Most of Study Abroad Departments ask their students about the state accreditation of Host Universities.

A scanned copy of the state accreditation certificate of the HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS can be found here.

The Independent University of Moscow is a part of the non-profit educational institution 'Moscow Center for Continuous Mathematical Education', which has a Russian state license as an educational institution for further professional education in mathematics (scanned copies of the state license).

2.Visa.

In order to enter Russia, you must have a passport valid during a year and a half after the end of the semester and get a Russian visa. It's impossible to get the Russian visa without an official invitation from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. We'll provide you with this invitation, but this is a long bureaucratic procedure. Too early application for the invitation is impossible. Since the rules for getting the invitation are changing constantly, we'll send you more detailed information by email.

The details of the procedure for getting the visa can be found on the Consulates web sites:
www.russianembassy.org (Washington)
www.ruscon.org (New York)
www.consulrussia.org (San Francisco)
www.netconsul.org (Seattle)
www.rusconhouston.mid.ru (Houston)
www.rusembassy.ca (Ottawa)
www.toronto.mid.ru (Toronto)
www.montreal.mid.ru (Montreal)

Please read these documents very attentively. Our invitation allows you to get the visa without any problems (and even by mail) if you follow the instructions punctually.

An HIV test certificate is needed for getting the visa. It should be sent to the Russian Consulate with the other visa application documents.

After you buy your tickets, please inform us about your travel plans in detail: airline, flight number(s), where and when you change planes (if it is not a direct flight), arrival time and the airport in Moscow. Please bear in mind that usually the date of departure differs from the date of arrival (due to the time difference). This information helps us to follow your flight through Internet. If you are traveling by train, send us your train, car and berth numbers, where your train is coming from, arrival time and the train station in Moscow.

1. passport
2. plane tickets
3. cash, credit cards, travelers' checks
4. medical insurance
5. week's supply of any vital medication
6. card with IUM contact phones and emails
7. instruction on filling out migration card.

Living in a foreign country is always a cultural shock. On the other hand, living in any big city for an inhabitant of a small town or a village even in his/her native country is a cultural shock as well. So if you have never lived in a big city, living in Moscow may be a double shock. Moscow is not a very friendly city for foreigners. Be ready that the first days might be hard. Many things are different in Russia. Be prepared to absorb some things: the difficulties associated with a foreign language, the lack of certain conveniences and consumer goods you are accustomed to, and the disoriented, isolated, and lonely feelings you might experience the first few days. Having accepted this will help you to minimize the cultural shock and enjoy all the new experiences.

What can help you? Something that you like that can help you to stand the homesickness, maybe your favorite things, pictures, books, movies. Take them with you. If you have a hobby, ask us and we'll help you to find the place in Moscow where you can take it up.

Very important: be ready to ask questions. This really makes your life in Moscow easier. There are two very nice students working for our program who help foreign students in their everyday life. Feel free to call them and ask for help. But have in mind that Moscow is a very dynamical city: everything is changing constantly here. So give them some time to understand the situation and to find the way out.

Moscow is a very big city. Most of Muscovites spend much time in getting to their place of job or studies. If the way to one's job takes less than an hour, Muscovite considers it as being very close. We understand that even if your way to the IUM from the dormitory will take about 30 minutes by metro (Moscow underground) this may be rather unusual and hard for you but lodging in Moscow is really a great problem. 'What makes a long way short? A nice fellow traveler.' Muscovites like to read or listen music through ear-phones in public transportation.

Russian pedagogical tradition tries to develop active participation of students. So our classes are active dialogs between the students and their teacher. The more active you'll be, the more you get. Questions are welcomed if not required. In particular, if your teacher asks if everybody knows such and such a thing and you see that everybody does know but you do not, don't hide this fact, tell your teacher that you do not know and you'll get a brief explanation and be able to follow the lecture. Sometimes your teacher can tell definitely wrong things just to check if you are listening or sleeping. Be ready that some problems may be very difficult. Don't despair!

Our math classes run three hours once a week: an hour and a half of lectures and an hour and a half of exercises after a 15 minute break. This is a Russian tradition. It may seem rather hard. Nevertheless if you accept it, you'll enjoy the pleasure of the Russian 'brain storm'.

Main advice: open your mind to a new way of study, otherwise you'll suffer during the whole semester.

Most of our courses are original ones. During your study you will get hand-outs for courses you take. We have published lecture notes of the most popular courses and you can buy them in our book store. You may take books from our library as well. There are books for several MiM courses in our library. Nevertheless our library is rather small and most of our books are in Russian. We advise you to take one or two of your favorite math books to be able to refresh what you need.

Prerequisites. As you know, the only prerequisites to our program essential to almost all our courses are one semester of Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra. Unfortunately many our students have real problems with Linear Algebra. We advise you to look through the very good book by Vinberg or the book by Axler and take it with you if you doubt your knowledge: E.B.Vinberg, 'A course in Algebra' or Axler. 'Linear Algebra Done Right, Second Edition'.

If you doubt your integration technique, we advise you to take any of your favorite textbooks on calculus to be able to refresh what you need.

Detailed information about textbooks to the courses given in your semester will be emailed you. Bear in mind that www.amazon.com really works in Russia. It may take about 2-3 weeks but it works. Besides there are several Internet sites where electronic versions of some math books can be downloaded.

The main advice: if you are not sure that you will really take a course, do not buy textbooks for it. You will be able to do this through www.amazon.com in Moscow.

Unfortunately Russian sim-cards do not work on North American cell phones (but they do work on European ones) while roaming is very expensive. We have several cell phones in our program. For the first two weeks we give each our student a cell phone for free. For the rest of the semester you can hire our cell phone. If you have a European cell phone and would like to have a sim-card, e-mail us and we'll buy it for you before your arrival.

There are ATMs throughout the city and very close to the dorm. So you will have very easy access to get money. We recommend to use ATMs inside bank offices. It is very important to notify your banks and credit cards companies that you will be in Russia, your cards will NOT work unless you let them know. At least they are very likely to stop working after the first use due to fraud prevention. Also check with your bank at home to see what their international ATM fees are. Usually ATMs in Russia do not charge their own fees.

We recommend to bring at least $500 in cash with you. If your cards don't work right away, get eaten by an ATM, lost, or in the worst case stolen, you can have some money while we can help you solve the problem. It will take time to mail a new card here so having a little money can be good just in case of a rainy day. Most bank accounts have daily limits on withdrawing at ATMs and you will need to make many payments in the first few days (rent, metro pass and excursions).

We do not advise to bring Travelers Cheques. They are not accepted in any location as they are in North America. Only specific banks take them and sometimes it has been an issue in the past.

Russia uses the ruble. The exchange rate is about 50 rubles for $1. US dollars are very easy to exchange but we don't recommend to do that in the airport. Canadian dollars are more difficult to exchange and the rates are far from optimal.

If you have any chronic disease we strongly advise you to have a good North American health insurance. In this case we ask you contact your company and to find out if your health insurance is valid in Russia and how it works there. Most often you have to pay first and the expenses will be reimbursed on your return home.

It may happen that by some force majeur circumstances you need to withdraw from the program after paying the tuition. If such a thing happens more than two weeks before the beginning of the semester, the program will reimburse your tuition entirely except for the money transfer fee; if it happens less than two weeks before the beginning of the semester, the program will reimburse you 90%. If you need to withdraw from the program within the first four weeks, the program reimburses a part of your tuition according to the following guidelines: less than 1 week, 50%, less than 2 weeks, 40%, less than 3 weeks, 30%, less than 4 weeks, 20%.

1. If you come for the spring semester it is absolutely necessary to bring with you a warm coat, warm boots, a warm hat, and gloves. A wool sweater, wool socks and a long underwear for cold nights will be helpful too. If you come for the fall semester you can buy warm clothes in Moscow. But the nights in September might be cold already (about 40ºF) with the central heating system turned off until the beginning of October.
2. It is important that you bring an ample supply of any medicine you frequently use.
3. Dorm footwear. While in the dorm you need to wear something on your feet at all time, so bring slippers or flip flops/shower shoes. They can be bought in Moscow though.
4. If you are going to take some electronics, note that AC power voltage in Moscow is 220 volts and for a US plug one needs a power adapter.
5. Your favorite math texts in English.
6. Books and movies in English.
7. A towel. The dorm does provide one, but it is really small. Again it can be bought in Moscow.
8. Coathangers. It might be easier to pack by just leaving your clothes on the hangers.
9. If you need blank flash cards to learn Russian words then, please, bring some. We haven't found them in Moscow stores.
10. A reusable bottle for water if you prefer it to the single-use bottles.
11. Here is a list of food items that are difficult to get in Moscow: Peanut Butter (narrow range of brands and not of the best quality), Maple Syrup (expensive), Grape Nuts cereal, Cocoa Krispies, Cap'n Crunch, Cheez-Its, Oreos, Beef Jerky, Whey Protein.

As you may note the list above is very specific because everything else can be found in Moscow stores. Here are a some of the things that are almost pointless to bring across an ocean.

• Multivitamins, Calcium, Vitamin E, Herbal Supplements, etc., and over-the-counter medicines like Aspirin, Cough Drops, etc. They are sold in most pharmacies. If you are not sure about a particular medicine feel free to ask us by email.
• Gigantic bottles of shampoo.Brands like Dove, L'Oréal, and others are commonly sold in Russia
• Notebooks. Paper is a different size in Russia, just as it is in the rest of Europe (it's A4, not letter-sized).
• Sheets, blankets and dishes. They'll all be in your dorm room.