Foundation Program

NUFYP (Nazarbayev University Foundation Year Program) – a one-year intensive program at the Centre for Preparatory Studies of Nazarbayev University. Its short name is Foundation. The aim of the program is to prepare students to study in a competitive environment of a research university as Nazarbayev University. Under the program students take subjects such as English for academic purposes, Mathematics, Personal Development Module, and different elective subjects. In other words, the program helps students quickly adapt to the English-speaking environment, determine their future major and provides a smooth transition to undergraduate programs. Classes take place at the Center for Preparatory Studies of Nazarbayev University.

No, you cannot. Only final year students and graduates of secondary/post-secondary educational organizations can take part in the competition for admission to NUFYP. In other words, to participate in the competition for admission to NUFYP, you must be a student of a final grade/course or have graduated from a school or postsecondary educational organization. In order to confirm their status applicants provide a verification letter from the school (spravka) or school Diploma. 

Combining studies is not possible. At the time of admission and study at NU, a student of NUFYP must be a graduate of a secondary/post-secondary educational organization. NUFYP is a full-time program.

The language of instruction at Nazarbayev University is English.

UNT is not considered while applying to Nazarbayev University. IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill and NUET test results will be considered in the competition for admission in 2022. Exams are conducted in English. Information about NUET can be found here. 

When applying to Nazarbayev University, Diploma scores and the “Altyn belgi” medal are not taken into account. IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill and NUET test results will be considered in the competition for admission in 2022. Information about NUET can be found here.

The selection process to NUFYP consists of the following stages:

1. The selection process to NUFYP consists of the following stages:

   1. Stage I – online application of the applicants (September-November);
   2. Stage II – entrance exam (February - March) 
   3. Stage III – consideration of applicants’ files, who received required scores in stage II and corresponding English test scores (April-May);
   4. Sending notifications about admission to applicants in accordance with the ranking, which is compiled based on received scores (May-July);
   5. Submission of original documents for enrollment (upon request of the Admissions Department, June-July).

   If an applicant has required minimum passing scores in the entrance exams, it does not guarantee automatic admission to the NUFYP and receiving the grant. An applicant participates in the competition for the award of the state grant according to the number allocated annually by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Quotas for other grants are determined by the University. 

   * Applicants from the waiting list may receive an admission offer as vacant places (due to other applicants’ refusals) become available until the start of the classes. 

   Information about entry examinations can be found here. 

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

1. Online application at the admissions.nu.edu.kz portal and creation of a Personal account;
2. Application fee payment (non-refundable);
3. Filling out the application form and submission of the required documents;
4. Completion of the application process by clicking the “Submit application” button;
5. IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill results submission;
6. Further steps. Please be advised to check the email indicated in the application form to receive important information from the Admissions Department and Personal account in order to track the status of the application.

The application fee to NUFYP is 3000 tenge. This amount is non-refundable. Application fee is paid online via the Personal account of each applicant. Application fee payment through bank transfer is not acceptable.

Go to http://admissions.nu.edu.kz portal, press the “Sign up” button and fill out the required information in English. Applicants need to select an undergraduate program in the list of appeared programs and then select the Foundation program.

No, the application form can be filled in several times  before the deadline for online application. In this case, every time you enter new  data you should save it by clicking on the “Save” button. The application form you created will be saved in your Personal account with the date and time of the last changes. Next time, returning to filling out, you need to select a saved form, not to create a new one. When the application form is complete, make sure to click on the “Upload” button.   

Yes, Linguaskill results are considered in the competition. It is held in 18 regional UStudy Test Centers of Kazakhstan.

NU must be indicated as a recipient of your results during the registration to Linguaskill in the UStudy Test Center and its results must be uploaded to NU Personal account. 

If your score meets the minimum requirements, you need to within the specified time:

To order an electronic version of the certificate. The certificate must be sent to Nazarbayev University from the Test administrator (British Council, ETS, etc.) 

Comment: When registering for the IELTS/TOEFL test, an applicant can specify several universities to send electronic certificate results. By specifying the code “Nazarbayev University” (for IELTS) and “6762” (for TOEFL), you can order sending to Nazarbayev University. Each certificate has a serial number (TRF), which is used by universities to verify the accuracy of the results. If an applicant has not indicated a free electronic delivery to NU before passing the IELTS/TOEFL exam, then ordering the certificate to the University is processed on a paid basis by contacting the Test center. 

• To upload the certificate data and its scanned copy to a Personal account. After entering the TRF/Appointment number, other details are filled automatically. If details did not appear automatically, you have one of the following errors: 1. Official electronic results were not received by NU from the Test administrator, 2. Mistake in application, 3. Mistake in certificate. Important; there is no need to send a scanned copy of the certificate to the University email address or the hard copy by post. 

TOEFL iBT Home Edition and TOEFL PDT results are not considered in the competition.

All provided certificates must be valid by August 1, 2022 - the beginning of the respective academic year.

The deadline for IELTS/TOEFL certificate provision are available on the website.

No, Superscoring (using the highest scores in all examination sections of two or more certificates to obtain the highest overall score) is not used for IELTS. But you can submit as many certificates as you wish for the competition  before the approved deadline. Please note that the last submitted/uploaded certificate will be considered in the competition and the previous data will be deleted.

The period for providing additional IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill certificates will be available in the “Important dates” section on the website.

The IELTS exam held at the expense of Nazarbayev University was canceled. Within the framework of the competition applicants should independently take and provide IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill results before the specified deadline in order to be invited to NUET.

SAT is not considered for admission to the NUFYP on the state grant.

NUFYPET was renamed to NUET (Nazarbayev University Entrance Test). Test format and content is the same as in 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.

Applicants will be ranked first by NUET scores and then by IELTS/TOEFL/Lianguaskill.

First, the Admission Committee considers subscores of NUET. If the overall score is equal, the priority will be given to applicants with the highest scores in “Mathematics”. Then IELTS/TOEFL/Linguaskill results are considered. If the overall score of the language test is equal, the priority will be given to applicants with the highest scores in sections in the following priority - writing, reading, speaking, listening.