Doctor of Sciences ( rus, доктор наук, p=ˈdoktər nɐˈuk, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; uk, доктор наук; bg, доктор на науките; be, доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and many

post-Soviet countries The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

, which may be earned after the

Candidate of Sciences Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, "d ...

History

The "Doctor of Sciences" degree was introduced in the

in 1819 and abolished in 1917. Later it was revived in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

on January 13, 1934, by a decision of the

Council of People's Commissars of the USSR The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946. As the government of the Soviet Union, the Council of People's Commissars of th ...

. By the same decision, a lower degree, "

" (''kandidat nauk''), roughly the Russian equivalent to the

research doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

in other countries, was first introduced. This system was generally adopted by the

/Russia and many post-Soviet/Eastern bloc states, including

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, former

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(since abolished), and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. But note that the former Yugoslav degree "Doktor nauka" / "Доктор наука" / "Doktor znanosti", still awarded by

Bosnia Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

follows the Bologna Process and is therefore equivalent to either a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

, or to a

higher doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

, depending on the institution awarding the degree.

Admission

Doctor of Sciences degrees are conferred by a national government agency called the

Higher Attestation Commission Higher Attestation Commission (russian: Высшая аттестационная комиссия, uk, Вища атестаційна комісія, abbreviated Cyrillic: ВАК, Latin: VAK) is a name of a national government agency in Russia, ...

(Vysshaya attestatsionnaya komissiya, VAK) on the solicitation by the specialized

dissertation committee A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

before which the candidate has defended her or his dissertation. Such committees are created in

academic institution Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university. Types * Primary schools – (from French ''école primaire'') institutions where children ...

s with established research record and are accredited by VAK. The total number of committee members is typically about 20, all holding the Doctor of Sciences degree. The area of research specialization of at least five committee members must match the profile of the materials submitted by the doctoral candidate for the consideration. The candidate must conduct independent research. Therefore, no academic supervisor is required; moreover, typically the candidate is an established scholar him/herself, supervising a few Ph.D. students while working towards his or her Doctor of Sciences dissertation. However, it is normal practice when an experienced consultant is appointed to help the scholar with identifying the research problem and finding the approach to solving it; yet this is not technically regarded a supervision. The procedures of conferring of both ''Kandidat'' and ''Doktor'' academic degrees are more formal and different from conferring a Ph.D. degree in Western universities. In particular, for the ''Doktor'', the academic institution, where the scholar is affiliated as a doctoral candidate, must conduct a preliminary review of the research results and personal contribution made by the candidate and, depending on findings, elect whether to render formal support or not. By definition, this highly prestigious degree can be conferred only for a significant contribution to science and/or technology based on a public defense of a thesis, monograph, or (in rare cases) of a set of outstanding publications in peer-reviewed journals. The defense must be held at the session of a Specialized Dissertation Committee accredited by VAK. Prior to the defense, three referees holding Doctor of Sciences degrees themselves (the so-called "official opponents") must submit their written motivated assessments of the thesis. One more similar assessment is to be provided by some university or academic institution, working in the same field of science or technology, and in addition several other reviewers must mail their conclusions made based on a thesis summary (usually a 32-page brochure in natural sciences and 48 pages in social sciences). In the former USSR, this degree is considered a sufficient credential for tenured full professorship at any institution of higher education. Unless an academic holds a Doctor of Sciences, she or he can make it to a full professor only through 15 years or more of outstanding teaching service on the university level. At least one published and widely accepted textbook and the degree of Kandidat Nauk are required in the latter case, anyway. A Doctor of Sciences degree holder can become a tenured full professor after just one year of teaching experience in a non-tenured faculty position. A degree of Doctor of Sciences also enables its holders to claim an

academic rank Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic rank ...

of a professor awarded by VAK or a new rank of a "

Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Professor of the RAS, or RAS Professor; russian: Профе́ссор Росси́йской акаде́мии нау́к – Proféssor Rossíiskoj akadémii naúk) is an academic rank introduced in ...

" established in 2015. The Doctor of Sciences thus has no academic equivalent in North America, as it is a

post-doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

. The German ''

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including ...

'' and, to some extent, the French ''habilitation à diriger des recherches'' ( HDR) are comparable to it, as are the British

s (e.g. Doctor of Science), although the last-mentioned are not required for career advancement. On the average, only 10 per cent of Kandidats eventually earn a ''Doktor'' degree. Although some exceptionally talented researchers in mathematics do earn ''Doctor of Sciences'' in their late 20s, the average age of the scholars reaching Doktor in most disciplines is about 50; this implicitly indicates the amount of contribution that must be made. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, "In countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of Doctor Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of the second doctoral degree. In countries with only one doctoral degree, the degree of Doctor Nauk should be considered for recognition as equivalent to this degree." According to guidelines published by the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

: # д. арх. () – Doctor of Sciences in Architecture # д. б. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Biological Sciences # д. вет. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Veterinary Sciences # д. воен. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Military Sciences # д. г. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Geographical Sciences # д. г.-м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences # д. и. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Historical Sciences # д. иск. () – Doctor of Sciences in Study of Art # д. м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Medical Sciences # д. п. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Psychological Sciences # д. пед. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Pedagogical Sciences # д. полит. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Political Sciences # д. с.-х. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Agricultural Sciences # д. социол. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Sociological Sciences # д. т. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Technical Sciences # д. теол. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Religious Sciences # д. ф. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Philological Sciences # д. фарм. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Pharmaceutics # д. ф.-м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Physical and Mathematical Sciences # д. филос. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Philosophical Sciences # д. х. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Chemical Sciences # д. э. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Economics # д. ю. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Jurisprudence According to the International Standard Classification of Education, for purposes of international educational statistics:Par. 262 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) UNESCO 2011
/ref> #

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

;

D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

to ''Doctor of Sciences in Philosophy'', # D.Lit.; Dr.Litt. to ''Doctor of Sciences in Literature'', #

; Dr.Nat.Sci. to ''Doctor of Sciences of Natural Science'', #

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

; D.Sci.Jus. to ''Doctor of Sciences of Legal Science''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doctor of Sciences Doctoral degrees Education in Russia Education in the Soviet Union