New procedure for awarding academic degrees

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The life of applicants for the proud title of Associate Professor, Candidate of Science or Professor has become much more complicated. Requirements for future scientists have become much more stringent. Because on May 15, a new procedure for awarding academic degrees and obtaining scientific titles was introduced.

Recently, the ratio of specialties in the structure of scientific personnel has changed. If in 1987 the share of technical sciences in dissertations was 45%, and humanities - 21%, then by 2000 they began to defend more dissertations in the humanities. But now it will be more difficult for both physicists and lyricists to do this. Over the past two years, the number of refusals to confer academic degrees has almost tripled.

Komsomolskaya Pravda published an interview with Viktor Vyskub, head of the Department of State Certification of Scientific and Scientific-Pedagogical Workers of the Ministry of Education. According to him, if earlier in our country there were two parallel systems for conferring academic titles. One is for university professors, the other is for employees of scientific organizations, but now the Hierarchical ladders have become symmetrical. And they look like 2 steps: assistant professor and professor. Moreover, for the award of an academic title"

Previously, it was possible to become a Doctor of Science, bypassing the degree of a candidate. And to obtain a Ph. D. it was necessary to prepare a handwritten dissertation, monograph, or scientific report. Now the defense of a doctoral dissertation without prior defense of a candidate's dissertation is excluded.

Previously, an applicant for a scientific degree before the defense had to submit a list of publications, but where exactly was not specified. Therefore, the works of the future luminaries of science were published in the most exotic magazines and even in newspapers. There is now a limited list of leading scientific publications where doctoral candidates are allowed to publish their work. These are peer-reviewed journals known to the scientific community, which are registered, and their legal copies go to libraries.

In recent years, dissertation councils have begun to be created even in public academies that do not have state accreditation. There, doctors and candidates of sciences were stamped according to unknown criteria. Now only VAK is engaged in this.

And the Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, Chief Scientific Secretary of the Higher Attestation Commission, Professor Vladimir Nevolin, in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta says: “Now you cannot apply for a PhD degree by submitting only a scientific report for defense, as it was possible before. There is only one way - to sit down for a thesis. Defending a doctoral degree on a scientific report, if you have a candidate's degree, is possible, but only with the special permission of the Higher Attestation Commission (Higher Attestation Commission is an expert structure, social scientific in essence, interdepartmental in form, integrated in content. Its main task today is to ensure the optimal combination of the role of the scientific community, on the one hand, and state control, on the other, in the process of certification of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel).

In the old position, the theoretical possibility of immediately applying for a doctorate was allowed. Now this is not the case - only after the defense of his Ph. D. thesis."

If the members of the dissertation council consider that the work immediately pulls for a doctorate, even in this case, these two stages should be separated in time. First, a Ph. D. thesis is defended, and then - not earlier than two months later - a doctoral defense for the same work is appointed.

Well, and the latest innovation is that earlier it was possible to defend a thesis in 580 specialties. Now the number of specialties has decreased to 412. At the same time, all scientific branches have been preserved. It's just that some narrow specialties are merged into one direction. Plus, new specialties have appeared, for example, "geoecology" and "geoinformatics", "ecology", "life support in extreme conditions" and others.

Regulations on the procedure for awarding academic degrees

I. General principles

1. This Regulation defines the legal basis for assessing the qualifications of scientific and scientific-pedagogical workers and the criteria to be met by dissertations - scientific and qualification works submitted for a scientific degree.

2. In order to ensure a unified state policy in the field of state certification of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel and the award of academic degrees, the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation operates, the composition of which is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Higher Attestation Commission). To promptly resolve current issues of certification, the Higher Attestation Commission forms the Presidium of the Higher Attestation Commission from the members of the Commission.

3. The Higher Attestation Commission and dissertation councils assess the qualifications of scientific and scientific-pedagogical workers and determine the compliance of the dissertations submitted by them for the degree of dissertation with the criteria established by these Regulations.

4. Dissertation councils are created by the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission in accordance with the established procedure at higher educational institutions that are widely known for their achievements in the relevant field of knowledge that have received state accreditation from the federal management body for higher education, scientific organizations that have received state accreditation from the federal governing body of scientific and (or) scientific -technical activities, on the basis of the petitions of these organizations (for organizations that have the form of an institution - as agreed with the founder).

Dissertation councils carry out work under the guidance of the Higher Attestation Commission, which controls their activities and revises the network of dissertation councils for each scientific specialty, taking into account the changes introduced to the Nomenclature of Specialties of Scientific Workers. Dissertation councils are created for the consideration of doctoral or master's theses, as a rule, in several, but not more than five specialties. Dissertation councils created for the consideration of doctoral dissertations accept candidate dissertations for defense in the relevant specialties. Dissertation councils are responsible for the quality and objectivity of the examination of dissertations, for the validity of decisions made and are called upon to ensure a high level of requirements in determining the compliance of dissertations with the criteria established by these Regulations.

In case of violation of the procedure for submitting and defending dissertations established by these Regulations, the Presidium of the Higher Attestation Commission has the right to suspend the activities of dissertation councils and submit recommendations to the Higher Attestation Commission on the termination of the activities of dissertation councils. Members of dissertation councils perform their duties on a voluntary basis. The procedure for the formation and organization of the work of the dissertation council, the corresponding rights and obligations of the organization under which the dissertation council is created, are determined by the Regulations on the dissertation council, approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation in agreement with the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology of the Russian Federation and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

5. The academic degree of Doctor of Science is awarded by the Presidium of the Higher Attestation Commission on the basis of a petition of the Dissertation Council, adopted on the basis of the results of the public defense of the dissertation by an applicant with a Ph. D. degree, taking into account the opinion of the relevant expert council of the Higher Attestation Commission. The academic degree of candidate of sciences is awarded by the dissertation council based on the results of the public defense of the dissertation by an applicant with a higher professional education. The Higher Attestation Commission has the right to check selectively attestation files and dissertations of applicants for the scientific degree of candidate of sciences, make a decision on issuing a diploma of candidate of sciences, cancel decisions made by dissertation councils in case of violation of the established procedure for submitting and defending dissertations.

6. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation develops and approves the forms of diplomas of Doctor of Science and Candidate of Science of the state standard, establishes the procedure for their issuance and, based on the decision of the Higher Attestation Commission, issues state diplomas to doctors of science and candidates of science.

7. The specifics of the procedure for awarding academic degrees to persons who use information constituting a state secret in their work are determined by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

II. Criteria to be met for a dissertation submitted for a degree

8. A dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science should be a scientific and qualifying work, in which, on the basis of the research carried out by the author, theoretical provisions have been developed, the totality of which can be qualified as a new major scientific achievement, or a major scientific problem that has an important socio-cultural or economic significance, or set forth scientifically based technical, economic or technological solutions, the implementation of which makes a significant contribution to the development of the country's economy and increasing its defense capability. A dissertation for the degree of candidate of sciences must be a scientific and qualifying work, which contains a solution to a problem that is significant for the relevant branch of knowledge, or sets out scientifically based technical, economic or technological developments that are essential for the economy or ensuring the country's defense capability.

9. The applicant for the degree of Doctor of Science shall submit a dissertation in the form of a specially prepared manuscript, scientific report or a published monograph. The applicant for the degree of candidate of sciences submits a dissertation in the form of a specially prepared manuscript or a published monograph.

The dissertation must be written alone, contain a set of new scientific results and provisions put forward by the author for public protection, have internal unity and testify to the author's personal contribution to science. New solutions proposed by the author should be strictly reasoned and critically evaluated in comparison with other known solutions. In a dissertation of applied importance, information on the practical use of the scientific results obtained by the author should be provided, and in a dissertation of theoretical importance, recommendations on the use of scientific findings.

The design of the thesis must comply with the requirements established by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. The dissertation is usually written in Russian. To resolve the issue of the possibility of submitting a dissertation written in a language other than Russian, the dissertation council sends a motivated application to the Higher Attestation Commission.

10. A dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in the form of a scientific report, prepared by the applicant on the basis of a set of previously published scientific and experimental design works in the relevant field of knowledge that are of great importance for science and practice, is a summary of the results of his research and developments known to a wide range of experts. The defense of a doctoral dissertation in the form of a scientific report is carried out with the permission of the expert council of the Higher Attestation Commission on the basis of a petition of the dissertation council. The procedure for submitting such a petition is established in the Regulations on the Dissertation Council. A dissertation in the form of a monograph is a scientific book publication containing a complete and comprehensive study of the topic, which has passed scientific peer review and meets the criteria established by this Regulation.

11. The main scientific results of the dissertation must be published in scientific journals. The main scientific results of a doctoral dissertation should be published in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals and publications. The list of these journals and publications is determined by the Higher Attestation Commission. The published works reflecting the main scientific results of the dissertation are equal to diplomas for discoveries and certificates of authorship for inventions issued by the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Inventions and Discoveries, patents for inventions; utility model certificates; design patents; programs for electronic computers; Database; topologies of integrated microcircuits, registered in accordance with the established procedure; manuscripts of works deposited in organizations of the state system of scientific and technical information, annotated in scientific journals; works published in the materials of All-Union, All-Russian and international conferences and symposia; information cards for new materials included in the state databank; publications in electronic scientific publications registered in Informregistr in the manner agreed with the Higher Attestation Commission.

12. When writing a dissertation, the applicant is obliged to provide links to the author and the source from which he borrows materials or individual results. When using ideas or developments in the dissertation that belong to co-authors, collectively with whom scientific papers were written, the applicant is obliged to note this in the dissertation. These references should also be made in relation to the scientific works of the applicant, performed by him as a co-author or individually. In the case of using borrowed material without reference to the author and source of borrowing, the dissertation is removed from consideration, regardless of the stage of its consideration, without the right to re-defense.

13. The applicant for the scientific degree of candidate of sciences must pass the relevant candidate exams, the list of which is established by the Higher Attestation Commission and approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. An applicant for the degree of candidate of sciences who has a higher education that does not correspond to the branch of science in which the dissertation was prepared, by the decision of the relevant dissertation council, takes an additional candidate exam in the general scientific discipline applicable to this branch of science. Persons with a higher medical education are allowed to defend dissertations in medical sciences, in veterinary sciences - persons with a higher veterinary education. Candidate exam programs are approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

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