Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation


The Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation is a federal state-funded institution of higher professional education located in Moscow, Russia.
FinU had several bygone names: 'Moscow Institute of Economics and Finance', 'Moscow Finance Institute', 'State Finance Academy' and 'Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation'.
It is considered among top 5 universities in Russia according to Forbes and RBC as well as one of the oldest Russian universities preparing economists, financiers, bankers and financial lawyers.
The Financial University consists of 14 faculties, 40 departments, 3 institutes, 2 high schools, 2 research institutes, 8 centers, 2 training – science laboratories, a network of regional offices – 11 branches and 4 offices open in seven regions of Russia.
University is well known for its strong alumni network and famous graduates who take up leading positions in politics, business and academia. According to CEO magazine, the Financial University is ranked first in the country in terms of number of billionaires who studied there.

History

History of the Financial University started on December 1918 when the People’s Finance Commissar decided to create a specialized financial institution of higher education – the first in the history of Russia – Moscow Institute of Economics and Finance. It was opened on 2 March 1919, and its first rector was D.P Bogolepov – the Moscow State University graduate, the Deputy People’s Finance Commissar of RSFSR. In September 1946, the Institute was consolidated with Moscow Credit-Economic Institute training students since 1931. As a result of merger of these two institutions of higher education Moscow Finance Institute was formed, with Nikolai Rovinsky as its rector. It began with two thousand students and four faculties: Finance, Economic, Accounting, Credit, Monetary Economics, International Economic Relations. The Military Department opened later, in 1947.
In 1991 Moscow Finance Institute was renamed to "State Finance Academy" and in 1992 Russian President Boris Yeltsin changed its name to the "Finance Academy under the Government of Russian Federation" giving a governmental status to the institution.
In 2009 the Finance Academy celebrated 90 years of its history and received congratulations from numerous business and government officials, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin.
On 14 July 2010 the Russian Government approved a new Charter for the institution changing its name from the "Finance Academy" into the "Finance University" and made it an official consultative body to the government.
On 4 March 2011 KPMG opened its own Department at the University to enhance cooperation based on lectures and practical activities covering audit, International Financial Reporting Standards, taxation and corporate finance.
In 2011–2012 the Financial University finished acquisition of three major higher education institutions in Russia: State University of the Russian Ministry of Finance, Tax Academy of the Russian Federation, All-Russian Distance Institute of Finance.

Departments and faculties

The system of higher education established at the Finance University includes:

Admissions

Admission requirements are among the highest in Russia. In 2009 the Finance University received 80 applications per one budget place. According to the research published by State University – Higher School of Economics, successful applicant of the year 2009 required to have on average 85 points of the Unified State Examination score in each subject in order to enter the course. It is the third best result among higher educational institutions and the equivalent of A / A* score at A-levels in the English speaking world. Most students at the Finance University finished their secondary schools with silver and gold medals which signify having the best marks in all subjects over 11 years of education.

Research profile

The Finance University actively carries out research activities. These include both fundamental and applied research in the areas of finance, money circulation and credit, insurance, accounting and audit, business evaluation, international monetary relations; research done for post doctoral and PhD dissertations; development of expert-and-analytical materials requested by the bodies of legislative and executive power; organisation of scientific events.

Reputation and rankings

Based on the average score of the Unified State Examination in 2010 the University is ranked number 5 overall out of 476 Russian institutions of higher education and number 3 among institutions specializing in social sciences. Integrated ranking of the Russian journal "Finance" put the Financial University as the best higher institution for economics and finance in 2010. The University became the competition winner “Golden Medal “European Quality” in the category of "100 Best Institutions of Higher Education in Russia". Furthermore, according to the ranking of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Finance University is placed third among top 100 Russia’s institutions of higher education. The Financial University was also ranked among 32 best business schools in the world in 2013 by the "Ranking Web of World Business Schools".
20132012201120102009
Ria Novosti / HSE – EGE General10th14th6th5th3rd
Expert RA – General12th14th---
Ria Novosti / HSE – EGE Social Sciences4th6th5th3rd1st

Notable alumni

Financial University is well known for its strong alumni network in business, academia and politics. Among the graduates are:

Academia

The Financial University has entered into 17 new agreements with partner institutes of Australia, UK, Germany, Spain, China, United States, Czech Republic and other countries, including:
The Financial University is a member of the Russian Law Journal consortium.