Admission
Dear All,
We are opening the call for applications to the School of Molecular and Theoretical Biology 2025. Applications will be accepted until midnight UTC on December 31, 2024. SMTB is generously supported by the Zimin Foundation.
The season will be held from June 28 to July 14, 2025 in Nazarbayev University (NU) in Astana (Kazakhstan). We will do everything we can to welcome all accepted students regardless of the place of their residence.
Participation is free of charge for all accepted students. For the offline season, it includes living expenses, medical insurance for those who require it to travel to SMTB and all materials required for lab work.
We ask parents to cover traveling costs to the city where SMTB will take place. We realize that for some applicants the cost of transportation may be prohibitive. In that case, at the time of application we ask you to indicate that you will need additional financial aid for transportation. Should you be accepted, the School will cover a part of, or, in exceptional cases, the entire cost of travel.
Lodging will be organized in one of the dormitories of the host university with faculty and students living in the same building.
We ask all students to familiarize themselves with the general features of the school, admission rules and F.A.Q. on our website prior to submitting an application. Information about financial support can be found here.
To apply you will need to create an account on our website or, if you applied to SMTB previously, log in to your account using the email address you used in the past.
Application consists of the main application form in English or Russian and a letter of support, which must be submitted to us independently from the main application. You can submit your application either through the Russian-speaking or English-speaking track. The competition is equally intense for applications submitted in Russian and in English. While you can choose which language to apply in, you will not be able to submit two applications. If you are accepted to SMTB, you will have the same opportunities at the School regardless which track you have been chosen through, the Russian-speaking or English-speaking one.
All application materials, including the required letter of support, must be submitted up to and including December 31, 2024. The letter of support must be written and submitted by another person, nominated by the student. We recommend asking someone to write the letter plenty of time before the deadline. Once you find someone to write a letter on your behalf, you can send an official invitation to submit the support letter through the application system - even before submitting the main application form.
To participate in SMTB-2025 offline the students will require a valid travel passport or other document that allows students to travel abroad and stay there during the school. Some students might also require a visa. The lack of a visa and travel passport at the time of application should not affect anyone’s decision to apply. There will be plenty of time to receive a passport after the admission decisions for SMTB are sent out. The SMTB staff will offer all the necessary support and paperwork and, whenever appropriate, will offer financial assistance to cover the costs of the visa application fee and the travel to the nearest visa service center.
The School of Molecular and Theoretical Biology does not discriminate, in the admission process or otherwise, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, sexual orientation, disability or any other potentially discriminatory factors or circumstances.
We strive to present an equal opportunity for all applicants. Inquiries regarding the application process or other aspects of SMTB can be addressed to us through our email (smtb@molbioschool.org) to our Manager Anna Puzyreva or by telephone to our Scientific Director, Fyodor Kondrashov (+81-70-1478 0347).
SMTB Admissions Committee