Doctoral Degrees at St Petersburg University

New legislation

The experiment was deemed successful, and in 2016 St Petersburg University and Lomonosov Moscow State University were granted the right to set their own requirements for the doctoral defence process and criteria for awarding state-recognised doctoral degrees (Candidate and Doctor of Science).

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law "On Amendments to Article 4 of the Federal Law 'On Science and State Scientific and Technical Policy'". According to this law, by 1 September 2018, the existing dissertation councils at Lomonosov Moscow State University and St Petersburg University, created with the permission of the Ministry of Education and Science based on recommendations from the Higher Attestation Commission, were to be closed. The quality of defences in the dissertation councils awarding St Petersburg University’s own degrees must be no lower than the level of defences in the Higher Attestation Commission’s councils. The requirements for applicants and members of the dissertation councils must also be no lower than those of the Higher Attestation Commission.

New rules at St Petersburg University

Order No. 11181/1 "On the Procedure for Awarding Academic Degrees at St Petersburg University" dated 19 November 2021

Now, the composition of the dissertation councils at St Petersburg University for each specific dissertation defence is determined individually. It is formed from leading specialists in the field of the defended work, with the mandatory involvement of Russian and foreign scholars who are not employees of St Petersburg University.

The announcement of the defence, the composition of the dissertation council, the text of the dissertation, and the reviews from each member of the council are published on the St Petersburg University website before the defence, so that anyone can familiarise themselves with these documents. The defence is conducted publicly in Russian or English and is streamed online on the St Petersburg University portal.

Video recordings of the defences and related materials are available on the St Petersburg University portal. In 2010, the University of St. Petersburg became the first in Russia to introduce live broadcasts of doctoral council meetings. Anyone can personally verify the fairness of all procedures, listen to the candidate’s presentation, the opponents’ evaluations, the discussion and, finally, the announcement of the Dissertation Council’s decision.

Opinions of PhD candidates

As noted by the candidates themselves, including those from other universities who have recently chosen to defend their dissertations at St Petersburg University, the rules used at our university provide a more interesting and substantive discussion during the defences, as all members of the council are experts in the field of the presented work. In addition, the dissertation (not just the abstract, but the full work) is read by numerous experts, and the mandatory involvement of leading foreign scholars helps applicants develop scientific connections and engage with the international academic community.

Further development of the system

The process of developing the new system at the University took many months. We discussed various options, considered different opinions, and even after the rules were approved, we continued to adjust them. Moreover, we will continue to improve our system. There are only two principles we are not willing to compromise on — quality and openness; everything else can be reconsidered.