Undergraduate

The list of programs (majors)  is available on this link in the section “Programs”. Before starting the online application process to undergraduate programs, please have a look at the list of majors offered by Nazarbayev University Schools as the entry requirements depend on School and category.

To participate in the competition an applicant should complete the following:

1. Register at admissions.nu.edu.kz and create a Personal account;
2. Pay the application fee (non-refundable). The application fee shall be paid only online in your Personal account at the “My application forms” section with a bank card authorized for online/internet transactions. The payment of the application fee by transferring money through the bank is not acceptable;
3. Complete the application form and upload all required documents before the deadline. The list of documents is available here in the section “List of documents to be submitted by applicants”;
4. It is very important to select the major and the School of Nazarbayev University as well as an applicant’s category as entry exams you will be taking depend on these factors;
5. Registration and taking necessary exams (for instance, at testing centers of your city). Sending the electronic results of the exams is required for the participation in the competition for undergraduate programs. To send electronic results of standardized tests an applicant must contact the test administrators (IELTS - British Council/Interpress, TOEFL - ETS, SAT - College Board) and request to send  electronic results to the address of Nazarbayev University.

The decision on considering the second choice of an applicant is taken by the Admissions Committee of the School. The priority is given to an applicant’s first choice of the School of Nazarbayev University

Yes, it is possible, but only with the official permission of the Dean of the School, into which the applicant would like to transfer.

Applicants entering the Nazarbayev University Schools are considered by the Admissions Committee of the respective School. The Admissions Committee consists of international faculty of the Nazarbayev University.

The application fee to undergraduate programs is 5000 tenge. This amount is non-refundable. The application fee shall be paid only online in your Personal account. The payment of the application fee by transferring money through the bank is not acceptable.

Before proceeding to the payment of the application fee, please check the settings of your bank card, particularly its access to internet transactions and limits to online operations. If the problem is not resolved, please contact info_admissions@nu.edu.kz with a full description of the problem you faced, referring to your IIN (for the citizens of the RK) and Applicant ID.

Nazarbayev University, as all educational establishments in Kazakhstan, abides by the law of RK and it is expected that all students will abide by the law of Kazakhstan, including the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On education” (clause 17 of Section 47).

The category of an applicant is determined by the educational institution where he/she studies or graduated, or by his/her achievements which will be considered by the Admissions Committee. 

While applying to the undergraduate programs, Nazarbayev University considers the following categories:

• SAT/ACT applicants;
• A-level/NIS Grade 12 Certificate graduates;
• IB Diploma Programme graduates;
• Winner of the International and/or Republican Olympiads;
• Transfer students (students of other higher educational institutions);
• NUET applicants;

Entry requirements for each category are different; therefore, it is important to select the category that suits you most. 

No, it is not. An applicant can choose only one category.

Yes, the category can be changed within the deadlines set by the Admissions Department. The Admissions department will inform you of the dates when it will be possible to change categories.

Yes, it is possible, however the transfer of credits is identified by Admissions Committee. The maximum allowed number of transferable credits is 72 ECTS.

If students have been withdrawn voluntarily for reasons other than disciplinary, two specific conditions apply:

1) within 5 years of leaving University, former students shall follow the re-admission procedures established by the Office of the Registrar. For these former students, all University ECTS credits and grades will be accepted as part of the re-admission process;

2) above 5 years after leaving University, former students need to re-apply as a new student.

UNT and the average score of a high school diploma are not considered during the admission process to Nazarbayev University. During the selection process, in addition to the application form, essay and other documents provided by an applicant, the Admissions Committee will consider the results of tests/certificates/interview, indicated here in the section “Entry requirements”.

Detailed information on applicants’ categories, required exams and minimum passing scores can be found here in the section “Entry requirements by categories”. All exams/tests are taken by applicants independently at their own expense, except the NUET exam.

Superscoring – consideration of the highest section scores from two or more test certificates in order to obtain the best overall score.

Superscoring is applied in relation to SAT/ACT results, but is not applied to IELTS / TOEFL results.

In that case, the Admissions Committee will consider other academic and non-academic credentials of the applicants.

The motivation letter is a mandatory part of the application package of an applicant and it plays a very important role. The recommended length of motivation letter should not be more than 500 words. More detailed information about the motivation letter can be found in the section “List of documents to be submitted by applicants”.

Motivation letters are read by the Admissions Committee. It should include the justification of the choice of Nazarbayev University as well as the motivation of an applicant. More detailed information about the motivation letter can be found in the section “List of documents to be submitted by applicants”.

An applicant has the opportunity to apply to both programs. However, if he/she accepts the invitation of  Nazarbayev University Foundation program, he will be automatically excluded from the undergraduate program.

If the applicant has applied for both programs, he/she takes the NUET exam only once. An applicant with high scores on the NUET exam can choose an undergraduate program if he/she has applied for this program in advance, otherwise the applicant cannot choose this program.

691 state grants were allocated for undergraduate programs in 2021. The number of state grants is determined by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is published annually around May. Grants are distributed according to applicants’ ranking.    

NUET (Nazarbayev University Entrance Test)  is the entry test that assesses the academic readiness of the applicants to study at Nazarbayev University. This test was previously known to applicants as NUFYPET.

To find preparation materials for NUET, please visit our website. Preparation materials for NUET have also been published on the Center for Preparatory Studies website.

The NUET exam will be held in 17 cities at UStudy centers.

The NUET exam is funded by Nazarbayev University.

Yes, the category can be changed within the deadlines set by the Admissions Department. The Admissions Department will inform applicants about the dates when it will be possible to change categories.