A group of State Duma deputies, most of them from the ruling United Russia party, has introduced legislation that would bar students from enrolling in master’s programs in fields unrelated to their undergraduate major or prior work experience. The bill was published on the State Duma’s website on April 29 but only recently drew attention.
The bill’s authors say it is common in Russia for students to pursue master’s degrees in fields unrelated to their undergraduate training — economics and law graduates enrolling in Chemical Technology programs, for instance, or mathematics and chemistry graduates enrolling in Law programs.
In the Chemical Technology and Law programs specifically, the deputies say, one in five and one in four incoming students, respectively, had no educational background in the field they were entering.
“This creates a situation in which a master’s student — in a program lasting no more than two years — does not acquire the necessary foundational knowledge,” the bill’s explanatory note says.
The bill’s authors include Alexander Mazhuga, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Science and Higher Education and a United Russia member, along with other United Russia representatives and one deputy each from A Just Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.
According to Rosstat figures cited by the deputies, more than 610,000 students were enrolled in master’s programs in 2025, with 55 percent studying full-time, 33 percent remotely, and 12 percent in a mixed format.
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