Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL)

Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL) is the flagship of Russian legal education and one of the leading legal research centers in Russia and neighboring countries. Founded in 1931, MSAL has evolved from the Central Correspondence Courses of Soviet Law to the largest legal university in the country, offering programs in pre-university preparation, secondary, higher, and additional education, as well as conducting scientific research.

Today, MSAL is the top legal university in Russia, ranking in the top 30 best universities in Russia according to RAEX, 251-300 in QS Law & Legal Studies, and top 30 best Russian universities for 2025 according to Forbes. Education is available in Russian across various profiles: jurisprudence, innovative jurisprudence, international law and comparative law studies, international legal, state-legal, civil-legal, and criminal-legal.

International opportunities include academic exchange programs, internships at foreign universities, summer and winter law schools, and English-language education. MSAL hosts international events such as Winter and Summer Schools of Foreign Law, a unique educational project where Russian and foreign students explore the fundamentals of foreign legislation and gain insights into legal institutions of various states. These schools are held twice a year, in January and June.

Educational programs are delivered in Russian and English in the following areas:

1.      40.03.01 Jurisprudence, profile Jurisprudence

2.      40.03.01 Jurisprudence, profile Innovative Jurisprudence

3.      40.04.01 Jurisprudence

4.      40.05.01 Legal Support of National Security

5.      40.05.03 Forensic Expertise

6.      40.05.04 Judicial and Prosecutorial Activities

Individual educational trajectories are offered. For bachelor's: Lawyer in Business Law, Civil Law, Notarial Activity, Lawyer in Labor Law, Advocacy, Lawyer in Sports, Show Business and Advertising, Lawyer in Energy, Lawyer in Taxation, Lawyer in Financial and Banking Sphere, International Legal, Lawyer in International Private Law, Maritime Law, Integration Law and Law of BRICS+ Countries, State-Legal, Criminal-Legal.

For master's: "International Private Law and International Business", "Maritime Law", "Master of International Business Law" (in English), "Master of International Tax Law" (in English), "Judicial Lawyer", "Sports Law and Anti-Doping Regulation", "Legal Financial and Tax Consulting", "Legal Support of Business (Business Lawyer)", "Corporate Law", "Prosecutorial Supervision and Prosecutor's Participation in Court Proceedings", "Digital Law (IT Law)", "Medical Law and Biotechnology Law", "Digital Financial Technologies and Law (FinTech Law)" (network program with RUDN), "Intellectual Rights and Law of New Technologies", "Media Law", "Legal Analytics", "Business Practices in High Technologies: Law and Management", "Private Law", "Lawyer in Family Disputes", "Eco Law", "Techno Law", "Notarial Activity", "Criminal Law and Criminal Proceedings", "Legal Support of Public Administration", "Competition (Antimonopoly) Law", "Energy Law", "Legal Support of Financial Monitoring", "Public Administration: Strategic Consulting and Leadership".

For specialist's: Prosecutorial Activity, Economic Expertise, Speech Expertise, State-Legal.

The Semester Abroad Program involves over 40 partner universities, including Heilongjiang University (China), Polotsk State University named after Euphrosyne of Polotsk (Belarus), Yerevan State University (Armenia), Beijing Agricultural University (China), China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) (China), Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Ho Chi Minh City Law University (Vietnam), East China University of Political Science and Law (China), Bilkent University (Turkey), China University of Political Science and Law (China), KAZGUU University named after M.S. Narikbayev (Kazakhstan), and others.

The Preparatory Faculty offers: Russian as a Foreign Language, Foreign Language for Professional Communication.

Postgraduate studies provide unique opportunities for scientific research under experienced faculty guidance. MSAL features leading scientific schools, innovative legal science, active scientific life: conferences, round tables, publications in peer-reviewed journals, defenses in all legal specialties in dissertation councils, scientific internships, and more.

The "Innovative Jurisprudence" Consortium was established at MSAL in 2020, uniting Russian educational organizations, real economy sector organizations, scientific, and other entities. Currently, 45 organizations have joined. Competence Centers focus on forming, developing, and scaling innovative knowledge, value, and legal complexes in various areas of human life, including Legal Engineering for Technological Leadership, Techno Law, Business Law, Law of Sustainable Development (ESG Standards), Eco Law, Bio Law, Geo Law, Cyber Law, Socio Law.

Living conditions: Comfortable dormitory at 2nd Donskoy Proezd, 7, Moscow (metro "Ploshchad Gagarina"/"Leninsky Prospekt"). Capacity: rooms for 2-4 people. Description: 4-story corridor-type building, kitchens and bathrooms in each block. Free gym, paid laundries, Wi-Fi.