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
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
,
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 ...
and some other
post-Soviet states
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 ...
that oversees awarding of advanced academic degrees. Due to translation differences, these committees are sometimes translated as the "State Supreme Certification Commission" or other similar variation; the common Cyrillic-based acronym of VAK remains a constant with all versions.
A commission of a similar kind ( bg,
Висша атестационна комисия) operated in
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 ...
until 2010, when it was abolished as part of a reorganisation of academic structures.
On December 9, 2010, the Higher Education Commission of Ukraine was merged into the
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство освіти і науки України) is the main body in the system of central bodies of the executive power of Ukraine.
History
On 28 June 1917 Ivan Steshen ...
.
Russia and the former Soviet Union
During the
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 ...
, the Higher Attestation Commission under the USSR Council of Ministers (also abbreviated as VAK) oversaw and controlled the awarding of advanced
academic degrees and
academic ranks in all of the USSR. With the fall and break up of the Soviet Union, separate Higher Attestation Commissions arose in the newly independent nations. For example, the Russian agency became the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, taking similar duties in the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
The responsibilities of the Russian Commission include:
* coordinating Dissertation Councils in Russian universities and research institutes;
* promulgating regulations concerning awarding of academic degrees;
* awarding the degrees of
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 ...
and
Doctor of Sciences
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 Russi ...
, upon the recommendation of the Dissertation Council in the university or research institute where the defense of the dissertation took place;
* awarding the academic rank of
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
;
* making decisions on equivalence of foreign degrees awarded to Russian citizens.
Since 2016-2019, some (29, as of June 2020
) top-level educational and scientific establishments in Russia, e.g.
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, were granted the right to award degrees independently, i.e. without a control, of the VAK; there are voices against extension of this option.
The Higher Attestation Commissions in other nations have similar responsibilities.
Fields of study
Scientific degrees awarded VAK were classified into an established list of specialties, grouped into the following major sections
*positions 20.xx.xx were occupied by military sciences,
position 21.xx.xx are kept in reserve since abolition of "naval sciences" at 1980th.
See also
*
Dissernet
References
External links
Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (official site)
Higher Attestation Commission of Ukraine(official site)
Higher Attestation Commission of the Republic of Belarus(official site)
Higher Attestation Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan(official site)
Higher Attestation Commission of Bulgaria(official site)
{{Authority control
Science and technology in Russia
Education in Russia
Education in the Soviet Union
Education in Ukraine
Science and technology in Ukraine
Science and technology in the Soviet Union
Science and technology in Belarus
Education in Belarus
Educational organizations based in Belarus