Adaptation of foreign students of various ethno-confessional groups in the conditions of a Russian regional university (by the example of Ogarev Mordovian State University)

Background. The relevance of the study is due to the growing number of international students in Russian universities and the need to study their adaptation to new living and study conditions. The processes of globalization and educational migration have high-lighted the issues of language, cultural, and social barriers that affect the integration of students. The purpose of the stidy is to identify the key factors that influence the adaptation of international students at Ogarev Mordovia State University, including language skills, living conditions, academic difficulties, and social integration, based on the results of a pilot study. Materials and methods. The article is based on a sociological study “Adaptation of International Students at Ogarev Mordovia State University” conducted by the authors in April-May 2025. A total of 152 international students participated in an online question-naire survey as part of a targeted sample. Results. The main difficulties of adaptation were identified: language barriers, problems with tuition fees, academic difficulties (especially passing the exam), and unsatisfactory living conditions for some students. Most students study on a commercial basis, choose Mordovia based on recommendations from friends or by chance, and live in dormitories. Conclusions. The study showed that successful adaptation depends on the level of Russian language proficiency, the quality of university support, and living conditions. The obtained data can be useful for improving the adaptation pro-grams for international students.