Doctor of Sciences degrees are conferred by a national government agency called the
Vysshaya attestatsionnaya komissiya (VAK), or
Higher Attestation Commission, on the recommendation of a specialized
dissertation committee before which the candidate has defended her or his dissertation. Such committees are created in
academic institutions with a solid research record and the committees must be accredited by VAK. The total number of committee members is typically about 20, all holding the Doctor of Sciences degree. The area of research specialization of at least five committee members must match the profile of the materials submitted by the doctoral candidate for consideration. The candidate must conduct independent research with no academic supervisor required. Typically the candidate is an established scholar and supervises Ph.D. students while working towards their dissertation. However, it is normal practice for an experienced consultant to be appointed to help the scholar with identifying the research problem and finding the approach to solving it, though this is not technically regarded as supervision. The procedures of conferring of both
Kandidat and
Doktor academic degrees are more formal and different from conferring a Ph.D. degree in Western universities. In particular, for the
Doktor, the academic institution where the scholar is affiliated as a doctoral candidate must conduct a preliminary review of the research results and personal contribution made by the candidate and, depending on the findings, elect whether to render formal support or not. By definition, this highly prestigious degree can be conferred only for a significant contribution to science and/or technology based on a public defense of a thesis, monograph, or (in rare cases) of a set of outstanding publications in peer-reviewed journals. The defense must be held at the session of a Specialized Dissertation Committee accredited by VAK. Prior to the defense, three referees holding Doctor of Sciences degrees themselves (the so-called "official opponents") must submit their written motivated assessments of the thesis. One additional similar assessment is to be provided by a university or academic institution working in the same field of science or technology, and several other reviewers must mail a record of their conclusions based on the thesis summary (usually a 32-page brochure in natural sciences and 48 pages in social sciences). In the former USSR, this degree was considered a sufficient credential for tenured full professorship at any institution of higher education. Unless an academic holds a Doctor of Sciences, she or he can make it to a full professor only if they author at least one published and widely accepted textbook, hold the degree of
Kandidat Nauk, and have 15 years or more of outstanding teaching service at the university level. In contrast, a Doctor of Sciences degree holder can become a tenured full professor after just one year of teaching experience in a non-tenured faculty position. A degree of Doctor of Sciences also enables its holders to claim an
academic rank of a professor awarded by VAK or the rank of
Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a rank established in 2015. The Doctor of Sciences thus has no academic equivalent in North America, as it is a
post-doctoral degree. The German
Habilitation and, to some extent, the French (
HDR) are comparable to it, as are the British
higher doctorates (e.g. Doctor of Science), although the last-mentioned are not required for career advancement. On average, only 10 percent of
Kandidats eventually earn a
Doktor degree. Although some exceptionally talented researchers in mathematics do earn
Doctor of Sciences in their late 20s, the average age of the scholars reaching
Doktor in most disciplines is about 50, which indicates the significant contribution required to achieve the degree. According to the
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, "In countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of
Doctor Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of the second doctoral degree. In countries with only one doctoral degree, the degree of
Doctor Nauk should be considered for recognition as equivalent to this degree." According to guidelines published by the
Russian Academy of Sciences: •
д. арх. () – Doctor of Sciences in Architecture •
д. б. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Biological Sciences •
д. вет. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Veterinary Sciences •
д. воен. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Military Sciences •
д. г. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Geographical Sciences •
д. г.-м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences •
д. и. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Historical Sciences •
д. иск. () – Doctor of Sciences in
Study of Art •
д. м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Medical Sciences •
д. п. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Psychological Sciences •
д. пед. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Pedagogical Sciences •
д. полит. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Political Sciences •
д. с.-х. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Agricultural Sciences •
д. социол. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Sociological Sciences •
д. т. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Technical Sciences •
д. теол. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Religious Sciences •
д. ф. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Philological Sciences •
д. фарм. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Pharmaceutics •
д. ф.-м. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Physical and Mathematical Sciences •
д. филос. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Philosophical Sciences •
д. х. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Chemical Sciences •
д. э. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Economics •
д. ю. н. () – Doctor of Sciences in Jurisprudence According to the International Standard Classification of Education, for purposes of international educational statistics: •
D.Sc.;
D.Phil. to
Doctor of Sciences in Philosophy, •
D.Lit.; Dr.Litt. to
Doctor of Sciences in Literature, •
D.Sc.; Dr.Nat.Sci. to
Doctor of Sciences of Natural Science, •
LL.D.; D.Sci.Jus. to
Doctor of Sciences of Legal Science. ==Notes==