Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) Faculty of Economics

Founded in 1941, Lomonosov Moscow State University Faculty of Economics continues the centuries-old tradition of economic education in Russia, being one of the leading centers of university education that trains economists. The traditional combination of fundamental education and professional training aims at developing students’ analytical skills and creative thinking to help our graduates adapt quickly and successfully to the requirements of any job in the field of economics. Graduates enter their career path equipped with the latest trends in the field, educated to be analytic, resourceful, and inspired leaders in the world of work, able to add value to their organizations.

Scholars from the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), namely, from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, the Institute of Economics, the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute and the Institute of National Economic Forecasting are invited to teach at the faculty, thus giving the students an opportunity to learn about the latest findings in various fields of economic theory and practice.

Lomonosov Moscow State University facts

• Moscow State University was established in 1755
• More than 40 000 students (graduate and postgraduate) and about 7 000 undergraduates study at the university, and over 5 000 specialists do the refresher course here. More than 6 000 professors and lecturers, and about 5 000 researchers work for the faculties and research institutes.
• Every year Moscow University enrolls about 4 000 international students and postgraduates from all over the world.
• Moscow University campus is an extremely complex system, with its 1 000 000 m2 floor area in 1 000 buildings and structures, with its 8 dormitories housing over 12 000 students and 300 km of utility lines.
• MSU library system is one of the largest in Russia, with its 9,000,000 books, 2,000,000 of them in foreign languages, and the average number of readers 55,000, using 5,500,000 books a year.

The Faculty of Economics has close ties with a number of institutions of economic education abroad, with exchange programs for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as academic staff. Their partners are Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria); the University of Kaizerlautern, Eberhart-Karls-University of Tubingen, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Johan Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Phillips University of Marburg; Paris I -Sorbonne University, ParisIX - Dauphine University; Brest Business School and the State University of New York (SUNY). Together with leading European universities, the Faculty of Economics participates in the European programs supported by the European Commission whose aim is to harmonize Russia’s education trends with basic principles of European education policy.

There are 21 departments at the Faculty of Economics: Department of Political Economy; Department of Macroeconomic Regulation and Planning; Department of Mathematical Methods for Economics; Department of History of Economic Thought; Department of History of National Economy; Department of Economy of Foreign Countries and International Economic Relations; Department of Statistics; Department of Accountancy, Analysis and Audit; Department of Population; Department of Management; Department of Industrial Economics and Principles of Entrepreneurial Business; Department of Agroeconomics; Department of Nature Management Economy; Department of Finance and Credit; Department of Employment and Labor Relations; Department of Economic Informatics; Department of Risk and Insurance Management; Department of Applied Institutional Economics.

The economic reforms of the early 1990s brought about radical reorientation of economic education that was to meet both the challenges of the market economy and international standards of education. Since 1991 the faculty has run full-time 4-year Bachelor’s Degree and 2-year Master’s Degree programs in Economics and Management.

Bachelor’s program gives a broad fundamental and general economic education, graduates being able to go on to enter. The undergraduate curriculum includes four major blocks: the Liberal Arts, fundamental economics, applied methods and special theoretical disciplines. Master’s programs offered by the faculty enhancing their specialist knowledge in the sphere of economics and their professional skills. The Master Programme in International Business Development is a new, exciting double degree programme conducted at the leading Russian University and an internationally recognized business school in Sweden.

• The Liberal Arts disciplines include courses in History of Russia; History of World Civilizations and Cultures; Political Science, Law; Science; Economic Geography of Russia and Russian Regional Economy; World Economy. Special stress is on foreign languages, as modern economists are to study international publications and to communicate with their colleagues worldwide.
• The block of mathematical disciplines includes such traditional subjects as Mathematical Analysis; Linear Algebra; Theory of Probability. Besides, there are subjects to form the basis for further courses of Applied Economics and Economic Research, such as Mathematical and Economic Statistics; Operations Research; Game Theory; Econometric Theory; Prediction Methods etc. Students are also to develop good computer skills.
• The fundamental courses in Economic theory, History of Economic Thought, World Economic Theory, and courses in Micro- and Macroeconomic Analysis are an important part of the curriculum. There is a variety of applied economic disciplines such as Economics of the Firm, Public Sector Economics, Theory and Practice of Government Management of the Economy. Recently courses in finance and insurance have been introduced.

Starting from their first year undergraduates choose elective courses they are interested in, the number of compulsory courses being relatively small. The emphasis is on self-guided work under professors’ supervision. The best students have an opportunity to join a faculty research team.

Introduced in 1994, the curriculum of Bachelor’s program in Management includes a large number of economic subjects both fundamental and applied (Micro- and Macroeconomics; Theory of Transitional Economy; History of Economic Thought; International Economy; Industrial Economics; Banking Management; Accountancy and Audit; Principles of Entrepreneurial Business; etc) and management courses (Strategic Management; Organizational Behavior; Marketing; Project Management, Staff Management; Risk Management and Insurance; etc). The curriculum also includes mathematical disciplines and Liberal Arts, as well as an optional 8-semester course of English.

The Master’s Program in Economics allows specialization in the following fields: Economic theory; Mathematical Methods for Economic Analysis; Economic and Social Politics; Marketing; International Economy; Financial Economics; Industrial Economics and Economics of the Firm.

The Master’s Program in Management allows specialization in the following fields: Accountancy and Audit; General and Strategic Management; Marketing; Financial Management; Project Management; Risk Management; Information Management; Insurance. Master’s degree program enhances students’ knowledge of fundamental as well as applied economics and management and develops their professional skills. The curriculum includes advanced courses in Economic Theory, Econometrics and a foreign language, the core of the curriculum being, correspondingly, fundamental economic or managerial disciplines, such as: Institutional Economics; World Economy; Economy of Public Sector; Labor Economics; Accountancy and Audit; Industrial Economics; Management; Corporate Finance etc. The students are also offered optional courses of English, Mathematical Modeling of Social Processes, and Programming.