Higher education in Russia

Citizens of Russia have the right to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution and ensured by the broad development of compulsory secondary education, vocational, specialized secondary and higher education, extramural, correspondence and evening courses, also by the provisions of state scholarships, grants and privileges of students.

Higher education is provided by public and non-public (non-state) accredited higher educational institutions such as universities, academies and institutes covering a wide range of fields of study.

Higher school entrance is based on the results of the Uniform State Exam usually on three subjects, passed at schools. These subjects are: mathematics, history, the Russian language and the Russian literature.

According to two level educational system we have:

· basic higher education -4 years of full time university level study, leading to the Bakalavr’s degree (equivalent to the Bachelor’s degree in the UK and western countries);

· postgraduate higher education - 2 years. After two years of studying post-graduates are entitled to receive the Magistr’s degree (this is equivalent to the Master’s degree in the UK or European countries). After getting the Master’s degree students can continue to study towards the doctoral degree: Kandidat Nauk degree (the first level, equivalent to Ph. D) and Doctor Nauk degree (the second highest level, equivalent to Doctor of Sciences).

These programs are elaborated in accordance with the State Educational Standards and include professional and special courses in science, the humanities and social-economic disciplines, professional training “completion of a research paper / project and passing state final exams ”.

Having obtained the Bachelor’s (Bakalavr’s) degree, students may apply to enter the Magistr’s (Master’s) degree programmes which are competitive or continue their studies in the framework of the specialist’s Diploma programmes.

The Bachelor’s degree is awarded in all fields, except medicine. Diploma project is prepared under the guidance of a scientific supervisor. Students must carry out a year of research (including practice), prepare and defend a thesis which constitute an original contribution and sit for final examinations.

Comprehension questions

1.What is higher education provided by?

2.What are the levels of the educational system?

3.What do the programs of higher education include?

4.What fields is the Bachelor’s degree awarded in?

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20