"In 2025, the main trend observed in the higher education admission process was the shift of strong applicants from humanities and socio-economic specializations towards engineering and information technology fields. Technical universities predominated among universities with the highest admission quality, and the specialization “Nuclear Physics and Technologies” took the lead among fields."
These words were stated by Zahid Mammadov, Doctor of Economic Sciences and Professor from Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey, in a statement to AzEdu.az.
The professor stated that these results are reflected in the admission quality monitoring conducted by Russia's National Research University - Higher School of Economics (HSE), which has been published for the 15th consecutive year:
"The research is based on open data and covers bachelor's and specialization programs. In 2025, 815 higher education institutions were included in the monitoring: 395 main universities, 329 state branches, and 91 non-state higher education institutions. Admissions in each of these universities exceeded 300 people.
During the study, the exam results of admitted students, admission numbers, specialization areas, and tuition fees were analyzed. The average score was calculated using a unified methodology: additional achievements and internal university exams were not considered, those admitted without exams were conditionally given 100 points for each subject, and creative and professional tests were not included in the calculation. The 2025 admission campaign showed a sharp increase in interest in technical fields. Demand rose in almost all engineering directions, while interest in humanities and socio-economic specializations decreased.
While no technical field was included in the top five for admission quality in 2023, three of the top five places in 2025 belonged to technical fields. "Nuclear Physics and Technologies" took the first place with an average score of 76.9. This field pushed the previous leader, "Oriental and African Studies," to second place (76.3 points). Physics (76.1) and mathematics (76) followed in subsequent places.
Among other technical fields with admission quality above 70 points were chemistry, aviation and rocket-space technology, informatics and computer engineering, as well as architecture and urban planning. For the first time in the history of monitoring, the top three in admission quality consisted solely of technical universities. The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (96.8 points) took the first place, MTNU (MEPhI) - 91.5 points took the second place, and Central University was in third place.
Among higher education institutions with admission scores above 80 points, there were seven technical universities, five classical universities, two medical universities, and only two socio-economic profile universities. According to experts, the relatively low number of admissions in technical universities indicates that strong students are concentrated in narrow specializations. For example, in 2025, while MIPT admitted 1235 students and MEPhI admitted 1288 students, this number was 7285 at HSE."
In the last three years, the admission structure has shifted towards “average level”: the share of admitted students in the 70-79 point range has decreased, while the share of those in the 56-69 point range has increased:
"Nevertheless, the long-term dynamic is positive. The share of low-scoring applicants has significantly decreased in the last eight years. The share of Olympiad winners has also increased from 1% in 2018 to 1.6% in 2025.
The number of admitted students with results above 80 points increased from 25,000 in 2018 to 38,000 in 2025. During the same period, the number of low-scoring applicants decreased. Regional universities are stabilizing their indicators by reducing the share of weak applicants. However, the gap between Moscow and St. Petersburg higher education institutions and the regions continues to grow.
In 2025, the average score of students admitted to state-funded places in capital universities was 14.5 points higher than in the regions. The difference for paid education was approximately 8 points. Although the number of state-funded places in capitals increased, competition remained high. In the last three years, admissions on a paid basis increased by 24%, from 183,000 to 227,000 people. The number of state-funded places, however, remained almost constant.
In 2025, on average, a parent needed to work 2.7 months to pay their child's annual tuition fee. The increase in tuition fees slightly outpaced inflation. In many universities, the increase in education costs lagged behind salary increases, making education relatively more accessible. These universities include those with profiles in international relations, pedagogy, and law.
The monitoring shows that the higher education system is being restructured rather than weakened. The prioritization of technological and engineering fields is changing the structure of universities, student selection, and connections with the labor market. Experts believe that this trend will continue in the coming years, and the main competition in the higher education system will be formed around technology-oriented programs."
