Russia recognises diplomas of 10 Dutch universities
Diplomas from ten Dutch research universities will now be acknowledged in Russia without additional state evaluation.
The Dutch institutions are on a list of 210 selected foreign universities, published via a special Russian government order signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in late May 2012.
By automatically acknowledging foreign diplomas, Russia aims to ease the way for Russian graduates of foreign universities who want to pursue an academic or scientific career in Russia or work for the Russian government. They also hope it will attract more foreign researchers to the country and encourage Russian expatriates to return home.
International rankings
The chosen universities are from 25 countries and were selected based on three international rankings: the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Graduates of all other foreign universities must endure the Nostrifikatia, a bureaucratic procedure which lasts at least four months, to have their diplomas recognised. They need to submit documents including the original diploma, a notarised Russian translation, a copy of the university's license and pay a 4,000 Roubles (€ 100) fee.
Influence on choices
The Nuffic Neso office in Moscow does not expect the new measure to have an immediate influence on where Russians choose to study. ‘For students looking at an international career, it doesn’t mean a lot and companies in Russia rarely demand an official recognition anyway. However, if you want a career in the Russian government or in science, it really makes a difference.’
‘Of course, universities should use their place in this exclusive list as a promotional tool’ they added.
Europe no. 1
Most of the selected institutions are in Europe (89) and North America (66). The UK has 28 universities on the list, Germany 13, the Netherlands 10, followed by Sweden (7), Switzerland (6) and France (5). In Asia 11 Chinese, 9 Japanese and 3 South Korean universities were selected.
Selected Dutch universities:
- VU University Amsterdam
- University of Amsterdam
- Leiden University
- Maastricht University
- Delft University of Technology
- Wageningen University and Research Center
- University of Groningen
- Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Radboud University Nijmegen
- Utrecht University
View the complete list by country (in Russian)
Read an article about this in the Moscow Times
Read an article about this in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta (in Russian)