Аннотация:This article focuses on the study conducted to determine the potential of media education (ME) in the system of Russian Universities and those of the CIS. The demand for this new type of education is felt by nearly all but is hardly understood by all university management responsible for the educational process or by university professors who should be able to embrace the meaning, the objectives and the contents of this education and how it could be integrated into the traditional educational system. Meanwhile, contemporary university curricula nowadays do incorporate certain media education elements and its components may already be found in the system of additional education or as part of extracurricular activities. Experts from Eurasian Association of Pedagogical Universities (EAPU) and Media Education Specialists Association (MESA) supported by UNESCO Chair for public media literacy and media education under the auspices of Moscow Pedagogical State University conducted a comprehensive survey of higher educational institutions authorities in Russia and other CIS countries to determine the potential of Russian and CIS universities to implement student media literacy improvement programs and the demand for consistent effort in this area, as well as to determine the relevance of media education theory and practice. The survey findings show that there is a clear demand at the leading universities of the former USSR to implement a comprehensive approach to addressing student media education issues and there is a requirement for university teaching staff to upgrade their skills.