History
On 28 January 1724 Emperor Peter the Great decreed that the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences and the University should be established.
Education
Saint-Petersburg State University has 418 main educational programmes and more than 800 additional educational programmes.
Research
Research development is a top priority of St Petersburg University mapping out its further growth. It is based on the SPbU Strategic Plan 2020 aimed, among other things, at comprehensive development of research, expert activity and innovation.
Our Research Park unites teams from the resource centres acting within the framework of the main areas of the SPbU Strategic Plan. The users' tasks can be solved at several resource centres, either simultaneously or consecutively, as well as on a cross-disciplinary basis at one centre.
Career
The University has 2000+ long-term cooperation agreements with such international companies as IBM, Unilever, PepsiCo, McKinsey, Google, Carl Zeiss, Microsoft, Leica, Intel, Adobe, Huawei and many others. St Petersburg University partner organizations offer internships for students and take part in the development and assessment of study programmes.
University Ranking
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
365 -50
2024
315 -45
2023
270
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
401
2023
401 -100
2022
301
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
-
2024
-
2023
801
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
743 -91
2023
652
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Housing services
SPbU Campus offers you 21 halls of residence, with 12 located in Petrodvortsovy District of St Petersburg, 8 in Vasileostrovsky District and 1 in Nevsky District. Currently, SPbU provides approximately 12,800 places in its halls of residence. All accommodation is furnished for living and studying; the halls have laundry facilities, cafes, canteens, shops, gyms and fitness facilities, and ATMs. All rooms have Internet access.
Library services
The M. Gorky Scientific Library collection was founded over 230 years ago at St Petersburg University, which is the oldest university in Russia. Today, the Library is a large modern information centre with access to world scientific information.
The Library print collection runs to 6.8 million copies and almost 2 million titles.
Campus life
The Twelve Collegia, as the main building of the University, demonstrates a notable example of Peter the Great’s architectural period and was built by Domenico Trezzini and А. F. Shchedrin in the 18th century. Initially, it was a place for the Russian government: Senate, Synod, and collegia. In 1838, it was commissioned to the University. Since it has been housing offices, Gorky Research Library, resource centres and laboratories of the Research Park. It is also a place where we hold important events: ceremonies, concerts, conferences, and meetings with famous people and those who come to visit the University.
Sports facilities
Each year, over 5,000 students take part in the sports competitions at SPbU. 300 students are members of 19 SPbU’s teams in 15 sports.
15 students of SPbU are the members of the Russian National teams.
Among SPbU’s students, there are 3 masters of sports of international class and 15 master of sports of Russia. SPbU’s teams have 31 Candidates of Sports, while 72 students have the athletic titles.
Accreditation
St. Petersburg College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC).