The Higher School of Economics was established in 1992 by the Russian Government with the general purpose of assisting the economic reforms in Russia by training professionals in modern economics and other "hands on" social sciences, as well as by means of academic research, consultancy and policy advice in these fields.

In 1995, HSE was granted university status. Today HSE is the largest and most influential institution among Russia,s new educational establishments. HSE is an autonomous university. At the same time it is a training, retraining, and scientific research center of the Ministry of the Economy of the Russia.

Today HSE has five faculties:

• Economics (undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs)
• Management (undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs)
• Sociology (undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs)
• Law (undergraduate and graduate programs)
• Applied Political Science (undergraduate and graduate programs)
• The School's education principles:
• Intensive training in economics is a major component of business, law and sociological education. The training represents "common language" for all social and economic students in HSE.
• The training is carried out in accordance with international standards. It also includes additional courses that reflect Russian specifics.
• Specialized math and computer training.
• Intensive language training in English, French and German; many courses in English, some in French.
• Extensive pre-university training and selection among high school students in different regions of Russia.

Regional branches:

• Saint-Petersburg
• Nizhny Novgorod
• Perm
• Novosibirsk

Key figures:

• 5 500 students
• 1800 managers and executives retrained annually
• faculty members
• research fellows
• administrative and supporting staff

Training and retraining centers:

• Business school
• Professional training institute
• Retraining and upgrading the institute of civil servants
• Institute for training of specialists in state procurement
• Center for training and retraining of specialists from military industry
• Institute of general and pedagogical social-economic education
• Banking institute
• Center for securities and the stock market
• Accounting and audit training center
• Language training center

Research centers:

• Institute for social policy
• Institute for pricing and regulation of natural monopolies
• Institute of macroeconomic research and forecasting
• Institute for enterprise and market studies
• Institute of small business studies
• Center for educational policy
• Human rights center
• Consulting center
• Center for environmental and natural resources economics
• Educational/didactic facilities laboratory
• Academic/technical information center

• Erasmus University, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
• Paris-I, Pantheon-Sorbonne (France)
• Paris-X, Nanterr (France)
• London School of Economics and Political Science (Great Britain)
• Cranfield Business School (Great Britain)
• University of Essex (Great Britain)
• Civil Service College (Great Britain)
• Humboldt University in Berlin (Germany)
• Federal Academy of Public Administration (Germany)
• University of Maryland (USA)
• Harvard University (USA)

Address: Moscow 101987
Myasnitskaya street, 20
Russia
State University - Higher School of Economics
Fax: +7- 095-928-8606
Web-site: http://www.hse.ru
E-mail: hse@hse.ru

Academic Supervisor - Yevgeny Yasin
President - Alexander Schokhin
Chancellor - Yaroslav Kouzminov

International Department:
Tel. +7- 095-928-8890, 921-8710
Fax +7- 095-921-8710

Address: Myasnitskaya street, 20
101987 Moscow
Rusiaa
Tel. +7-095 921-8278, 921-3357, 928-8903, 924-0739
Fax +7-095 924-4560
e-mail: ioninlg@hse.ru

At present the faculty has 240 bachelor (1-4 courses) and 43 master level students. The school plans to enroll 60 bachelor and 43 master level students in the 2001/02 academic year. After completion of a 3d course students may choose a scheme to continue their education: 4+2 years, or 5 years. Beginning in September 1, 2000 the education year has been divided into 5 modules: 1.IX - 31.X, 1.XI -  31.XII, 15.I - 28.II, 1.III - 30.IV, 11.V - 30.VI.

The Academic Council of the Faculty consists of the Dean of the Faculty, Chiefs of departments, all professors of the Faculty, a representative of students' organization of the faculty, representatives of the other SU-HSE's faculties (one from each faculty), representatives of the relevant scientific organizations and higher educational institutions (faculties), as well as eminent political scientists.

The Faculty also has short-term commercial programs: "Management of electoral campaigns" (in collaboration with the consulting center "Niccolo M") and "PR in financial organizations" (in collaboration with the National depository center). Upon completion of the course students receive a certificate of education improvement in the relevant specialties.

Concept of the Faculty:

1. Organic combination of traditional academic approaches with hands on political technologies. It aims to provide graduates with excellent opportunities on the Russian labor market.

2. Fundamental training during the first years of studying in the basics of political science, economics, management and law.  It also includes an in depth traditional to SU-HSE) study of mathematics and foreign languages. The first compulsory language is English. Beginning in November 1, 2000 the school introduced compulsory study of second language (German or French) for all bachelor level students.

3. Practical training in the last years of the course (based on seminars, trainings in companies or specially organized educational and research centers, master-classes given by leading specialists in political science, corporate marketing and muss-media management). Practical training should comprise more then a half of all class time in the 4th year. Lecturers in special disciplines are mainly experts in the field of political technologies. Although the specialization within the framework of the Faculty are built such that graduates are oriented to specific work in certain types of firms and organizations, after graduation they can work as qualified specialists in a wide range of fields.

Structure:

Apart from the dean's office and the methodology department the Faculty includes four departments:

1) Department of General Political Science

Chief of the department - Aleksey Salmin, professor, Doctor of Sciences, president of the "Russian Public Political Centre".

The department provides teaching in all disciplines concerning political science, and also in some general educational and general professional disciplines. The department's other responsibility is also the organization of the pre-higher school education process.

2) Department of Applied Political Science

Chief of the department - Leonid Ionin, professor, Doctor of Sciences.

The department prepares a system of education in specialties (in the 4th year). At the same time it develops and starts (partly with the participation of the department of general political science and with the active help of the department of political consulting and electoral technologies) other education programs: a masters program, programs for retraining and for providing second higher education and a number of short-term programs.

3) Department of Political Consulting and Electoral Technologies

Chief of the department - Aleksey Sitnikov, Doctor of Sciences, general director of the consulting agency "Image-Contact". Eminent specialists, such as the  general director of PR-agency "R. I. M." Igor' Pisarsky and others work at the department.

The faculty focuses its activity on the installment of practical skills in applied branches of work. Coursework and hands on training are devoted both to PR-technologies and political consulting, and to methods of interaction between politicians and the press, advertising and PR, to problems of PR-work efficiency estimation, problems of mass influences, etc. In the course of their studies students do not simply acquire the relevant skills, but also obtain jobs in firms, agencies, organizations, whose representatives and managers teach at the Faculty.

4) Public Politics Department

Chief of the department - Nina Belyayeva, PhD, president of the international foundation "Interlegal".

Specialization of the department: problems of civil society in Russia.  In particular, problems of interaction between governmental and non-governmental organisations, problems of political party building, technologies of legislative procedures, lobbying, etc. At the same time the department provides lecturing in general theories related to these subjects.

Plans for development of the Faculty for 2000-2004

1. 1. Establishment of the Russian-German Center for Political Science  (September 2000).
2. 2. New departments - Politics and Law (from 2001, chief of the department - head of the department of  RF Central Electoral Committee, Doctor of Sciences � Yurij Vedeneev), Media-centre (from 2001, providing directions: political journalism (former chief editor of the newspaper "Nezavisimaya gazeta" Vitalij Tret'yakov, deputy editor of the newspaper "Izvestija" Georgy Bovt), media-research, Internet, Political Analysis (by 2003).
3. Establishment in the framework of SU-HSE of a "Political Education Foundation". The purposes of the Foundation in a narrow sense will be: financial support for the Faculty and the development of practical training programs for students, development of political and political science education systems on Russia wide scale (political education of the population, lecturing, scientific conferences, etc.).
4. Organization at the methodical department of a political science public center with a reading room where latest press items (both general and professional, Russian and foreign) should be available. The center will also have a library of reference works in different branches of the social sciences. The center will serve both as a reference library and a Faculty club.
5. The Development of INTERNET-representation of the Faculty. First, the school seeks to prepare a virtual political science conference on the Internet, which will allow to bring together an academic community of social scientists (faculties, departments, institutes, research centers, etc.). Second, the creation of a virtual "PR-club" together with all the necessary resources: databases, information exchange, special channels of communication, etc. In the future the school plans to issue a printed bulletin, which, in the long term, it hopes to transform into a political science journal. It also plans to publish a student's regional newspaper.