Admissions

Education at the University is carried out on the basis of the Nazarbayev University educational grant, other grants and scholarships, as well as on a fee basis. Nazarbayev University educational grant can be awarded to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, persons without citizenship permanently residing in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, accepted to study at the University, as well as to foreigners in accordance with international agreements of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The quota for admission of international students is determined annually by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the approved state educational order.

Nazarbayev University is proud of its international faculty. The University employs highly qualified full-time faculty members with academic and scientific degrees obtained in USA, Australia, UK, Germany, Canada, India and other countries. Faculty recruitment is carried out in international labor market.

The “Nazarbayev University” educational grant covers tuition fee and other expenses related to education process.

A student plagiarism is considered a breach of academic norms and rules established by Nazarbayev University. It includes a representation of another author’s work in student’s work, published on paper or electronic media without detailed source link. With the appearance of internet, plagiarism has become a serious problem. Sometimes students copy whole paragraphs or pages from internet and represent another author’s work as their own work. Such breach is a serious academic misconduct that may result in sanctions or even student’s withdrawal from the University.

There is a Career and Advising Center in Nazarbayev University that is designed to encourage student excellence in career development and preparation as well as facilitate the acquisition of a job prior to graduation by organization of student internship, employer presentations in Nazarbayev University and professional development Program, tours and job fairs.

Credit – a unit used to record courses taken and differs in American and European systems of education. Each American credit typically represents the number of hours spent in class each week. Hence, a 3-credit or 3-unit course would commonly be a class that met three hours each week for one semester. Credits may or may not be counted toward graduation of fulfillment of requirements.

There is a comfortable and stimulating environment for recreation at NU. Sport is an intrinsic part of student experience and university life. Sports Center located on campus provides various opportunities for involvement in sports through classes and sport clubs for the NU community. More than 90 student organizations and clubs are currently working at the University which target various areas of intellectual development, research work, creativity, entertainment, culture, art and sport.

Nazarbayev University provides the students with comfortable housing and studying. The rooms are for 2-4 people and are equipped with all required conveniences. There are bedding items, wardrobe, cabinet, hangers and blinds for every student. There is a shower room in every room. There are recreation rooms for students in the dormitory, where students can watch TV, DVD, play piano, dance and play Ping-Pong. Moreover, there is a medical center, pharmacy, café, grocery stores, laundry, dry-cleaning, and payment terminals in the dormitory. Having been accommodated at the University dormitory, a student shall sign an accommodation contract, which includes all main rules and provisions. There is an ID-card access system in the dormitory in order to ensure security of the students.

A system of evaluation of students' achievements used by many colleges and universities in USA, sometimes in Europe, where letter grades awarded at the completion of grading periods are converted to a numerical average. At Nazarbayev University GPA is calculated using a 4.0-point scale. A student’s GPA is computed by summing the products of the numerical grade received in each course and the credits given for the course, then dividing by the total number of credit hours studied.

The students of the Nazarbayev University are provided with a place in the dormitory on campus, in case of availability.

UNT is not required while applying to Nazarbayev University. UNT is a mandatory requirement to apply to other higher educational institutions in Kazakhstan.

Nazarbayev University Foundation Year Program (NUFYP) is a new preparatory program designed to give all students the opportunity to experience the whole range of options before finally commiting to their chosen undergraduate track. The main purpose of the program is to help students to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding, attitudes and behaviours required to undertake further advanced study in their chosen field of study be it Engineering, Science and Technology, or Humanities. Advantages of the NUFYP: • Specially designed foundation program in accordance with the requirements of the NU Undergraduate Schools, and aimed at providing students with the academic, research, critical thinking and practical skills, as well as the Academic English language and study skills required to be successful on any undergraduate degree program at NU; • Offers core and elective subject study in Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Academic English; • Develops academic, research, communication and critical thinking skills; • Introduces the education system and academic culture of the University.

Nazarbayev University is a unique project that does not have an analogue in the Eurasian area. The project aims to develop a world-renowned university in the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Astana and provide a qualitative breakthrough in training national engineering and scientific experts to meet the requirements of the industrial and innovative development of the country. The University, initiated by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, aims to become a national brand of Kazakhstan which properly combines the benefits of the national system of education and the best scientific and educational practices of the world. Moreover, the modern scientific infrastructure of the University contributes to conducting innovative research. The best national and international researchers have been invited to the University to promote integration of education, research and industry and develop effective academic environment. In accordance with the Government Resolution dated December 24, 2015 Nazarbayev University was designated a status of a research university.

The selection process is open to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, foreign citizens and persons without citizenship, belonging to the following categories: - final year secondary school students; - final year students of technical and vocational educational institutions; - university students; - persons with secondary, post-secondary or higher education.

Since 2016 Nazarbayev University introduced the application registration fee to NUFYP program, which is 3000 tenge for Kazakhstani residents and 14 000 tenge for international applicants. Registration fee is paid online through internet transaction from the personal NU account of each applicant.

The composition of the Admissions Committee may include the representative/representatives of the University partner and University staff members, including representative/representatives of the University School/Schools.

During the admission competition, preference will be given to applicants with the highest cumulative score of the NUFYP Entrance Test.

With the equal NUFYP Entrance Test results, priority will be given to applicants with the highest IELTS or TOEFL scores.

With the equal IELTS or TOEFL results, priority will be given to Applicants with the highest scores in sections by following primacy Writing, Listening, Reading, Speaking.

With all the above mentioned criteria being equal, the Admission Committee gives the right of priority to the applicants with the other best academic, research, sport and artistic achievements (recipients of the Altyn Belgi, awardees of international and republican subject Olympiads, research competitions and winners of sport and artistic contests).

In the case a student drops out of the University, the student is required to pay back the sum of additional expenses, not covered by the grant, de facto incurred by the University during the period of the study of the student from the moment the Agreement is signed.

There may be various reasons for student’s dismissal from the University. The main reasons are: - providing false documents or information during the admission processes to the University; - non-attendance of a certain amount of training and/or practical sessions (seminars) without reasonable excuses; - unsatisfactory grades in the intermediate or final examinations; - violation of the Student Code of Conduct, Academic Integrity Policy; - repeated violation of the internal policies and safety regulations; -not returning from an academic leave for valid reasons; - voluntary withdrawal.

Admission to NUFYP program is based on competitive selection. After having created a personal account at NU website, an applicant has to fill out the online application form. The access to application form is usually available in November and lasts 2-3 months. The selection process consists of four stages: 1) First stage – APTIS; 2) Second stage – NUFYP Entrance Test; 3) Third stage– IELTS; 4) Fourth stage - consideration of applicants’ documents by the Admissions Committee. APTIS – test of general level of English, consists of 75 questions, duration of the exam is 55 minutes. The exam is administered by the British Council. NUFYP Entrance Test – subject test in English language. Depending on selected NU school applicants are expected to take: School of Engineering – mathematics (30 questions) and physics (30 questions); School of Science and Technology – mathematics (30 questions) and physics (30 questions) or mathematics (30 questions) and chemistry and biology ( 15 questions each); School of Humanities and Social Sciences - mathematics (30 questions) and thinking skills (30 questions). Each test lasts 1 hour. In general the exam lasts 2 hours and consists of 60 questions. The test is administered by Cambridge International Examinations: Cambridge ATS. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) - test to evaluate the level of Academic English Language. The test consists of listening, reading, writing, and speaking sections. Exam is administered by the British Council. Applicants, who submit the official and valid IELTS or TOEFL certificates with minimum passing scores, are exempt from APTIS and IELTS exams. APTIS, NUFYP Entrance Test and IELTS are held in the cities of the Republic of Kazakhstan as determined by the Admissions Committee. Tests date, venue and time to be sent to candidates by email and posted at NU website. All the fees for entrance examinations for NUFYP admission are covered by the University.

The language of instruction at the University is English.

The special program on Kazakh language, literature and culture is designed in the University. The program combines the best teaching methodologies from Kazakhstani tradition with international best practices to ensure that every student of Nazarbayev University develops a deep knowledge of Kazakh language and culture. Learning Kazakh language is a part of general degree requirements.