Student Life

Wondering what it is like to be a student at SGIA? We know that students are constantly learning beyond the classroom, and our program complement academic pursuits, support well-being, and promote student development. Your commitment level is entirely up to you. What is particularly important to mention is that international students not only get to be a part of an exciting academic program, but they also discover a new city, make new friends and connections and hence develop their potential in different directions.

When most students are asked what it is they liked about their university, in majority of cases one of the top answers is student life. The more diverse it is the better, the less unoriginal it is the better. Student life in the majority of universities--and as a matter of fact in the majority of MGIMO schools--is relatively similar. Students meet their peers, spend time with one another, and so on, so there seems to be nothing extraordinary. However, SGIA offers its students a whole different level of social experience.

What makes our school special is that it is comprised of both foreign and Russian students. Everyone can visit the Red Square or the Ostankinskaia Tower or any other site in Moscow. But going there alone as a native Russian is different from seeing it through the eyes of your fellow international students who can compare their cultural experiences. And vice versa. Our student life does not just stop in Moscow or even Russia. Our international and Russian students travel the world representing MGIMO or visiting one another's home countries. That made our time at SGIA unforgettable.

SGIA students' life does not only happen in the classroom and is not confined to spending time together in Moscow and beyond. In fact, it is routed throughout the university. Students get to broaden their perspectives and discover something new, combining academics with recreation and pleasure. For example, by doing sports. SGIA supplied two professional-grade student soccer players to the university team. Others have had the opportunity to play almost any sport as amateurs.

In addition, MGIMO holds an annual National Cuisines Day. International students bring their diverse traditional food for others to taste. The event usually includes a concert. MGIMO student associations constantly introduce their fellows to diverse cultural experiences, at the same stressing the unity of the “MGIMO family.”

Finally, Moscow is a global city that has to offer something to everybody. It has one of the world's best ballets at Bolshoi Theater. If you prefer fine art or architecture, you can spend days roaming Moscow's historic districts, museums, and galleries. If Moscow is not enough, trips are regularly organized to the students to visit its environs, such as Sergiev Posad. And there is of course nothing quite like the night life in Moscow.

Student life at SGIA is about integrating representative of two dozen nations: from China to Italy and from the United States to Singapore. We hope that you follow in our footsteps to enjoy it!

Yana Chikvashvili
Lera Galygina
Nana Kvaratskhelia
Dasha Mokhareva
Dasha Pechenkina
Deborah Samuel
Nikita Vozianov

Class of 2019