The Faculty of Geography offers Bachelor and Master programs. The size of the government-sponsored free admission (no tuition fees charged) is fixed at 150 persons. In addition, there are at least 80 vacancies for students who pay for their training (on the basis of a contract between a student and the university). For Russian applicants, the admission is based on the results of General the State Exams. The average competition level is 5-6 applicants into place. The Faculty hosts the MSU Geographic Competitions (Olympiads) for high-school students, annually drawing in up to 1,000 participants. In addition, the Faculty takes part in the organization of All-Russian and International Geographic Competitions. The winners of these Olympiads enter the University without the exams.
The students of the Faculty of Geography study territorial distribution and spatial development patterns of various natural phenomena as well as social and economic objects. The main task of the instruction is to prepare highly qualified and broad-minded specialists in geography with fundamental knowledge and practical skills, as well as the capacity to analyze complex and multidimensional interactions between the environment and people.
The academic program includes courses with lectures, seminars, laboratory and field training in natural sciences and humanities which form 4 blocks:
-Humanities: Economics, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Law, Sociology, Foreign Languages and others;
-Fundamental disciplines: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Ecology and Geoinformatics;
-Fundamental geographical disciplines: Geology and Geomorphology, Meteorology and Climatology, Hydrology, Biogeography, Soil Geography, Landscape Science, Demography, World and Regional Physical and Economic Geography, Topography and Cartography, Remote Sensing and Geographical Forecasting, History of Geographical Science, etc;
-Special Courses, which are specific for each department of the Faculty.
Attention to the physical-mathematical and geoinformatical courses on the Faculty has greatly increased lately. The Faculty has a variety of computer classes and a computer laboratory for modeling of natural and socio-economic phenomena.
Along with lectures and seminars the curriculum includes summer field training on the bases of the Faculty's field stations. In addition to the field stations of the Faculty, the students have an opportunity to have their field training in scientific institutions and different companies.
Diligent students with high scores receive scholarships, and the top students are often awarded with a range of grants. All non-Muscovites are provided with places in student hostels of the MSU and live on campus.
To qualify for the admission to Bachelor and Master programs, foreign students must meet some general requirements. Students must have an appropriate secondary school certificate and be proficient in Russian. Once a person has been accepted at the Faculty of Geography he or she is eligible for a number of services offered by Lomonosov MSU such as accommodation, visa and registration support etc.
Departments and research laboratories are well equipped with modern research instruments including computer equipment and software. The scientists of the Faculty have an opportunity to work with the most up-to-date equipment for geological, geochemical, hydrometeorological and environmental surveys.
The Earth Science Museum of Moscow University plays an important role in the training of geographers and in scientific research,. It is a unique scientific and educational center in Russia. Its expositions cover almost every aspect of Earth Sciences.
The Faculty of Geography supports student exchange programs with a number of universities and research centers abroad. Many students of the Faculty undertake an internship abroad varying in length from 1-2 months to the whole academic year. The Faculty of Geography takes part in the European Union Erasmus Mundus Program .
Further development of the curriculum goes in the following directions:
- development of innovative educational program on natural resources management, environmental monitoring, regional policies, tourism and problems of urbanization;
- development of continuing education (GIS, habitation ecology, landscape design etc);
- perfection of student field studies and modernization of field stations;
- creation of training courses for foreign students;
- strengthening special training program at high schools and development of distance education;
- integration into the European higher education area through the Bologna process.
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