The university was founded in 1958, on the principles of integration of education and science, early involvement of students with research activities and the engagement of leading scientists in its teaching programmes.

In 1958, this concept was implemented with the establishment of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union at Akademgorodok, near the industrial city of Novosibirsk.

From the beginning, the founders of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union were concerned about providing the future scientific center with highly-trained personnel.

In order to create a consistent source of personnel replenishment for Siberian scientific institutions, it was necessary to provide advanced training on the spot, thus the idea was born to establish a university in Novosibirsk.

[citation needed] On 9 January 1958, the Novosibirsk State University was officially founded by the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union decree.

[8] Novosibirsk State University was from its inception existing in close collaborative association with Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences research and development institutions of which there are several dozen within an area of 1.5 square km.

[23] Every year, international students have an opportunity to apply for the Russian Government Scholarship which covers full tuition and provides a monthly living allowance.

Specialists in biology, physics, mathematics, geology, archaeology, and chemistry work with one another in the 35 research institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

[25] Beginning in 2017, the Siberian Summer School held at NSU each July includes courses on the Chemistry of Future Materials, Big Data Analytics and the philosophical and historical aspects of East-West relationships.

The Centre's principal areas of research include: The Center for Photonics was created in partnership with Aston University (UK) and offers NSU students access to world-class laboratories in the field of high-speed optical communications, fiber-optic and, femtosecond laser technologies.