess applications on a five-point scale. On the basis of these scores a rating of applications is compiled to determine the applications which proceed to the interview stage.

The interview takes place in English, either face-to-face or, for applicants living outside of Moscow, via Skype. You will be asked to tell the interviewers about yourself in greater detail so the committee members can assess the way you express yourself and your command of English. You will also be asked to clarify the areas of your research interests. You will be asked whether you are familiar with the research themes of the upcoming year and what you have studied or read in urban studies and architecture. You may be asked about your plans for the future. An admission interview at Strelka is more like a job interview, rather than a university admission examination. The best advice is not to get lost and do your best to persuade the committee of your desire to learn.

If your application is successful, we will let you know within a week. Candidates who did not advance to the second stage will be informed of this after 10 August, when admissions are finalized. If you are one of such candidates, you may still apply for admission in the following year. Please follow this link to view the status of your application, ask questions to the admissions committee and schedule an interview if you passed the first application stage.

The admissions committee will begin considering applications, selecting candidates and conducting interviews in May this year. This means that candidates who submit their applications early have greater chances of passing the first stage and being invited for an interview.