General Overview

The International Independent University of Environmental and Political Sciences (IIUEPS) is a challenging initiative in environmental education in Russia and the CIS countries.  The IIUEPS offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate society-and-economy oriented programs as well as a wide range of supplementary training courses. The University was established in 1992 under the auspices of the national non-governmental environmental organizations and with support from the Russian State government, the Moscow City government, the Russian Ministry for Environment Protection, the Russian State Committee on Higher School, and the Committee for Environment of the Russian Supreme Council. In 2009 the university has been renamed to the Private organization for higher education “The Academy IIUEPS”.

The university has been initiated by its actual president S. Stepanov, PhD in History.  Academician N. Moiseev and professor N. Reimens contributed development of the university. The concept of simultaneous training in environmental field and political science implemented at the IIUEPS as innovative type of education has been created by the expert group under N. Moiseev guidance. This concept provides teaching with humanities, social and environmental   topics following mutual principles for environmental policy that are implemented by world community and leading international organizations including UN, UNESCO, and by the United Nations Environment Program.

The IIUEPS is one of private universities in Russia that gained serious governmental support. In 90s a number of governmental regulations and orders on university support has been approved. Number of governmental projects has been implemented with the IIUEPS participation. “Strategy for environmental education of population in Russia” project worked out in cooperation with researchers from the Moscow State University and the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia serves as methodology support for working group on environmental education of CIS Interstate Council on Ecology. Concept projects of environmental education and agreements on cooperation in environmental education for CIS countries are elaborated at the IIUEPS. In 1999 at the 10th Session of the CIS Interstate Council on Ecology the Information-and-Methodology Centre for Environmental Education in Russia and the CIS has been established under the IIUEPS governance.

The IIUEPS is among ten leading private licensed universities in Russia. There are 19 chairs at the IIUEPS. More than 400 tutors are teaching with courses at the university. Most of them have obtained PhDs.  Since its inauguration, the University has opened branches and educational centers in a number of Russian cities including Nizhniy Novgorod, Penza, Orekhovo-Zuevo, and former Soviet countries. The university has established close links with academic partners in Germany, Great Britain, India, Switzerland, the United States, Serbia, and Montenegro, the practical project being the US – Russia Business Institute.

 Annually 6500 students are trained at the university.  The IIUEPS trains professionals with foreign languages skills in verity of fields that are not included in the curricula of other Russian universities. Graduates are successfully working in environmental management and projecting, environmental law and policy-making, journalism, psychology and linguistics.  They promote environment protection in Russia and abroad.

The IIUEPS publishing house issues variety of textbooks and monographs, reviews and magazines. Annual “Russia in Environmental Space” and scientific “The Russian Environmental Education Bulletin” are the most influential.