Types of Higher Education Degrees in Russia

Russian higher education institutions grant various degrees and diplomas, including 

The Intermediate Diploma (Diplom o nepolnom vysshem obrazovanii) is honored after two years of studies and is given in all fields of study. The Diploma gives its holder the right to practice a professional activity in conformity with the level of education it represents. 

The Bakalavr’s (Bachelor’s) degree program lasts for 4 years of full-time university-level study. It includes professional and special courses in Science, the Humanities and Social-economic studies, professional training and requires the students to prepare a research paper or project. Students need to pass State final exams for attainment of the degree. Bakalavr courses of study cover all disciplines except medicine. The basic purpose of the Bakalavr degree is to provide a more academically oriented education. The Bakalavr degree is an essential requirement for admittance to Magistr course of studies.

Bachelor’s Degree holders can be admitted Specialist programs. The Specialist Diploma possesses two important purposes: 

The Specialist diploma is awarded in all areas of study and students are required to pass State final examinations at the end of each semester. 

The Magistr’s (Master’s) degree is awarded after successful completion of two years’ full-time study. Students must perform a research for a year, which establishes an original contribution and go by the final examinations to obtain the Master’s degree. Bakalavr degree is the pre-requisite for Magistr studies. Magistr studies are completed by a State final attestation that includes the defense of a dissertation which is an independent research carried out under the directions and guidance of a supervisor, and the passing of State final examinations. 

 In order to be admitted to the medical professions, the students need to have a university level Higher Education diplomas and must go for further in-depth professional training, i.e. a one-year course programme called the Internatura or a two- to four-year course programme called the Ordinatura. Training in the Internatura or the Ordinatura takes place in hospitals, clinics, and research medical institutes. Grads from the Internatura or Ordinatura are awarded certificates that specify their specialization areas and entitle them to practice their profession independently.

There are two successive postgraduate degrees: 

For admission to Kandidat Nauk (Aspirantura), students must hold a Specialist Diploma or a Magistr’s degree. The Aspirantura prepares for research and professorial activities. Students are required to perform and prepare independent research, and support the dissertation in public for successful completion of the Aspitantura. Kandidat Nauk is being awarded after the successful completion of the course of study along with public defence of the dissertation. 

The Doctor Nauk programme is specific and its duration is not fixed. It follows the Kandidat Nauk and is also awarded after research and public defence of a dissertation. 

The Higher Professional Education includes engineering, economic, humanities specialities