Russian Universities in the 2014 QS University Rankings: BRICS

**Click here to view the top 10 universities in Russia in 2016.

The latest edition of the QS University Rankings: BRICS sees Russian universities claim more than a quarter of the top 200 places, with only China boasting a larger representation. However, while Chinese universities dominate the upper levels of the ranking, only seven Russian universities are ranked within the BRICS top 50.

The highest-placed of these is Lomonosov Moscow State University, in third place, followed by Saint-Petersburg State University (12^th) and Novosibirsk State University (18^th).

While not yet rivalling the table-topping domination of Chinese institutions, universities in Russia appear to be strengthening their performance in the BRICS ranking. Of the top 20 Russian universities, all but three have either maintained or improved their positions since the 2013 edition, suggesting that they are making progress relative to their counterparts in other BRICS countries. It remains to be seen whether this will translate into more widespread progress at international level, and whether the next edition of the QS World University Rankings® will bring the country any closer to its government’s goal of having at least five Russian universities ranked within the global top 100 by 2020.

Below is an overview of how universities in Russia perform on each of the eight indicators used to compile the QS University Rankings: BRICS.

International reputation

The first two indicators assess universities’ international reputation, based on QS’s major global surveys of academics and graduate employers. Here, the top three Russian universities all come out a little stronger in the academic survey, with reputation among employers lagging slightly behind. Lomonosov Moscow State University is rated 5^th among BRICS universities by academics and 11^th by employers; Saint-Petersburg State University comes 17^th and 27^th respectively; Novosibirsk State University places 32^nd and 42^nd. Beyond this, the picture is more mixed, with many Russian institutions enjoying a stronger reputation among employers than academics. For example, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University), which ranks 35^th overall, is rated 30^th among BRICS universities by employers, and 67^th by academics.

Academic staff

The next two indicators consider academic staff levels, assessing faculty/student ratio (number of academic staff employed relative to number of students enrolled) and proportion of staff with a PhD. The first of these is a major strength of Russian universities, which claim all of the top 10 spots on this indicator and almost all of the top 20. This suggests good levels of investment in teaching staff and a commitment to keeping class sizes manageable – an area which is presenting challenges for institutions in many of the other BRICS nations.

Russia’s scores for proportion of staff with a PhD are not quite as impressive, though still reasonably good; 10 Russian universities are within the BRICS top 50 on this indicator, which overall tends to be dominated by Indian and Brazilian universities.

Research

Research, assessed by measuring papers published per faculty member and citations per paper, is a much weaker area for Russia. Only one Russian institution, Novosibirsk State University, is within the BRICS top 100 for papers per faculty member, and the same applies in the citations per paper indicator – though this time the exception really is significant; the physics- and technology-focused National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" is ranked second among BRICS universities for research impact.

These relatively low levels of research production and influence reflect the fact that Russia has been a little slower than other BRICS countries in making this a national priority; by contrast China has spent the past few decades seriously investing in becoming a research powerhouse. As Alexandr Klimov, deputy minister at the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, has said, it’s really only in the past few years that the country has turned its attention to internationalizing its higher education system, including the allocation of a budget dedicated to developing international research collaborations. This will of course require some time to take effect. (For more on this, download the BRICS ranking digital supplement.)

Internationalization

Likewise, it’s only recently that Russian universities have seriously begun to prioritize international recruitment, having previously been primarily focused on serving the domestic market. Nonetheless, Russian universities boast relatively high proportions of international students compared to other BRICS institutions. In fact, the People's Friendship University of Russia (in Moscow) is ranked top among BRICS universities on this indicator, followed closely by Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics (third), Tomsk Polytechnic University (7^th) and Lomonosov Moscow State University (10^th). It seems Moscow and Tomsk have proven especially popular among incoming students.

Scores for proportion of international faculty members are not quite so strong, with the highest places this time going to Tomsk State University (21^st), Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (34^th) and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology State University (51^st).