Buryat Pedagogical Institute was one of the oldest institutes of higher education in Siberia. It was organized by the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of 10 January 1932 on the basis of the Buryat-Mongolian branch of the Irkutsk State Pedagogical Institute. The composition of the institute included four departments: physics and mathematics, science, literary and linguistic, and socio-economic. The first intake, of 146 students, was in autumn 1932. In 1932 the high school employed 22 teachers. The institute was housed in a three-story brick houseon the corner of Lenin and Working streets. The education building had 10 classrooms and labs and one lecture hall. In the hostel, students were allocated a stone building of the former House of Farmer with 90 seats. In autumn 1932, the institute opened pedrabfak with a four-year period of study for training, and admission to college for boys and girls with seven- and nine-year school education. In January 1933, the correspondence department was opened. In September 1934, the teachers' institute was opened. It was at the pedagogical institute and trained teachers for the seven-year schools. Buryat Pedagogical Institute ran from 1932–1995. More than 95% of the teachers of Buryatia, and many educators in Agin and Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrugs, Irkutsk and Chita regions are graduates of the institute.
Establishment of Buryat State University
Buryat State University, one of the oldest universities in Siberia, has been formed in accordance with Presidential Decree of 30 September 1995 and Government Decree dated 2 November 1995 on the basis of the Buryat State Pedagogical Institute and the Buryat branch of Novosibirsk State University in Ulan-Ude. BSU is a system-building educational institution, training specialists in the fields of education, science, management, economy, healthcare, social services, etc.
Research at BSU includes information and telecommunications technology and electronics, space and aviation technology, new transportation technology, new materials, ecology and rational nature-usage, and energy-saving technology.
International links
BSU cooperates with academic and research centres in many countries. Every year, more than 150 international students study at BSU and the university carries out non-commercial students and lecturers' exchange with its foreign partner organizations. The university organises annual Lake Baikal summer camps for foreign students and teachers. International students have the opportunity to take courses in the Russian and Buryat languages, in which they can also learn about Russian and local cultures. BSU students study in partner universities in China, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and Germany.
Education for international students
The university offers courses of Russian as a foreign language. The department "Russian as a Foreign Language" was founded in September 2002 at the Philology Faculty. There is a Master's programme for the direction "Philology" for international students.
