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Individual learning tracks. Choosing your courses

Once you enroll at ITMO University, your academic life is determined by your individual learning track. You create it yourself by compiling a succession of disciplines (modules) based on your academic goals, interests and motivation. 

You start to form your individual track from your first day at ITMO by choosing your courses (modules), their format (online/offline), their level (basic/advanced), and language of instruction (Russian/English). You can choose the time you want to study the course, choose your lecturer, or the order of courses in a semester. At ITMO you can fine-tune your academic process. 


Important! 

  • Every discipline that can be chosen has a limit on the number of students that can attend it. Students sign up for available places – and there will be no places over the limit. 
  • Some of the specializations can only be joined via a competition. You will be informed of such cases by the head of your program. 
  • Students who haven’t made their choice in the specified time will be automatically signed up for courses with available free spaces. 

Your individualized educational program (IEP)!

 From April 15 to April 25, you are going to be building your individualized educational program on the my.itmo.ru portal in the Curriculum section - choose which courses (and in which semesters) you want to study! You can adjust the IEP at several occasions over the course of the entire period of study, taking into account the courses passed, as well as other activities and changes in the educational program. 

Based on the results, during the electivity period for the autumn semester (from July 3 to July 5) we will do our best to build a schedule for you that follows your plan as closely as possible.

With the IEP you can:

  • change your selection of courses and study what you’re most interested in 
  • select semesters that suit you best for studying certain courses
  • help the university plan the educational process
  • build your own unique educational program

Project participants:

All students of ITMO University

What courses can be replaced:

Some courses in the curriculum can be replaced with others from the pool of courses. 

The courses that you can replace are not marked as “mandatory” (“обязательные”).

Different curricula will have a different number of replaceable courses. 

To replace a course, see that the following conditions are fulfilled: 

  • the old course and the new course are worth an equal amount of credits (for example, Course 1, 3 ECTS should be replaced by Course 2, 3 ECTS)
  • both courses should be offered in the same semester (fall or spring)
  • the head of your educational program and the department responsible for the new course have to approve the replacement

I’ve built my individual educational program. What’s next?

Next, we will collect all the wishes from our students and negotiate them with the heads of educational programs in order to meet as many needs and wishes of our students as possible. But since we are the first university to take this path, we have many tasks ahead of us that are yet to be solved, so be prepared for the fact that we will not be able to take all of your wishes into account in the coming semester.

Contacts:

If you have any questions, please follow the link


To make the most of these opportunities, familiarize yourself with the following guide. 

1st year (2022/2023)

What do I choose? 

  • Fundamental training
    • History (except for students of the Information Technologies and Programming Faculty): you need to choose one out of six courses, 
    • Life Safety: you need to pick six topics out of ten  that include tests and laboratory classes; and one topic out of four that include only tests.
    • Physical Education and Sports: you need to choose one out of 80 sports.
    • Foreign Language: you need to choose day and time of your classes.
    • Thinking: for the course Philosophy, you need to choose time and lecturer.
    • Soft Skills (all students, except for those at the Information Technologies and Programming Faculty and Faculty of Physics): for the course Communication and Teamwork Skills you need to choose time and lecturer.
  • Optional courses – extra courses you might want to choose.
  • University-wide optional courses:
    • These are extra courses you might want to choose in addition to your educational program.
    • You can choose only two such courses per semester.

You can see the list of courses you can choose from in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Учебный план (Curriculum).

When do I choose?

You will be able to start choosing on January 30. You will be able to make your choice between 9 am and 9 pm daily until February 2.

Students who have not made a choice will be automatically distributed to the remaining vacant places.

You can see the list of selected courses in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Расписание (или Электронная зачетная книжка) (Schedule or Digital gradebook)

How do I choose?

In the spring semester of the 2022/2023 academic year you can choose your courses on the my.itmo.ru portal (use your ISU login details). How to do it (in Russian)

You can choose your sport for the Physical Education course in the application Физическая культура (Physical Education) at my.itmo.ru. You can find more information here.

You have to choose all your courses within one session on the portal. One session lasts 15 minutes and starts the moment you open the course selection page. During the session, you reserve your place in every course you choose. When you deselect a course, your place becomes available to other students. When you confirm your selection, the reserved coursesare saved and the session ends automatically. Otherwise, after 15 minutes, your selection and reservation are  canceled. You will stay on the same page of the website, but you will have to start the process of choosing your courses again.

 Where can I learn more about the courses (modules)?

All the details are in the tab Education on the Student Services Office website.

2nd year (2021/2022)

What do I choose? 

  • General module:
    • History (only for Information Technologies and Programming Faculty students): you need to choose one out of six disciplines.
    • Physical Education and Sport: you need to choose one out of 80 sections.
    • Life Safety: you need to pick six themes out of ten that include tests and laboratory works; and one theme out of four that include only tests.
  • University fundamental module (only for Technological Management and Innovations Fuculty students): you need to choose one out og two disciplines.
  • Core module: 
    • Soft Skills (all students, except for Information Technologies and Programming Faculty):
      • Public Speaking, Negotiation and Presentation Techniques: you need to choose the time and lecturer.
    • Foreign Language: you need to choose day of the week and time.
  • Elective module in a general subject area (only for Biotechnology Faculty and Ecotechnology Faculty students): you need to choose one discipline of the module.
  • Science module (only for Secure Information Technologies Faculty and Control Systems and Robotics Faculty students): you need to choose one discipline of the module by the level.
  • Mathematical module (only for Software Engineering and Computer Systems Faculty, Secure Information Technologies Faculty and Control Systems and Robotics Faculty students): you need to choose level of the discipline. Choosing level depends on faculty.
  • Internal academic mobility module: you need to choose the module (two connected disciplines) of another faculty. There are a total of seven general subject areas at the university, and students can pick a module from any area but their own.
  • Optional courses – extra courses you might want to choose.
  • University-wide optional courses:
    • Extra courses you might want to choose in addition to your educational program.
    • You can choose only two courses at the semester.

You can see the list of the disciplines for choosing in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Учебный план (Educational plan).

When do I choose? 

You will be able to start choosing on January 30. You will be able to make your choice between 9 am and 9 pm daily until February 2.

NB! Students who have not made a choice will be automatically distributed to the remaining vacant places.

You can see the list of selected discipline in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Расписание (или Электронная зачетная книжка) (Schedule)

How do I choose? 

Choosing courses in 2022/2023 spring semester will be on my.itmo.ru portal with authorization according to the ISU account.

Sections on "Physical culture" you still choose in the application "Physical culture and sport" at ISU. More information you can find here.

The choice of all disciplines must be completed during one session of work. The session time is limited to 15 minutes. The session begins from the moment you go to the discipline selection page. During the session, places are reserved for the selected disciplines and streams. When you deselect, the seats are released from the reserve and become available to other students. When you confirm your selection, the reserve is saved and the session ends automatically. Otherwise, after 15 minutes, the selection will be canceled and the reservation will be canceled. The student remains on the same page, but the choice will have to be made from the beginning.

Where can I learn more about the courses (modules)?

All the details are in the tab Education section section.

You can learn more about your Bachelor’s/Specialist education at ITMO in the spreadsheet below: 

3rd year (2020/2021)

What do I choose? 

  • Core module:
    • Soft Skills (for all students, exept of the Information Technologies and Programming Faculty): you need to choose two disciplines of all.
    • Foreign Language: you need to choose one out of two disciplines, day of the week and time.
    • Digital culture in professional activity: you need to choose two out of twelve disciplines. The choosing and list of disciplines depends on faculty. You can see list of the disciplnes in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Учебный план (Educational plan). Disciplines might be connected.
  • General module: 
  • Optional courses – extra courses you might want to choose.
  • University-wide optional courses:
    • Extra courses you might want to choose in addition to your educational program.
    • You can choose only two courses at the semester.

When do I choose? 

You will be able to start choosing on January 30. You will be able to make your choice between 9 am and 9 pm daily until February 2.

NB! Students who have not made a choice will be automatically distributed to the remaining vacant places.

You can see the list of selected discipline in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Расписание (или Электронная зачетная книжка) (Schedule).

How do I choose? 

Choosing courses in 2022/2023 spring semester will be on my.itmo.ru portal with authorization according to the ISU account.

Sections on "Physical culture" you still choose in the application "Physical culture and sport" at ISU. More information you can find here.

The choice of all disciplines must be completed during one session of work. The session time is limited to 15 minutes. The session begins from the moment you go to the discipline selection page. During the session, places are reserved for the selected disciplines and streams. When you deselect, the seats are released from the reserve and become available to other students. When you confirm your selection, the reserve is saved and the session ends automatically. Otherwise, after 15 minutes, the selection will be canceled and the reservation will be canceled. The student remains on the same page, but the choice will have to be made from the beginning.

Where can I learn more about the courses (modules)?

All the details are in the tab Education section.

You can learn more about your Bachelor’s/Specialist education at ITMO in the spreadsheet below: 

4th year (2019/2020)

What do I choose? 

  • Core module:
    • Soft Skills (only for Information Technologies and Programming Faculty students): you choose one out of two disciplines.
  • Elective module in a general subject area (only for Information Technologies and Programming Faculty students): you choose one out of two disciplines.
  • Professional module (only for Physics Faculty students): you choose one out of four disciplines. You can find list of disciplines in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Учебный план (Educational plan).
  • Optional courses – extra courses you might want to choose.
  • University-wide optional courses:
    • Extra courses you might want to choose in addition to your educational program.
    • You can choose only two courses at the semester.

When do I choose?

You will be able to start choosing on January 30. You will be able to make your choice between 9 am and 9 pm daily until February 2.

NB! Students who have not made a choice will be automatically distributed to the remaining vacant places.

You can see the list of selected discipline in ISU (in Russian): Личный кабинет (My ISU) => Образование и наука (Education and Research) => Расписание (или Электронная зачетная книжка) (Schedule)

How do I choose? 

Choosing courses in 2022/2023 spring semester will be on my.itmo.ru portal with authorization according to the ISU account.

Sections on "Physical culture" you still choose in the application "Physical culture and sport" at ISU. More information you can find here.

The choice of all disciplines must be completed during one session of work. The session time is limited to 15 minutes. The session begins from the moment you go to the discipline selection page. During the session, places are reserved for the selected disciplines and streams. When you deselect, the seats are released from the reserve and become available to other students. When you confirm your selection, the reserve is saved and the session ends automatically. Otherwise, after 15 minutes, the selection will be canceled and the reservation will be canceled. The student remains on the same page, but the choice will have to be made from the beginning.

Where can I learn more about the courses (modules)?

All the details are in the tab Education section section.

You can learn more about your Bachelor’s/Specialist education at ITMO in the spreadsheet below: