University without Borders was launched in November 2012, with courses in 6 disciplines: mathematical modeling of biological processes, political science, analysis of Internet communication and visual imagery, sociology of Internet, and introduction into academic writing.

Our mission is to offer educational online seminars in contemporary academic disciplines, emphasizing liberal arts approach which is largely missing in higher education in Russia and CIS.

We offer high-quality affordable online seminars that are usually 6 to 8 weeks long and are open to anyone who is interested in gaining new knowledge and experience, regardless of previous education or place of residence.

Development trajectories

Currently, UWB is developing courses and materials in the following disciplines: new media, history and politics, globalization, urbanization, sociological theory and methods, and interdisciplinary academic research. Our main priority is to provide our students with the necessary skills to engage in sophisticated research projects, both within and outside the academic field. In our courses, we emphasize both a thorough review of theory and the importance of practical research methods.

Professional instructors-researchers

We collaborate with universities, companies and individual professors from Russia and abroad to develop and offer the best curricula. All UWB instructors are engaged in on-going research projects and/or regularly publish their work in academic journals. Our instructors work in leading universities in the United States, Europe and Russia, including but not limited to, Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Mason University, Мах Planck Institute, and The Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences.

Collaborative work

Using modern technologies, we aspire to preserve the most important part of a traditional university education – communication and collaboration between professors and students through research work in small groups and one-on-one.
We ask our students to be ready for intense work when choosing our courses, as we want them to gain the necessary training to succeed in their chosen disciplines. The unique experience that our students get can be used in further research work, writing articles for peer-reviewed journals, in preparation for a dissertation or a book, and during the application process to a graduate school in any country of the world.

Intellectual public sphere

In addition to online courses, University without Borders organizes video-chats and webinars with leading figures in different academic and professional disciplines. Our website also has a forum, which is open to anyone who is interested in engaging in intellectual exchange with their peers internationally. At UWB, we see education not as an end goal but as a process that continues past the end of a course or a lecture and is fostered through the discussions on our website.

We are open to collaboration!

Currently UWB is looking to increase the number of courses being offered, as well as the number of institutions, organizations and professional associations that we collaborate with. Please feel free to reach out to us if you are interested in cooperating with us!