Areas of knowledge: budget financing of universities is shifting to the regions

Targeted recruitment and training at regional universities are becoming almost the only reliable trajectory for applicants entering the budget, experts told Izvestia. The Ministry of Education and Science has approved the volume and structure of admission control figures for the 2027/28 academic year. The majority of places — at least 73% — will go to the regions of the Russian Federation, and priority will be given to engineering and technical specialties. As a result, the competition at the universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg will become even tougher, and it will be more difficult to enroll without Olympiads and targeted contracts. About why the government redistributes funding and how applicants can adapt to new conditions is in the Izvestia article.

How will the seats be allocated

The Coordinating Council under the Government of the Russian Federation has approved the volume and structure of the admission control figures for the 2027/28 academic year, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science reported. The final allocation of places between specific universities will be held on a competitive basis until December 29, and the approval of the structure by order of the department will take place before November 1.

Elena Tumakova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, noted that the budget intake volume is formed taking into account regional applications, the forecast of the Russian Ministry of Labor and proposals from responsibility centers, including the largest companies in various industries.

— At the same time, we maintain the key priority of accessibility of higher education: we will send at least 73% of budget places to regional universities. We will allocate more than half for full—time bachelor's and specialist's degree programs, and a third of the total volume of CPS (admission control figures — Ed.) for full—time master's degree programs," she stressed.

The department recalled that for the historical territories of the Russian Federation, admission control figures are set separately and are formed in full accordance with their needs.

The main vector of budget allocation remains unchanged — the training of specialists for key sectors of the economy. The largest number of places will be allocated to engineering, natural science, medical, pedagogical and agricultural fields.

Taking into account the updated personnel forecast of the Ministry of Labor and the results of the admission campaign in 2026, the budget recruitment was increased in specialties that ensure technological sovereignty. In particular, 516 places were added for mechanical engineering, 290 for computer science and computing, 283 for clinical medicine, 241 for nuclear energy, and 236 places for information security. The increase also affected applied geology and mining (+181), shipbuilding (+124) and land transport (+96).

A year earlier, the country's universities were allocated more than 620.4 thousand budget places for the 2026/27 academic year. This was reported by the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov. Then 73% also went to the regions.

Despite the scale of government funding, the competition for free tuition remains high. Graduates with scores from 240 to 290 or more on the Unified State Exam are increasingly faced with "point inflation." Due to the large influx of Olympic winners and preferential categories of applicants (quota holders), applicants are generally shifted down the list. At the same time, the shortage of places is acutely felt precisely in the capital's universities, where the majority of high-scoring students from all over the country are striving.

How did universities react?

Representatives of leading universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg confirm the high recruitment rates and emphasize that government priorities reflect the real demands of the labor market.

In 2026, Bauman Moscow State Technical University allocated over 4,500 budget places in Moscow and branches in Mytishchi and Kaluga. Most of them were in engineering and technological fields, the university admissions committee told Izvestia.

— Due to the high interest of applicants in engineering specialties and the growing demand of the labor market for qualified specialists, we consider an increase in recruitment in the relevant areas timely and necessary. Motivated students are needed to solve the problems of technological sovereignty," the university's admissions committee explained.

The university also emphasized that personnel training for the regional industry is possible not only by increasing recruitment to local universities, but also through targeted training. At the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, more than a quarter of the places were taken by applicants who enrolled in such programs, and the contracts of about half of them provide for further employment outside Moscow.

The growth of interest in engineering specialties and the large demand for such graduates from the employer was also noted at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.

— The structure of the admission control figures of our university quite accurately repeats the structure of the personnel needs of the strategic partner, Rosatom State Corporation, both in areas and in regions of presence. Therefore, the changes seem to be a natural consequence of state policy," Alexey Egorov, Deputy executive secretary of the university admissions committee, told Izvestia..

There are positive developments in the Presidential Academy as a whole in the higher education system.

— There is no reduction in budget places, especially in engineering and IT areas. The allocated places are being fully filled," Boris Ilyukhin, senior researcher at the Center for Economics of Continuing Education at the Presidential Academy, told Izvestia. — This year, the number of graduates taking the Unified State Exam in physics and specialized mathematics has increased significantly. It will take several more years to overcome the effects of the prolonged recession of the past years and provide engineering with trained personnel.

He stressed that targeted admission is also developing: now the applicant knows the future employer in advance, and the company knows its specialist. As early as 2026, such places in IT and engineering fields were almost completely filled.

ITMO called the 2026 admission campaign one of the most successful: the university fulfilled the plan and accepted a record number of Olympiad winners and applicants with high exam results.

— The Ministry has been consistently pursuing this policy for several years, and the decisions for 2027 continue the same course. ITMO is in high demand: more than 70% of first—year students come from other regions," Kirill Alexandrov, First deputy chairman of the university's admissions committee, told Izvestia.

NUST MISIS also supports this course. According to Vice-rector for Education Andrey Voronin, in 2026, the competition for the number of applications for a place at the parent university increased to 49 from 35 a year earlier.

— Given the rapid changes in the economy, the university agrees with the proposed measures. The number of applications is growing in all areas of training, and we are developing educational programs together with industrial partners, from the concept to the evaluation of results," explained the Vice—rector.

Why does the budget go to the regions

The redistribution of 73% of budget seats in favor of the regions is a fully justified step from the point of view of preserving the intellectual potential of the subjects of the Russian Federation, State Duma Deputy Oleg Smolin is convinced.

— Until 2020, the number of budget-funded students in Russia has steadily declined: from 219 people per 10,000 population in the Soviet period to about 125 by 2020. After the president's order, the situation turned around, and today we have reached the figure of about 138 students per 10,000 citizens," he told Izvestia. — The main achievement of the Unified State Exam — the opportunity for children from the provinces to leave for the capitals — turned into a washout of personnel: graduates of Moscow universities practically do not return back.

According to him, the gap in passing scores between Moscow and the regions does not reflect the real difference in the quality of studies. For example, at Omsk State Technical University, the IT department is in the top 10 in the country, and you can enroll there with 215 points, whereas in Moscow they require 280. Applicants go to the capital not so much for knowledge as for future salaries in Moscow. However, staff retention will work only when young professionals are provided with decent pay in the field, Oleg Smolin emphasized.

The deputy also drew attention to another problem — the reduction of commercial recruitment.

— This academic year, paid admission decreased by almost 97 thousand places, which provoked an increase in tuition prices. If people are willing to pay for higher education, the state should not create artificial barriers. It is necessary to evaluate universities not by the USE scores at the entrance, but by the employment of graduates," he concluded.

Veniamin Kaganov, Doctor of Economics, Head of the Department of Tourism and Hotel Business at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, noted that personnel training needs to be developed in the regions. It is there that a significant part of the industry is concentrated and the demand for specialists is formed.

According to him, graduates who move to the capitals to study often stay there to build a career. At the same time, the tourism and hospitality sector is experiencing an increasing shortage of personnel, so a reduction in enrollment in specialized educational programs should not be expected in the near future.

How to retain graduates

The redistribution of funding will help reduce the gap between regions and capitals, but without new jobs and career prospects, graduates will continue to leave, said Anna Polyakova, head of the Moscow branch of the Independent Trade Union Novy Trud.

— According to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, 36% of young people leave the region where they studied. In the Leningrad region, this figure is 48.6%, in the Kurgan region — 37.5%. At the same time, 95% of graduates remain in Yakutia, 92% in Tuva," the expert said. — The main reasons for the outflow are the lack of career prospects and a modern urban environment. Without targeted contracts and internships, allocating 73% of budget places to the regions will have a limited effect: graduates will receive diplomas locally, but then leave. A region that loses a thousand young professionals annually will lose between 500 million and 1 billion rubles in tax revenue in the medium term.

According to Anna Polyakova, the industry lacks 946,000 employees, including 229,000 specialists with higher education. Therefore, increasing the number of budget places is an important step, but it will not solve the problem in the near future: engineer training takes four to five years, while the shortage of personnel needs to be filled now.

At the same time, the expert emphasized, the desire for technological leadership should not come at the expense of pedagogy and medicine, where 19.5 thousand and more than 23 thousand vacancies are open, respectively.

As an example, Polyakova cited the experience of Germany and Canada, where first-year students gain practical experience in enterprises through dual and cooperative training programs.

How to choose a university and cope with difficulties

Irina Abankina, a professor at the HSE Institute of Education, believes that one of the main problems of recent years is not the recruitment of students, but their expulsion in junior courses.

— Universities have not yet demonstrated the dynamics of reducing deductions. It is difficult for first-year students to cope with complex programs in fundamental mathematics and engineering disciplines. The loss of a budget place becomes a serious problem for them: the draft deferral has already been used, and many cannot transfer to paid training," the expert noted.

To reduce the risk of expulsions, universities need to introduce adaptation programs for the first two courses. Abankina also advises applicants and their parents to consider various engineering fields, from construction to logistics, and apply to regional universities through Gosuslugi. Many of them provide dormitories and scholarships to nonresidents.

However, uncertainty about admission and fears of not being able to cope with studies create an additional burden on applicants and their families. Frequent changes in admission rules and the lack of free places in the capitals increase the anxiety of parents who planned to educate their children in Moscow or St. Petersburg, says psychologist Natalia Naumova.

"The distribution of places with a regional bias often creates a sense of injustice among families from big cities," she told Izvestia. — Even graduates with high scores face a shortage of free places. As a result, families have to urgently seek resources for paid tuition, cut basic expenses, or change the child's professional orientation to fit the family budget.

According to the expert, such stress can lead to emotional burnout and a feeling of helplessness.

— Accumulated anxiety destroys the psycho-emotional health of the whole family. It is important to notice this condition in time and not waste energy on self—blame or senseless anger at the system," Natalia Naumova explained. — Parents and applicants need to shift their focus to self-support: observe sleep patterns, rely on loved ones, if necessary, consult a psychologist and look for alternative ways to get the desired profession. Changing the rules requires adaptation, not desperation.

Experts agree that it is not necessary to count on the fact that admission conditions in the capitals will become softer today. Therefore, applicants and their parents should expand their search geography in advance, study the programs of strong regional universities and choose areas that are in demand in the real sector of the economy.