Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Gertsena
The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (Herzen University) is one of the oldest teacher-training institutions in the country. It was founded on 2(14) May 1797 by Emperor Paul I as St. Petersburg Educational House, and later lay the foundations for other pedagogical institutions in the XIX – early XX centuries. These were formed into a single pedagogical institute by Decree of the People’s Commissar for Education on 1 September 1918. On 15 January 1920 the Presidium of the All-Union Executive Committee decreed that the institute be named after Alexander Herzen. The Ministry of Education, in issuing order No. 25 of 24 January 1991, gave Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute university status, and it has been called the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia since then.
The university’s contribution to Russian society has been substantial, and we recall with pride the names of the outstanding scientists and scholars who have worked at Herzen University, making their significant contributions to the development of the country’s science and industry. Among them are such luminaries as academician I. Kurchatov, the father of the Russian nuclear physics school; professor A. Gershun, the founder of the optical industry; the astronomer S. Glasenapp; academician V. Ipatieff, an army general and a chemist; A. Fersman, the pioneer of geochemistry, professor V. Perekalin, the chemist who supervised the development of the pharmaceutical drug Phenibut, used in aerospace medicine and child psychiatry. The plethora of famous Herzen personalities includes pedagogues P. Kapterev, V. Soroka-Rossinsky, and A. Pinkevich; chemists V. Verkhovsky, and A. Favorsky, the botanist V. Komarov, geographers V. Semenov-Tian-Shansky and Yu. Shokalsky, physiologists L. Orbeli and K. Bykov, the mathematician G. Fikhtengolts, historians E. Tarle, V. Struve, A. Presnyakov, S. Oldenburg, B. Grekov, the psychologist L. Vygotsky, philologists S. Ozhegov, L. Scherba, V. Zhirmunsky, N. Marr, writers M. Gorky and E. Zamyatin, and many others. Today Herzen University employs more than 1700 scholars, 1000 of whom hold Candidate of Science degrees, 300 are Doctors of Science, 6 are academicians and 9 are corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Education, and 23 are Honoured Scientists of the Russian Federation. In 2012 Professor A. Grib, Department of Theoretical Physics and Astronomy, was awarded the gold medal by the Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science (TGA 2012) for his fundamental contribution to the development of the theory of quantum fields in curved space.
The University’s graduates make a considerable contribution to the country’s social and cultural life. Some of the writers, poets, composers, actors, sportsmen, and political figures are well-known outside of Russia, as well, including: N. Zabolotsky, A. Kushner, V. Sangi, A. Chepurov, L. Reznikov, A. Morozov, L. Egorova.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 30 of 15 January 1998 Herzen University was included in the list of the State Corpus of Heritage Sites in Russia. This decree is further proof that today the University is among the leaders in Russian education, a major cultural and educational center, a unique multidiscipline research and educational complex which maintains and develops the best academic and educational traditions in Russia and worldwide.
HERZEN UNIVERSITY TODAY
Today the University comprises 5 institutes, 21 faculties, 3 affiliations in the towns of Volkhov, Vyborg, and Makhachkala, over 130 departments, 3 research centers, 27 educational and cultural centers including the Linguistic Center, the DAAD Resource Center, and the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation. All departments work in close cooperation with the University’s over 25 research centers and laboratories, including: The Physics Research Institute, the Continuing Education Research Institute, and the General Education Research Institute.
Alongside the training of highly qualified teachers for universities and secondary schools, Herzen University offers a broad range of non-teaching specializations, allowing it to fit into the category of traditional universities. The university admits students to 57 educational programs integrated in 10 groups (32 Bachelor’s programs, 2 Specialist programs and 23 Master’s programs). The university offers programs in Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. The latest achievements in the spheres of education management and economics, juvenile justice, etc. form the foundation of the training programs for psychologists, economists, lawyers, managers, IT specialists and quality control managers. Still, the teacher-training programs remain the priority for Herzen University. Through its history the university has been and remains the largest innovative teacher-training center in Russia, turning out highly professional educators.
Faculties of Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Gertsena:
- Faculty of Psychology and Pedagogy
- Faculty of Fine Arts
- Faculty of Biology
- Faculty of Life Safety
- Institute of Foreign Languages
- Faculty of Information Technologies
- Faculty of Russian as a Foreign Language
- Faculty of Special Education
- Faculty of Mathematics
- Institute of Economics and Management
- Faculty of Physics
- Faculty of Music
- Institute of Economics and Management
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Geography
- Faculty of Social Sciences in English
- Faculty of Physical Education
- Faculty of Human Philosophy
- Faculty of Philology in English
- Faculty of Chemistry
- Faculty of Technology and Entrepreneurship
Student Accommodation
International students are accommodated in the University hotel for foreign students, which are situated within the main University’s campus in the very center of the city. The place has a very convenient location — it is just a hundred meters off Nevsky Prospect — the main street of the city with thousands of people walking to and for all day and all night. From here a student gets a quick walking access to the most famous museums, architectural monuments, picturesque panoramic views of buildings, bridges, rivers and canals as well as to the largest shopping centers of St.Petersburg. International Office is situated in the same building. The building has a cafe, snack bar with a billiard room, food store, beauty parlor, laundry services.
Saint Petersburg City
St Petersburg is a world-renowned city rich in history and culture and a Russia’s cultural capital. It is Russia’s window to Europe and home to many Russia’s leading university. St Petersburg’s architecture is an interesting mix of ages and styles of Rome, Venice, and Amsterdam. It is a city of romance and white nights. It has played a role throughout the history nationally and globally. St Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and is well deserving of its status.
Today St Petersburg is an industrial megalopolis and a big seaport. St Petersburg is a city that is constantly transforming its infrastructure performance and is so favored by its position as it is a great center of activity and trade for many our partner countries. It is actively engaged in car industry development (Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, GM), marine and shipbuilding industry (Admiralty Shipyard, Baltic Shipyard, North Shipyard, and others), power engineering industry, pharmacy, biotechnology, information and telecommunication technologies.
St Petersburg is home to many universities, with over 90 institutions of higher education and 350 research institutions. Many of them are internationally recognized as their alumni and academics are famous worldwide: outstanding scientists and inventors, prominent people in science, education, and culture globally.
St Petersburg has atmosphere like no other. It is due to its historical mission as a Russia’s cultural capital, diverse research and industrial potential, and artistic splendor. It is generally referred to as a museum under open sky as it inspires by the beauty of its monuments and palaces, squares and prospects, theatres and art galleries.
World Travel Awards announced the 2017 winner for Europe’s Leading City Destination as St Petersburg, Russia, and it marks its status of the world’s most visited city. Little wonder as it regularly holds various social, scientific, and entertaining events, exhibitions, forums, theatre performances, and concerts of brilliant artists and of various genres.
Study in St Petersburg! Live in St Petersburg!
