From AI to Urban Studies: HSE University’s Online Campus Graduates More Than 2,000 Master’s Students
The Class of 2026 has become the largest in the history of HSE University’s online campus, with more than twice as many graduates as last year. A total of 2,023 students completed their studies across 28 online master’s programmes, covering disciplines ranging from psychology and law to cybersecurity and digital urban studies. For 10 of these programmes, this was the first cohort of graduates.
Graduation ceremonies took place between June 13 and July 18 across HSE University’s campuses.
More than 300 graduates received honours degrees this year. For example, 85 master’s theses in the Artificial Intelligence programme were awarded the highest grade, as were 50 theses in the Managing Organisations and Projects programme and 33 in the Big Data Analytics programme.
Yulia Remezova
‘For us, graduating more than 2,000 master’s students demonstrates that online learning has become a well-established part of higher education. What matters is not only the scale, but also the diversity of our students’ professional backgrounds,’ said Yulia Remezova, HSE University’s Director for eLearning. ‘The geographical distribution of our graduates also reflects the growing demand for this format. This year, students from 60 regions of Russia—from the Moscow Region to Primorsky Krai—completed their master’s degrees. We also graduated students from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, and Turkey. For many of them, online learning made it possible to earn an HSE degree without relocating or interrupting their careers.’
Sergey Roshchin
‘In today’s labour market, a master’s degree has become a reliable instrument for either changing careers or advancing an existing one. Professionals return to university not because they formally need another qualification, but because they are motivated by the new challenges facing both companies and employees. The labour market increasingly requires specialists to update their skills, master adjacent fields, and adapt to changes in technology, management, and regulation,’ said Sergey Roshchin, Vice Rector of HSE University and Head of the Laboratory for Labour Market Studies. ‘In this sense, the graduation of more than 2,000 online master’s students reflects a much broader trend. Higher education is becoming an integral part of the professional journey of working adults. The online format enables people to combine study with employment, lowering the barrier for those who cannot afford to put their careers on hold to pursue full-time higher education.’
According to Olga Erahtina, Academic Supervisor of the IT Lawyer online master’s programme, the first graduating cohort has shown that a master’s degree can be seamlessly integrated into the life and career path of experienced working professionals.
Olga Erahtina
‘What is particularly important to us is that our graduates are neither traditional lawyers with only a basic understanding of IT, nor IT specialists who have simply studied some law,’ Olga Erahtina emphasised. ‘They are professionals with a hybrid mindset who understand the architecture of information systems and can read code, identify legal and business risks in technological solutions, and assess them professionally. This is clearly reflected in our students’ project work and their success at hackathons and at the Young Scientists Congress. The high quality of their training was also demonstrated during the defence of their master’s theses. Twenty per cent of our graduates received the highest possible marks from the examination committee.’
Igor Ogorodov, Co-Academic Supervisor of the programme, noted that its graduates are already working at the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media, Innopolis University, VTB Bank, Wildberries, Avito, Skillbox, law firms, and other organisations.
Igor Ogorodov
‘The labour market particularly values their expertise at the intersection of law, technology, and risk management,’ said Igor Ogorodov. ‘One of the key strengths of our graduates is their ability to act as a bridge between lawyers, software developers, product managers, and senior executives. A graduate of the programme can explain to a development team why a database architecture must comply with the requirements of Federal Law No. 152-FZ on Personal Data, while also helping legal teams understand why agile project management requires a different approach to contract approval and the legal support of IT projects.’
Admissions to HSE online programmes opened on June 20. In 2026, applicants can choose from 39 online master’s programmes. All programmes are delivered entirely online or include an online study track that enables students to earn a state-recognised full-time degree from one of Russia’s leading universities. Prospective students can book a consultation, learn more about the programmes and admissions process, and ask questions on the HSE Online Campus website.
This year's graduates include both early-career professionals and experienced specialists from a wide range of fields, including IT, finance, consulting, education, public administration, the creative industries, marketing, analytics, and entrepreneurship. Many combined their studies with full-time employment at major Russian and international companies or with developing their own businesses.
Polina Mumber
Polina Mumber, a graduate of the online master's programme in Economic Analysis, chose the programme to complement her first degree in petroleum engineering with a classical economics education. ‘It was important to me that this was an online programme at a strong university, and that the study format and tuition arrangements allowed me to combine work and study,’ Polina said. She noted that two years of intensive study significantly changed her confidence as a professional. ‘Even before graduating, I changed jobs, and my new education played a major role in that decision. I now have a much better understanding of economic processes and feel far more confident as a specialist. Studying at HSE University's online campus was a challenge, and I was able to meet it largely thanks to the support of my lecturers and fellow students.’ According to Polina, the programme gave her much more than a degree and new knowledge. ‘I also made lasting friendships. What I valued most was my interaction with the lecturers. It was clear that they were deeply committed not only to their subjects but also to the learning process itself. They genuinely wanted students to understand the underlying logic and fully grasp the concepts,’ she concluded.
The HSE Online campus is Russia’s leading provider of full-degree online programmes in terms of both the number of programmes offered and student enrolment. Since launching the country’s first English-language online master’s programme, Master of Data Science, in 2020, first-year enrolment has increased seventeen-fold. Today, more than 7,600 students from Russia and abroad are studying at the Online Campus. One in five students admitted to HSE University in 2025 enrolled in an online programme.
