Abstract:

National education systems vary in different countries. According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) at the eighth level, training programs in the field of scientific research are presented. Completion of programs at this level ends with the defense of a dissertation or an equivalent written work of publishable quality. Based on the results of the defense, a corresponding PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, or LL.D is awarded. In most European countries, defenses take place in different forms in universities, where the student was trained in graduate school. The degree is awarded by this university. The prestige of the degree obtained depends on the prestige of the university that awards the degree.

In Russia, the system of training of highly qualified scientific personnel is formed at the state level. Compositions of dissertation councils that award scientific degrees are approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia. At the same time, not every university is given the right to open a dissertation council in a certain branch of science. To make a decision on the possibility of opening, as well as on the continuation of the acting dissertational council at the university, the effectiveness of the scientific activity of the organization as a whole and potential members of dissertational councils is assessed.

The evaluation of the effectiveness of scientific activity is based on indicators of the funding of science in the organization, the number of candidates and doctors of sciences in the staff of the organization, the publication activity, the number of graduate students and undergraduates. All indicators are considered in the context of the branches of science, since the Dissertation Council has the right to award degrees only in one or two branches of science.

Based on the results of the ranking of universities, threshold values determining the possibility of opening a dissertation council in a university are determined. In addition, the activity of the current dissertational councils is evaluated annually. Thus, the high scientific level of dissertational councils assessing the quality of the scientific research performed by the applicant of scientific degree is ensured, which makes it possible to form the scientific elite of a society capable of solving advanced scientific problems.

Since 2016, a non-state system for awarding scientific degrees has been developing in Russia. In 2017, two universities of Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University got the right to independently award academic degrees without approval to the Ministry of Education and Science. The list of such universities is expanding. But in order to obtain the opportunity to independently award scientific degrees, threshold values of indicators of the effectiveness of scientific activity of higher educational institutions are determined.
The paper provides the methods of ranking universities and methods of determining threshold values.

Keywords:

Ranking universities, postgraduate education, dissertation council, right to award scientific degree.