MPEI was one of the first two higher educational institutions of the former USSR that admitted foreign students. In 1946, one year after the war, the first group of foreign students, who had applied for higher education in the USSR, was enrolled to the Soviet universities in goal to teach them Russian on the sufficient level to live and study at the USSR.
MPEI Russian language department works in several fields:
- Education of Russian as a foreign language on all levels for foreigners non-studying at MPEI.
- Organization of Preliminary courses of different kind for foreign citizens who will start their studies at Russian universities after.
- Organization of Russian language courses for all categories of foreign students studying on main educational programs (Bachelor, Master or postgraduate).
In 1998 the MPEI Russian language department was officially given the right to conduct Test of Russian as a Foreign Language and to issue certificates. Professors of the department are qualified and have the license of giving state examination for foreign citizens in Russian.
The certificate granted upon the results of the TORFL examination is permanent and does not depend on the place of issue and the place of demand of the certificate.
On 9 July, 1998, the Russian Ministry of Education introduced the obligatory testing of all foreign citizens entering Russian higher educational institutes.
The requirements on knowledge of Russian for education at MPEI are noted here.