Astrakhan State Technical University (ASTU)

About Astrakhan State Technical University (ASTU)

Astrakhan State Technical University (ASTU, in Russian AGTU) is a federal state university in Astrakhan. The university was founded in 1930 as the Astrakhan Institute of Fisheries and received university status in 1994. Its founder is the Russian Federation, and the Federal Agency for Fisheries exercises the founder's powers. The main address is Tatishcheva Street 16/1, Astrakhan. ASTU is a different institution from Astrakhan Tatishchev State University (in Russian: Astrakhan State University named after V.N. Tatishchev, asu-edu.ru), which has its own site and its own address, 20a Tatishcheva Street.

Institutes and research

The structure includes the Institute of Fisheries, Biology and Nature Management; the Institute of Economics and Law; the Institute of Marine Technologies, Energy and Transport; the Institute of Information Technologies and Communications; the Institute of Oil and Gas; and the Institute of Urban Planning. There is also a faculty of secondary vocational education and an institute of additional professional education. ASTU has four branches, in Astrakhan, the Moscow Region (Dmitrov), the Krasnodar Krai (Yeysk) and Uzbekistan, where a branch opened in 2020. The university's own site names research areas that include aquaculture, biotechnology, microbiology, information technologies, ecology and nature management, mechanical engineering and shipbuilding.

Students

According to the university, more than 12,000 people study at ASTU, including almost 2,000 international students from 53 countries. The university also states that it has trained more than 3,000 specialists from 77 countries since it began international work.

For international applicants

ASTU has a Preparatory Faculty for Foreign Citizens, established in 1970. It prepares foreign citizens for bachelor's, specialist, master's and postgraduate study in five profiles: humanities; medical and biological; engineering, technical and technological; economic; and natural science. Each profile combines Russian language with subject courses. The preparatory course lasts 1 year or 1.5 years. The International Center of Education, working since 1996, also runs Russian language courses for foreigners at levels A0 to B2, including complete beginners. The International Relations Department handles international matters; its office is in building 1 on Tatishcheva Street 16.

Housing

The university has three student dormitories. According to its dormitory page, most rooms hold two or three students. Washrooms, toilets, kitchens and drying rooms are on each floor, and there is a self-study room with computers and internet access. Bed linen is issued, the dormitories have automatic washing machines, and security is provided round the clock.