Moscow’s top theater universities, including the “golden five” – GITIS, Moscow Art Theater School-Studio, VGIK, Shchepkin Theater School, and Shchukin Theater Institute – are highly competitive, requiring not only strong academic performance but also successful auditions. Aspiring actors must navigate rigorous entrance exams and creative assessments to secure a place in these prestigious institutions.
The Shchepkin Higher Theater School, also known as “Shchepka,” is the oldest acting school in Moscow, founded in 1809, offering 43 budget and 13 contract places in its “Acting” program. Applicants must submit Unified State Exam results in Russian language and literature, along with passing a creative task, a professional exam, and an interview. Preparation includes preliminary selection consultations with faculty members, where students present a repertoire of prose, poetry, fables, and songs. Successful completion of three audition rounds leads to entrance tests. The annual tuition fee for contract students in the 2025/2026 academic year is 537,000 rubles. Notable alumni include Yuri Solomin, Oleg Menshikov, and Kristina Asmus.
The Shchukin Theater Institute, often called “Pike,” provides 44 budget places for “Acting” and 12 for “Theater Directing,” demanding a creative test and oral interview, alongside Unified State Exam results in Russian language and literature. Auditions involve video submissions and full-time selection rounds, showcasing a reader’s program of prose, poetry, fables, and a melodic song. “Theater Directing” applicants undergo three internal exams: a creative directing test, a written work, and an oral colloquium. The annual tuition fee for both “Acting” and “Theater Directing” is 625,644 rubles. Famous graduates include Vladimir Etush, Vasily Lanovoy, and Andrei Mironov.
GITIS (Russian Institute of Theater Arts), one of the world’s largest theater universities, offers training in all theatrical specialties across eight faculties. The “Acting” program has only 3 budget and 12 contract places, while “Choreographic Art” offers 4 budget and 8 paid places. Admission requires internal creative tests, including artistic skill and an interview, along with Unified State Exam results in Russian language and literature. Auditions include a repertoire of classical and modern works. The annual tuition fee for “Acting,” “Choreographic Art,” and “Theater Directing” is 625,700 rubles. Alumni include Mark Zakharov, Alla Pugacheva, and Nikita Kologrivy.
VGIK (All-Russian State University of Cinematography), the first film school globally, provides 9 budget and 9 contract places in the workshops of V. Grammatikov and A. Galibin and also 9 budget and 9 paid places in the workshop of V. Vdovichenkov and E. Lyadova for the “Artist of Dramatic Theater and Cinema” program. Applicants undergo two internal tests: a creative task and an interview, along with Unified State Exam results in Russian language and literature. Auditions involve presenting prose, poetry, fables, and a vocal number, along with photo and video tests. The annual tuition fee is 625,650 rubles. Renowned graduates include Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Bondarchuk, and Nikita Mikhalkov.
The Moscow Art Theater School-Studio offers 22 budget and 8 contract places for its acting faculty, requiring creative and professional internal entrance tests, plus Unified State Exam results in Russian language and literature. The creative test assesses stage temperament and understanding of texts, while the professional test evaluates speech, voice, musicality, rhythm, plasticity, and dance ability. The annual tuition fee is 522,000 rubles. Famous alumni include Daria Moroz, Sergei Bezrukov, and Polina Gagarina.
The Moscow State Institute of Culture (MGIC) offers 30 paid places (part-time) for “Acting” and 5 budget and 20 paid places for “Directing of Cinema and Television” (full-time). Aspiring actors need to pass creative and professional exams which includes artistry, a creative range with prose, fables, poems, song and dance. Applicants for “Directing of Cinema and Television” need to summit a written director’s explication, creative works and other artistic endeavors. Applicants also need to pass the Unified State Exam in Russian language and literature.