The flagship university of the Kostroma region was created in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 196 of March 10, 2016 by reorganizing two universities in the form of accession: Kostroma State University named after N. A. Nekrasov to the Kostroma State Technological University. The scientific councils and university administrations decided during the accession to be guided by the principle of equal union.

KSU is one of 11 flagship universities of Russia of the "first wave". Among the many applicants it has been chosen by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. This indicates a worthy base for Kostroma State University and high potential for further development and improvement.

In December 2017, KSU became the winner of the federal priority project “Universities as centers of the space for creating innovation” and received the status of a university center for innovative, technological and social development of the region.

The total area of the university is 162 thousand square meters. The university campus has 18 educational and 7 residential buildings. KSU has 8 institutes, where students are taught in 47 areas of training. Educational programs are adjusted to the needs of modern life. During training, each student has the opportunity to get two specialties at once.

44% of the training areas are social and humanitarian specialties, 33% - mathematical, natural sciences, engineering and technical, 23% - pedagogical.

An interesting creative and athletic life of students, the opportunity to engage in scientific research, take part in contests and olympiads of the highest level, start their careers already from the third or fourth year of the university - all this attracts young people from the Kostroma region to Kostroma State University, as well as from many other regions of Russia. Today about 9000 students from 38 regions of Russia and 20 countries are studying at KSU. The teaching staff of the university is 524 people, including 73 doctors of sciences, 313 PhDs. The teaching staff of 80% consists of teachers under the age of 47 years.

Kostroma State University actively interacts with a number of European universities. Our students are regularly trained in them on the most favorable conditions. A student and teacher exchange programme is successfully working (studying at a European university from a month to six months).

KSU has developed strong partnerships with a number of large enterprises in the Kostroma region: Motordetal (Kostroma) and Kronostar (Sharya) plants, Volgorechensk pipe plant, Buisky chemical plant, Sveza OJSC, IT companies such as “Exactpro”, “MMTR”,“YuvelirSOFT”, jewelry companies “Topaz”,“ Sokolov”, the sewing company “Orby”, leading Russian banks – “Sberbank”,“ Sovcombank”,“Rosselkhozbank”, companies “Tensor”, “Rostelecom”, “Rosgosstrakh”, “Agency for Strategic Initiatives”, the administration of Kostroma and the region, specialized departments of the Kostroma region.

KSU graduates are in demand not only in their region, but also beyond its borders. Specialists in fundamental mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry are eagerly hired by leading research institutes in Russia, including Skolkovo. The scientific research results of our students are also highly regarded at the international level (in particular, the discovery related to the fight against metal corrosion, which was made in 2017 by students and undergraduates of the Institute of Physical, Mathematical and Natural Sciences of KSU, spread around the world. They told about it on their pages of several scientific publications of Europe).

KSU takes an active part in the life of Kostroma, involving the youth of the city in its projects. Thus, the “WELCOME Center of KSU”, uniting students from all the university institutes, regularly organizes tourist quests for citizens, events aimed at awakening interest in the history and culture of their native city. KSU Institute of Culture and Arts is developing urban landscaping projects. The Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology annually organizes self-developed children's health camps. The Institute of Humanities and Social Technologies of KSU implements one of the two strategic projects of the University related to the development of domestic tourism in the region. At the Institute of Design and Technology of KSU, within the framework of the second strategic project “KSU as a center for adaptation and transfer of technology in the jewelry and engineering industries of the region”. More than that, Center for Additive Technologies has been opened and is successfully operating now, where students and professional jewelers take training on the most modern equipment, which is not available even in large jewelry enterprises.

Among the graduates of KSU there are many famous politicians, businessmen and businesswomen, public and cultural figures, athletes, even the governor of the Kostroma region, the head of the administration, successful couturiers, journalists and so on.