Touro

Graduates of Touro can cross-credit their degrees to universities in other countries.

It's sad but true - the Russian educational system is not yet ready for foreigners. Credit systems have yet to be implemented, and instruction is not available in any language other than Russian.

Moscow University Touro was the first American university to operate on Russian soil. Until Touro University appeared, it was virtually impossible for expats without a knowledge of Russian to continue their higher education while living in Moscow.

"About 70 percent of our student body is Russians who want to study for a degree in English. About 30 percent are foreigners, mostly children of diplomats and businessmen," said Dr. Svetlana Pavlova, Vice-Rector. "To them it is a unique opportunity to earn transferable credits instead of wasting their time here. For instance, one student knows for certain that his family is going to be relocated to Canada. So he is taking liberal arts courses here so that he can continue to work on his degree at a Canadian university."

Moscow University Touro offers American Bachelor of Sciences programs through affiliations with Touro College of New York. In 2004 the university gained an accreditation from the Russian Ministry of Education which runs through to December 2008.

The school also encourages students to lead an active social life. Throughout the academic year, students organize and participate in a variety of student activities, including a Student Club, concerts, disco dances and other events.

The Debate Club actively hosts and participates in competitions with teams from other state and private universities in Moscow. There is also a Billiards Club, which is open for all students and contests are held each month. A Women's Issues Discussion Group is held on Wednesday afternoons. An English language Drama Club was set up this year and there are plans to create a Theatre Studio located on the university premises. The group's director is Dr. Paul Kindlon.

The university library contains about 40,000 items, most of which are in English. The library has a large collection of standard works primarily relating to business, law and economics, but also covering the liberal arts, sciences and literature. The library also offers video and audio cassettes for the study of English, newspapers, magazines and an assortment of other materials and information available for student and faculty use. The English language video collection is particularly popular with students. The library also receives daily copies of The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Moscow Times, which are made available to students.

"I attended a private Russian school for one year here in Moscow. It was very frustrating because my Russian was not very good. Many of my friends from Nigeria have left and gone home, but I decided to stay on in Moscow. I did some research on the Internet and found out about the university," said Patrick Prince Egwakhide, a Touro University alumnus from Nigeria. "The education is Western in style, it felt like one large community. It was a happy time of my life."

The university derives its name from Judah and Isaac Touro, leaders of colonial America. Inspired by George Washington when he visited Touro Synagogue in 1790, the Touro family provided major endowments for universities and the first free library in the U.S.

Touro University was chartered by New York State in 1970, while Moscow University Touro was established in February 1991 at the Soviet Mission to the United Nations, the fruit of an agreement between the former Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations, Yury Vorontsov, and then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Thomas Pickering.