What do graduate students do? What does graduate school provide, the pros and cons of postgraduate professional training

What does graduate school in Russia provide and why go there? Does graduate school give you a deferment from the army? Is it included in the work experience? What are the benefits when getting a job? Postgraduate studies and work, how to combine? What is the duration of postgraduate study? What forms of postgraduate study are there? Is there any part-time graduate school? How is part-time graduate school different from full-time? What is the graduate school process like? What does postgraduate study without defense give? What title does graduate school give? Calculation of training costs.

The article was prepared by a candidate of philological sciences

What does completing graduate school provide? Why go to graduate school?

You ask yourself these questions when faced with a choice: whether to go or not to a difficult achievable goal- PhD degree. Since you realize that the path will be difficult, it is important to have good motivation to decide in favor of admission. But about the “goodies” a little later, first we will define some concepts.

What forms of postgraduate study are there?

The following forms, already familiar to you, are provided for by the third stage of higher education - graduate school: full-time form of education, correspondence form of training for the most strong-willed and independent - competition.

The duration of postgraduate study usually depends on its form:

The duration of full-time postgraduate study is 3 years.
Correspondence postgraduate study, duration of study - 4 years.
Application period - 5 years (I will not dwell on this form in detail because I am not familiar with it).

So, let's get back to what studying in graduate school gives.

For young people, graduate school - deferment from the army. But there are a number of nuances here:

A) the form of study must be full-time (if postgraduate study is by correspondence, deferment from the army is not provided),

B) the organization in which a graduate student is registered in a certain specialty must have state accreditation along it,

C) a young person enters the next level of education in the year of receiving a diploma from the previous one. Therefore, a deferment from the army in graduate school after the master's program is also possible, you just need to have time to enroll in graduate school immediately, without a year or more break.

And now good news, if you meet all the above requirements, and the only thing that matters is the presence budget places, should please you: paid graduate school = deferment from the army too.

The deferment from the army after graduate school is valid for another year after graduation - time is given to defend a candidate's dissertation.

Those who successfully defend their candidate's dissertation are awarded PhD degree.

Upon completion of postgraduate studies, two scenarios are possible:

A) simply complete your studies without defending a dissertation,

B) protect candidate's thesis.

What benefits does graduate school provide when finding a job?

You might be interested in What does graduate school provide without defending a dissertation? My answer is nothing, or, almost nothing. Completing graduate school without a defense is equivalent to taking advanced training courses and does not give the right to apply for a higher position or salary bonus, unlike the case when the dissertation is defended.

It turns out that academic degree PhD is a reason to get more high position its holder, but only one for which the requirements for candidates indicate “having a PhD degree.”

And the fact of appointment additional payment for an academic degree must be recorded in the internal local act institutions or employment contract, otherwise, the candidate’s diploma will not be financially rewarded by the employer.

It turns out that there is a need to defend a dissertation university teacher, employee of a scientific institution, or military, in other organizations, a defended dissertation will not provide any advantages and will not provide an increase in salary or a higher position. Therefore, you need to carefully weigh your initial data before entering graduate school, and decide “whether the game is worth the candle.”

What does graduate school NOT provide?

You may be interested in the answer to the question: Is postgraduate study included in your work experience? Answer, - No. Both the scientific-pedagogical and work experience of full-time postgraduate study is bypassed, as well as correspondence. Previous years of study at full-time postgraduate study counted as scientific and pedagogical experience, they stopped after the 2013 law.

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What is postgraduate study like?

You should start preparing for admission to graduate school with search for a scientific supervisor. This person will mean a lot to you in next years training, and whether you will defend yourself or not will depend almost entirely on it. It is important that he has “weight” among colleagues in his profession, otherwise the work of his graduate student may be biased, or it may indeed turn out to be mediocre: the supervisor will not have enough professionalism and “flair” to guide the graduate student to the right direction. It is important that he has a strong character and strives to guide the graduate student to the defense. It is important that he is in good physical and mental shape: scientific supervisors are often elderly people and some, despite serious problems health problems, they still recruit graduate students, as a result, they are physically unable to work together on the research, and the help of a supervisor is very important, it is clear that such a supervisor, if one out of ten graduate students defends their defense, is already doing well, and the credit for this will go entirely to the graduate student . If you have a desire to develop a specific topic, you need to clarify the area scientific interests your prospective supervisor may not be interested in what you want to do, then you will have to look for another supervisor.

It is also important for a scientific supervisor to take on as a graduate student a competent and responsible person who can conduct serious research and defend his work. Therefore, they will also take a good look at you.

After you have secured the approval of your supervisor for working together should start with him collect a package of documents for admission. The list can usually be found on the website of the university you are planning to enroll in. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that you will need to provide a list of your published scientific works; if there are none, you will have to write an introductory essay, which will take time to work on, count on this and start preparing for admission in advance.

It is also important, upon admission, to think about the protection that occurs in dissertation council. So, each council has the right to “hear” defenses only in certain specialties. It is advisable to follow the path least resistance And choose a specialty, advice on which is in the city where it will be most convenient for you to defend yourself.

Entrance exams in philosophy, foreign language and specialty, they are usually taken by ticket, preparing in advance. At the same time, previously passed candidate exams do not eliminate the need to take entrance exams.

The process of studying in graduate school, part-time or part-time, consists of attending lectures, seminars, practical classes, and receiving tests upon their completion. And here exams total to be passed three, they're called candidate's: in philosophy, foreign language and the specialty in which the graduate student is studying.

Lectures and seminars, in theory, are designed to give useful information, which will come in handy and will remove some of the difficulties in carrying out a graduate student’s own dissertation research.

Of course you need write a dissertation, which must be ready by the end of the postgraduate study period, and report to the scientific supervisor and at a meeting of the department to which they are assigned, about the work done at the end of each academic year.

All this must be completed by the end of the postgraduate study period, and the dissertation must be submitted by pre-protection, this means, members of the department to which you are attached will hear the main results of your research, two reviewers will study the work and give comments that need to be answered, then they will discuss your work and give or not give the go-ahead for defense in the council.

Within a year after the end of your graduate studies, you will need to collect all the necessary documentation, bringing the dissertation to ideal, and submit all you need to the dissertation council.

Before adviceyou speak, sharing, again, the results of the research you have done, the board members listen to the comments of your opponents (people who have studied your work), you answer them, all members also ask you questions. Then the dissertation council makes its “verdict”, then the applicant draws up in accordance with the requirements andsends documents to the Higher Certification Commission in Moscow. The commission awards the degree of candidate of science and issues a corresponding diploma.That's it, you are a candidate of sciences!

How is part-time graduate school different from full-time? Full-time graduate school and work, how to combine?

Let's start with the fact that I studied in correspondence graduate school, attended classes with everyone and did not notice the difference between full-time and part-time students. Classes are conducted and the graduate student, based on which course of lectures is more necessary for him or which is read at a more suitable time for him, attends a certain number of lecture courses.

The final stage of both full-time and part-time graduate school is writing a dissertation and defending it, only full-time students are given three years for this, and part-time students - four. Thus, in the form of training, what is important is not the organization of the learning process (there is no difference) and not the result, but only the number of years allocated for writing a dissertation research. Postgraduate studies and work are related as follows: regardless of the form of study, if there is a goal to complete dissertation research, you will have to set aside time and not work, at least for a year, but write a dissertation, otherwise you will not complete it. At the same time, officially, while studying in full-time graduate school, you cannot work, but while studying part-time, you can. But the reality is that, working full-time, or at more than one job, there will be no time left for a dissertation, no matter whether you study full-time or part-time.

Calculation of postgraduate study costs

What you will have to spend on while studying in graduate school:

A) payment for tuition, if it was not possible to enroll on the budget,

B) paper and a printout of intermediate versions of the dissertation for checking by a supervisor (scientific supervisors are usually ladies, older men and prefer to work with paper rather than at an incomprehensible “beast” computer),

In graduate school, which is the next stage in the comprehension of science, it is customary to distinguish several stages of training. This time allotted for postgraduate study must be used extremely rationally and wisely, i.e. so that, in order to have time to learn educational material defend your dissertation well enough and at the same time worthily.

Many people begin postgraduate studies immediately after graduating from university and immediately encounter certain difficulties inherent in this period of study. Naturally, young scientists, especially graduate students in the humanities and natural sciences, often resort to simple recommendations in order to most effectively use their years of study in order to expand and deepen knowledge in their field.

First year of study. Usually, after entering graduate school, future scientists are lost, not knowing where to start studying. We must keep in mind that in graduate school, as in university, time will be short, and therefore we must try not to waste time or waste it, but get down to business right away. The first step is to attend classes in philosophy and a foreign language, if such an opportunity is provided by the educational institution chosen by the graduate student. This necessary condition not only to increase the level of one’s erudition and general education, but also to successful preparation and passing exams in the mentioned disciplines to obtain the academic degree of Candidate of Sciences.

The completed philosophy course gives the graduate student the opportunity to further deepen his knowledge and better understand not only the directions modern philosophy, but also literature, art, politics, the structure of society, features of spirituality different countries. Studying a foreign language will provide an indispensable service in reading the works of foreign authors in the specialty of interest to the graduate student. Reading these works in the original will help you better understand the subject being studied. Even with poor knowledge of a foreign language, reading sources foreign literature It will become easier over time, because soon the graduate student will definitely discover countless terms and constructions similar to his main language. It will be easiest for him to read works written by non-native speakers, for example, Spaniards or Chinese in English, since they write simply, accessible and understandable, without any sophisticated phrases and difficult words. In many educational institutions They also teach courses in psychology and pedagogy. Attending the above-mentioned courses is necessary both for further teaching practice and to deepen your knowledge.

It must be borne in mind that people with an academic degree have high authority and are considered highest degree intelligent. Many people take their opinion into account, and therefore, during the years of study, a graduate student must try to comply with this highly appreciated to have authority. We must study while we have time, strength and opportunity, because after completing graduate school, a young scientist loses this chance mainly due to his busyness. Then you will have to study on your own, sometimes teaching others at the same time, but getting a postgraduate education is unlikely to interest anyone.

By regularly attending classes, a graduate student will have the opportunity to take candidate exams. But this is not enough to write a dissertation. In the first year of study, you need to start organizing scientific research, since obtaining PhD degree also involves writing a PhD thesis. Therefore, having enrolled a graduate student in graduate school, the university assigns him a supervisor from among doctors of sciences or professors. The topic of the candidate's dissertation is approved by the Department or Faculty Council before December 31 of the year of admission. Together with the supervisor, the graduate student develops an individual work plan, fills out title page plan explanatory note regarding the choice of topic and fills out the plan for the first year of study. After the plan is approved at a department meeting, the graduate student is under the careful attention of the professor, i.e. scientific supervisor, organizer and guide Scientific research graduate student supervising and responsible for the implementation of an individual plan.

It is best to try to pass exams in philosophy and a foreign language at the end of the first academic year, because then the graduate student is unlikely to find free time to dedicate him to re-attending classes in these disciplines. In addition, the graduate student will no longer have much desire to attend lectures without the group of graduate students who once kept him company. If a graduate student wants to take the exam, he must submit a corresponding statement of his intention to the graduate school.

Young scientists may not even dream of relaxing, because at the end of each year of study they are required to make a report on the work done during the year at a department meeting. To do this, they need to submit a previously prepared and approved report to the graduate school.

In order to report on the work done at a department meeting, you must first take care of its organization. In graduate school, no one will care why internal reasons The department was unable to hold meetings. (If academic year ends in December, then you need to start submitting the report in November. Consequently, a meeting of the department will be held in October, and it is necessary to start organizing its convocation in September, i.e. immediately after the graduate student returns from vacation.)

The second year of postgraduate study is mainly devoted to the continuation of the relevant experiment, the collection and initial processing of data, as well as a more in-depth analysis of the work being carried out on at this stage training. The intermediate stages of work here are research, results, discussion (analysis) of results, conclusions. It is better to design and present each intermediate stage of the work as a scientific article.

Such a presentation of the intermediate work done can subsequently help the graduate student when writing the text of the dissertation. This may also appear important experience in presenting the data obtained during the study of the material.

A special feature of the second year of study is that it becomes the main year both in terms of the number of conferences where the graduate student reports his results, and in the number of his publications based on the work done. Another feature of the second year of study is the teaching practice that graduate students undergo. During teaching practice, they perform the work of a teacher at the department, which is 40-50 teaching hours. The positive aspect is that in the second half of the second year of study, the graduate student, thanks to practice, will pass the test more easily. candidate exam by specialty. The end of the second year involves the completion of the experimental part of the work or, in extreme cases, the main part of it.

The third year of study is characterized by the fact that at this stage the experiment will have to be completed if the work to complete it has not been completed in advance. It is also necessary to have time to complete the final processing of the data, analyze it, and then draw conclusions. The third year is significant because it is at this time that the graduate student writes the lion's share the text of your dissertation. It is more advisable to spend the beginning of the year on completing the writing of Chapter 3 (“Research Results”), thoroughly editing the text of the chapter and designing it with figures, tables, and diagrams. To write Chapter 4 (“Discussion of results”) you will have to use the knowledge acquired in the process of studying the relevant literature in the specialty. The purpose of Chapter 4 is to conduct theoretical analysis data. Chapter 1 provides a review and/or analysis of the literature used. You can start writing Chapter 1 much earlier (in the summer after your sophomore year, during your freshman year, or at the same time as Chapters 3 and 4).

As for the conclusions of the work, they must be formulated clearly, specifically, but succinctly. They must follow logically from the results of the study. Approximately 5-8 conclusions are enough for a PhD thesis, however, it is natural that the number of real conclusions will exceed the number of conclusions carried out in the dissertation. It should be noted that there is no need to rush into the formulation of this part of the dissertation, since the final version of the conclusions can only be written as a result of numerous changes in the edition.

While writing his modest dissertation, a graduate student should not worry about the glory of a scientist who has left an indelible mark on science. Only time will tell how successful the “trip” to scientific life became his candidate's dissertation.

For many, the opportunity to enroll in graduate school is serious step, which needs to be decided. A person going for this must clearly understand what he wants to achieve. It should be understood that postgraduate study is not just the next stage of education after graduation. Enrolling in it takes you to high quality new level. Graduate school is more than just a place to gain knowledge. It allows a person to receive an academic title.

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In order to study in graduate school, a person must have analytical, creative and research abilities, and you must also have talent. There are very few people with such abilities among graduates. Because of this, before making a decision, you must examine yourself and understand whether you have the aptitude for learning and scientific work. Without ability and talent, you will simply waste your time and it will not be useful. It's better to find yourself in something else where you can contribute.

What is this training?

Postgraduate study is a form of professional postgraduate studies. It is the main stage in the preparation of scientific and scientific teaching staff. Today it serves as an independent form of education. Its main goal is to acquire skills for practicing scientific works on one's own. Education is mainly conducted at research institutes and higher educational institutions.

A specialist who has completed training must have everything necessary to effectively solve problems in scientific community and carry out high-quality research work. Postgraduate study, in essence, is a form of advanced training for those wishing to obtain a PhD degree. During the training, a person gains the experience that he will need in order to choose a relevant scientific direction in the future. He learns to justify the research topics he is involved in. The graduate student also receives the required experience for proper organization and conducting the experiment. Acquires skills to skillfully work with literature, the ability to competently receive and process research data, and carry them out comparative analysis. Learns to correctly summarize the data from your research in the form of conclusions. The final stage of training is writing a candidate's dissertation. The postgraduate student will have to first defend the written dissertation at a meeting of the department, as well as at a meeting of the scientific department, which must necessarily correspond to his profile.

Who is a graduate student

A graduate student is a person who has a higher professional education. Its goal is to prepare for the defense of a dissertation to obtain the academic degree of Candidate of Sciences. To achieve this goal, he must undergo postgraduate training, which is located under the scientific research institutions and universities. This can be done by a person who has a master’s or specialist qualification and is at the same time a citizen of his or her country. To enroll in graduate school, you will need to pass entrance exams on a competitive basis. The candidate will need to prepare scientific publication, abstract and application for admission. Participation in scientific conferences, on the basis of which a recommendation for admission is given.

Each graduate student is assigned a supervisor, under whose supervision he writes his dissertation. In addition to preparing for writing a dissertation, a graduate student is engaged in individual plan work. This plan provides for the deadlines for taking exams for the candidate minimum. It also indicates the dates by which individual parts of the dissertation are due. The graduate student's responsibilities also include visiting additional classes. These classes are held in the first year of study. Participation in the work of the department to which he is directly assigned is also part of his responsibilities. If he doesn't fulfill his calendar plan, he may be expelled.

Scholarships are provided for full-time graduate students. Students studying at by correspondence There is no scholarship, but you can take it every year additional leave in the amount of thirty days. They must take this leave at their place of work. Part-time graduate students can also be given one day a week to conduct classes, which is paid at 50%. A person entering graduate school has the right to choose the direction in which he will study. Therefore, it is not necessary to enroll in graduate school in the specialty of your diploma. In this case, do not forget that you will need to master more information.

What gives

Postgraduate study provides an opportunity for a person to engage in scientific activities. You also have the opportunity to speak at various conferences and participate in various competitions. It allows a person to improve himself. This happens by gaining knowledge in one direction that you have chosen. Thanks to graduate school, you can study teaching activities. The outcome of the training is the writing and defense of a Ph.D. dissertation.

Why is it needed?

First of all, graduate school is needed for those who plan to engage in scientific activities or teach at a university. Some people go to study in order to improve their skills or change their field of activity. Some people continue their studies because they have a great desire to learn and they enjoy the process.

Postgraduate studies, clinical residency

Adjunct- postgraduate studies at universities and research institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Clinical residency - a form of advanced training for doctors in medical universities, advanced training institutes and research institutions.

Graduate student

Social guarantees

IN Russian legislation Federal law“On higher and postgraduate professional education in Russian Federation» the following guarantees are provided:

P.S. Temporarily, until spring conscription 2012, full-time students of unaccredited graduate school are not subject to conscription into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation if they have Appendix No. 2 and a graduate school license, since the decree on obtaining accreditation by graduate schools was issued relatively recently (previously only licenses were required). Universities were given time to prepare.

Russia

In some European countries terms graduate student And graduate school correspond doctoral student And doctoral studies.

Ukraine

Candidates and doctors of sciences are exempt from military service.

What is graduate school

Until 2013, graduate school was considered one of the forms vocational education after university or a form of higher education scientific personnel, and since 2013 it was awarded the status of the third level of higher professional education.

Postgraduate studies – what kind of education is this?

Yesterday's students, accustomed to lectures and practical training, do not have a very good idea of what it means to study in graduate school and what it is.

However, graduate school is not lectures, tests and exams, although you can’t do without them, but an independent form of gaining knowledge and education.

The graduate student must decide for himself scientific direction, which is relevant, formulate a topic, set up the necessary experiment, obtain and process data, compare the results with those already available in science and draw specific conclusions.

To complete the training, you must write and defend a Ph.D. dissertation. But before the official defense in the dissertation council of the university, the graduate student must undergo a preliminary defense at an extended meeting of the department, where representatives from other departments and/or educational institutions are invited.

Who can become a graduate student

To join the ranks of graduate students you need to have a master's or specialist's degree. And it is not necessary to have a so-called red diploma in your hands, a blue one is enough. Also, postgraduate students can become persons who have completed residency, postgraduate studies, postgraduate studies, assistantships and internships (considered one level of education), but their training is carried out only at the expense of own funds these persons.

Forms of postgraduate study

In graduate school you can study in:

full-time;
correspondence;

Training on full-time last 3 years(on technical specialties 4 years), and correspondence odds MA studies - a year longer, 4 or 5 years respectively. With a correspondence course, you will need to both work and study, which is not possible for everyone. Although some people manage to combine everything on point.

When choosing a form of study, you need to consider that you can study in:

budget (free) basis;
on a paid basis;
target basis.

Opportunity to receive free education given to applicants who have scored in exams greatest number points compared to other applicants.

If you find yourself at the bottom of the ranking of applicants, then you can only study for a fee. Paid training does not exclude in the future, if excellent results, transition to a budget. Studying on a budget is allowed by law only once. Subsequent admission only to paid basis, but not a limited number of times.

"Targeted Training"- this is when the employer agrees to pay for training. Why does the organization pay for training? Apparently, highly qualified workers are needed, which are sometimes in short supply.

How to apply to graduate school

For admission you must submit to admissions committee university:

statement;
passport (other document), identification, citizenship;
diploma of education;
documents confirming individual achievements;
other documents.

Individual achievements are considered:

diploma about higher education Honours;
publications in scientific journals;
diplomas, certificates of participation in conferences, seminars in educational institutions;
having the status of a scholarship holder for achievements in the field of science or study.

If there are no publications in scientific journals, then an abstract is written on the topic of the proposed scientific work.

After necessary documents delivered, the day is coming entrance exams. There are only three exams: specialty, philosophy of science and foreign language. It is necessary to obtain satisfactory grades, otherwise you will only have to retake the next year.

You also need to talk with your supervisor and get his approval for admission. Scientific director- this is a person who is appointed from among the scientists of the department with a doctorate degree or the title of professor. Together with the supervisor, the topic of the candidate's dissertation is selected, and a plan and procedure for the graduate student's research is drawn up.

For admission to budget training you need to pass a competition, which on average is 4-5 people per place.

For paid and part-time postgraduate studies you can apply no competition mostly. You just need to pass the exams.

What does graduate school provide?

Why does a person need a scientific degree? What does graduate school provide? Why go to graduate school? Why is graduate school needed?

Everyone may answer differently. From all the answers, the main points can be highlighted:

By studying in graduate school you can gain invaluable skills research work;
after completing graduate school and successfully defending a candidate's dissertation, a diploma of completion is issued and the academic degree of Candidate of Sciences is awarded;
diploma and academic degree give the right to teach in higher educational institutions as an assistant professor, to engage in research work in scientific institutions and organizations and is a source of successful career growth ;
An important point is that men who study full-time are given a deferment from the army.

Everyone decides for themselves whether to study in graduate school or not. But one thing becomes clear, the graduate student who defended his thesis rises to a higher professional level, and it's worth the time and effort invested.

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