Undergraduate programs in the areas of Sociology, Political Science, Psychology and Public Administration are popular among the best applicants from Russia and CIS, as confirmed by high Unified State Exam scores of the enrollees and a large number of Olympiad winners among them. Program curricula are built in accordance with the new educational model focused on high share of research work and project activities. Graduates of undergraduate programs are in demand both in the master's programs of the Strategic Academic Unit and other universities, including foreign universities, as well as on the labor market (Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation, Public Opinion Foundation, Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), Levada Center, Center for Political Technologies, and others).

1. Population and Development, in English

This interdisciplinary master's program focuses on training of professionals in the field of social and demographic studies. Students of the program undertake internships in public authorities (Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation), Russian and foreign universities, research institutes (Institute of Demographic Studies (France), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)). Guest lecturers and practitioners from the National Center for Public Opinion Research (USA), UNFPA offices in Eastern Europe and CIS take part in the educational process.

2. Political Analysis and Public Policy, in English

This program is aimed at acquiring the interdisciplinary knowledge in the field of research and the formation of public policy in Russia and abroad. Students of the program undertake internships with subsequent employment in public authorities (Government of Moscow, etc.), major companies (Lukoil, etc.). Exchange programs with the International University College of Turin (Italy), University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), George Mason University (USA) are implemented as well as a double-degree program with the University of Bologna (Italy).

3. Applied Social Psychology, in English

This interdisciplinary program is aimed at training of competitive experts in the field of social psychology that are in demand in global companies and research organizations focusing on cross-cultural analysis of values. Guest lecturers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), Queens University (Canada) take part in the educational process. Double-degree program with the University of Tilburg (Netherlands) is implemented.

4. Politics. Economics. Philosophy, in English

The graduates of this type of interdisciplinary programs have a high level of recognition in the international labor market due to the fact that the model for this program was set up in Oxford and is implemented in many European universities. This program is aimed at training scholars and practioners for national and international academic markets and public policy domain. Students of the program undertake internships in research centers (Center for Political Technologies, INION). Guest lecturers from Witten/Herdecke University (Germany), University of Helsinki (Finland) take part in the educational process. Students have the opportunity to undergo training for two modules at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po; France), University of Passau (Germany).

5. Comparative Social Research, in English

This program is aimed at training researchers of social and economic issues in the comparative perspective based on unique empirical databases. Students of the program undertake internships in the leading Russian and foreign research institutes and centers, including University of Michigan (USA), Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Master's students have the opportunity to undergo training for two modules at the Free University of Berlin (Germany), University of Cologne (Germany).

6. Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Business Consulting

This program brings together leading domestic and foreign lecturers and practitioners in the field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, different schools of psychoanalysis (Anglo-Saxon and French models), profound theoretical training and intensive practice. The program is commercially successful. Master's students undertake internships in major European universities, research centers and international companies: INSEAD Business School (France), European School of Management (Germany) and London Institute of Management (UK), McKinsey&Company, Molten, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

7. Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

The program is designed for the effective integration of clinical, psychoanalytic and organizational psychology and gives profound psychological knowledge combined with best practices in HR management form the basis for a new, innovative level of organizational business consulting. The program has a high commercial potential. The internships for students will be organized in the leading Russian and foreign research institutes and centers: Open Medical and Psychological University, Medical Rehabilitation Department of the Research Institute of Psychiatry, Lumiere University Lyon (France), Paris West University Nanterre La Defense (France), French University (France).

(Project heads: Fuad Aleskerov; Andrey Korotaev; Askar Akaev).

The project has two main research areas:

Political Atlas of the Modern World 2.0 (Fuad Aleskerov; Mikhail Ilyin; Andrei Melville).

The project further builds on the results of the previous research stage (see: Political Atlas of the Modern World (2010), Ed. A. Melville. Wiley-Blackwell). In this project an innovative system of empirical indicators and databases for validating methods of measurement and comparative evaluation of the power and status of modern states will be developed on the basis of new indices which take into account the network interactions. The main scientific result is the use of new methods (like 'big data' analysis, network analysis, etc.) for the development of new models of the power and interaction of the states and groups of states and other participants in modern world politics, as well as the model of the dynamics of the statuses of great and 'rising' powers in the world. Experts from the Russian International Affairs Council, Russian Political Science Association and the International Studies Association are involved in the project implementation.

Patterns of social and political destabilization in the modern world. "Arab Spring" as a trigger of the global phase transition (Andrey Korotaev; Askar Akaev; Sergei Malkov).

The aim of the study is to identify the causes and patterns of social and political destabilization in the modern world, particularly, in the world-system periphery states. New methods for social and political prediction, in particular, a new index of social and political destabilization in the global, national and regional contexts will be developed and validated. The practical significance of the study is the possibility to use the results to predict and prevent the risks of social and political destabilization in the modern world. This research is being developed in collaboration with a number of RAS institutes (Institute for Oriental Studies, Institute for African Studies, and others) and foreign universities (Yale University, as well as branch campus of New York University in Abu Dhabi). Joint publication of articles in leading international journals and collective monographs are expected with the colleagues from these institutions.

(Project heads: Andrei Yakovlev; Thomas Remington). The project is implemented in the following areas:

Drivers of the management system and the mechanisms of reproduction of elites in transitional economies (Andrei Yakovlev).

This project aims to study the institutional drivers which develop and produce changes in the management system of transitional economies. In line with the concept of Douglass North, a Nobel laureate, and his co-authors on the "limited access orders", the project examines the impact of the renovation of elites on economic development in the absence of democratic institutional mechanisms. The main result of the study is the model which explains the key drivers of the renovation of elites in an imperfect institutional environment. Experts from the University of Science and Technology of Hong Kong (China) are involved in the project. They will provide empirical data on the Chinese elites and Chinese management economics system.

Political representation, competition and decision-making at the subnational level (Nikolay Petrov; Rostislav Turovsky).

This project studies the main institutional patterns of the key political processes in complex (federal and federalizing) states at the subnational level. The analysis of the institutional processes of complex states is based on the following cases: Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, Spain, Germany and others. Joint publications with researchers from the Free University of Berlin (Germany) and Kharkov State University (Ukraine) are expected. Practical recommendations for the Office of Domestic Policy of the Russian Presidential Administration, as well as the Institute of Socio-Economic and Political Studies (ISEP) will be offered based on the study results .

(Project heads: Dmitriy Leontiev; Kennon Sheldon).

The project aims to study the social aspects of personal development and psychological consequences in the times of crisis caused by global financial crisis, as well as global political and religious conflicts. In the project the following research areas will be developed:

Mechanisms of motivation and goal-orientation in a cross-cultural context in the times of crisis / (Dmitriy Leontiev, Kennon Sheldon).

The aim of the project is to link motivation and goal-orientation in socio-cultural context in the times of crisis. The main result of the project is an integrated explanatory model of socio-cultural and psychological regulators of goal-oriented behavior. This model explains the effect of socio-cultural context on individual behavior and explores the possibilities of individual compensation to overcome such an effect. The University of Missouri (USA) and Tomsk State University will be involved in the project for empirical data collection in the United States and Russia.

Psychological consequences of socio-economic and cultural changes (Nadezhda Lebedeva; Klaus Boehnke).

The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to identify the socio-psychological consequences of the economic and cultural changes in the modern world based on the cross-cultural value analysis. A comparative cross-country analysis of the values of Russians in a number of states has been conducted within this project (Russia, Germany, Latvia and others). The main result is the model which explains the universal cultural features of intergenerational transmission of the Russians’ values in different states, and explores those features dependent on the socio-cultural context. The project methodology is developed in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Tilburg (Netherlands) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). Jacobs University of Bremen (Germany) and the Baltic Institute of Psychology and Management (Latvia) are involved in the data collection process as international partners.

(Project head: Vadim Radaev).

The project aims to study the relationship between legal and illegal markets of food and nonfood products, including “shadow” industry and household production and production and distribution of counterfeit goods with intellectual property rights infringement. The result of the study is to find the incentives for the actors to come out of the "shadow" and to transfer the economic activities in legal markets with tax accounting. The study offers practical recommendations for the Ministry of Industry and Trade and for a number of Russian business associations (Retail Companies Association (AKORT), RusBrand).

(Project heads: Andrey Klimenko; Alexey Barabashev; Alexander Kalgin).

The purpose of this project is to develop the methodology for measuring an effective state – the system for assessment of public authorities based on using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The system for assessment of a state as a whole, particular public authorities, their structural subdivisions and public officials will be developed based on the study findings. Practical results are used by the Office of Domestic Policy of the Russian Presidential Administration in the benchmarking systems for evaluating federal and regional public officials, as well as for evaluating the strategies for regional development.

(Project head: Lev Yakobson).

The project has the following research areas:

Trends and scenarios of transition to a mixed system of production of public goods based on the development of partnership between the state and civil society (Lev Yakobson, Irina Mersiyanova).

The aim of the project is to identify the patterns, factors and ways of transition from the dominant role of state institutions in public sphere to a mixed system of public goods production with the participation of public and non-profit organizations, as well as commercial actors. Based on the study findings, a number of possible scenarios for this transition to a mixed system of public goods production will be developed. Experts from the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University (USA) and the International NGO Training and Research Center (UK) will be involved in the project. The main practical result of the project is developing recommendations for the Russian Presidential Administration which can increase the efficiency of social welfare programs’ funding and management under budgetary constraints.

Poverty and Inequality (Lilia Ovcharova)

The research aims to identify new global challenges and factors of inequality conditioned by technological, demographic and geopolitical changes in the modern world. The main result of the project is a new model of decomposition of social and economic inequality and poverty at the global and country level. The applied result of the project is developing recommendations for the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation to increase the efficiency of the social development management system and social policy towards regional and country inequality.

Reproduction and migration of the population in Russia and the neighboring states (Anatoly Vishnevsky; Mikhail Denisenko).

The aim of this research is to find the global patterns of contemporary demographic and migration processes and their causal relationships with other processes in society, and to predict regional and global demographic changes. Practical recommendations on the social development of the Russian Federation and other neighboring states will be developed and can be used in strategic responses to the global challenges of population reproduction and population migration. Recommendations are developed for the World Bank and the UN Population Fund. This research is implemented in collaboration with the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEF RAS).