South Ural State University

South Ural State University (SUSU) (Russian: Южно-Уральский Государственный Университет (ЮУрГУ)) in Chelyabinsk is one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. It is among the top-ten of the Russian universities according to the state rating of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, and the largest in Russia in terms of the number of undergraduates.

There are over 50 thousand students and more than 5 thousand faculty members and staff at the University, including 270 professors and 1020 associate professors. Among them are four academicians and five Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, over 90 academicians of various public academies, and four members of foreign academies.

The Chelyabinsk Mechanical Engineering Institute was founded on 15 December 1943 to train engineers for the armaments industry during World War II.

An information and library complex comprises over 2.5 million books and is supplied with an electronic catalogue, electronic resources hall and open hall of access to economic sciences.

The University possesses a supercomputer; linguistic centres with a digital audio equipment; a centre of preparatory training; open and distance learning institute. A special centre of the University deals with the gifted children within the framework of such international programmes as “The Odyssey of the Mind” and “A Step into the Future”.

SUSU has developed for many years as a large regional university. However, in view of the Bologna Process and the reform of the higher education system of Russia, the main aims of the University now include an active integration with European universities; the development and realization of joint academic, scientific and innovation programmes; the provision of teachers and students mobility; the introduction of an effective system of education quality control. The University represents a system of educational institutions that includes 35 faculties, 13 branches and three representative offices, 166 departments; two faculties for professional retraining and advanced education; 53 computer centres.

Education is realized according to 15 programmes of basic professional education; 19 programmes of secondary professional education; 203 programmes of higher education (for bachelors, specialists and masters); 71 specialties of postgraduate and doctoral studies.