Postgraduate Study: Is It Worth Going the Way of Science?

Autumn is the beginning of the academic year and it is time for reflection, among which the question may also appear: should I do a postgraduate program? Many people talk about it, some act and go back to College. But few people know exactly why they need it. I would like to start with a question: what is a postgraduate course? What is the essential difference between getting a higher education and getting a master’s and bachelor’s degree?

So, postgraduate study is a form of education whose task is to train scientific personnel for further research work, teaching, to develop the ability to understand the achievements of science and use them in their research. That is, a graduate student is a researcher, and therefore, all his activities from the beginning to the end should be aimed at the development of science and the transfer of knowledge. You can complete the training program both in research centers and in universities. The main differences can be summarized in the following table. If you are still doing your bachelor’s or master’s, you may be interested in Essayassistant.org.

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Doctor of Science

  • Postgraduate education.
  • It is possible to study a program completely different from your Bachelor’s degree.
  • It is possible to teach at universities, work in research institutes, get the academic title of candidate of Sciences.

Master/ Bachelor

Higher education.

In-depth study of subjects within the chosen specialization.

It is possible to teach in secondary educational institutions (Master’s degree). 

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Forms of study under the postgraduate program

As with obtaining higher education, you can study at a postgraduate school full-time and part-time, and as an applicant.

Full-time education is allowed for people not older than 35 years and the duration will be 3 years.

The correspondence form of education is allowed for people not older than 40 years, it lasts no more than 4 years.

Anyone is allowed to apply, training on this form will take about 5 years.
In general, you can get acquainted with the procedure for admission to postgraduate studies by studying the relevant law “On Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education”. It is worth noting that any person can enter if he has a diploma of higher professional education or has completed a master’s degree. A bachelor should first master the master’s program and then apply for postgraduate studies.

It is not necessary to enroll immediately after graduation. Sometimes those who are focused on scientific work in a certain field can work in their specialty for 2 years and then, having accumulated a small number of practical skills and knowledge, take a swing at acquiring scientific degrees.

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Admission procedure

To do this, you need to submit documents (the list can be obtained from the university’s admissions committee), having previously placed them in a hardcover folder. All this wealth should be attributed to the postgraduate department of your chosen educational institution and wait for a positive decision from the commission for the right to take entrance exams. The submission of documents for postgraduate studies usually takes place with a general set of applicants in the second half of June and continues until the end of July.

Having the approval from the commission, you can take exams:

The required discipline.

A foreign language.

Philosophy (or philosophy and the history of sciences).

As with the admission of applicants, recruitment to postgraduate studies is carried out on budget places and paid ones. Accordingly, if you want to get into the first list, you need to pass the exams with high grades, otherwise, you will not pass the competition.

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Training procedure and benefits

The entire postgraduate training program will be based on three pillars: work on a dissertation, its presentation, and scientific research. It includes the study of disciplines, academic work with students, passing exams, working on research on a dissertation. Everything will begin with the preparation of an individual plan and the approval of the topic of the dissertation, then the delivery of the candidate’s minimum and according to the list indicated above. All this is intertwined with writing scientific articles and participating in conferences. If we take into account that part-time graduate students and applicants often combine work and study, then such an active learning process requires a lot of time and effort. You can spare some time for research activities by ordering the writing from professional authors. As a student, I used to write my research paper with the help of experienced writers.

Young people, when studying at a postgraduate school on a full-time basis, receive a deferral from the army for three years. Accordingly, during this time they must study, write a paper and defend it with a Ph.D. degree. After all this, he will not be taken into the army, at least in peacetime. If it did not work out for the given three years to write a paper and defend it, then in certain cases a delay is given for another year to finish studying with a diploma.

A graduate student may be given academic leave for two reasons: family circumstances or illness. The terms of each case are different and are considered in the relevant legislative acts. Also, depending on the form of study, postgraduate students are provided with additional holidays, weekends, etc. Nonresidents are required to provide a hostel and graduate students-state employees with a monthly scholarship.

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Reasons for choosing the path of science

This is a very brief picture of the life of a graduate student, his activities, and prospects. Of course, everyone who decides to follow this path will draw their unique canvas, because each “artist” has different tools and intentions. Having read the opinions of today’s graduate students and those who are thinking of becoming them, we can identify the main reasons for choosing the path of science:

The desire for scientific research in a particular field, the presence of their developments, the desire to teach, regardless of the material component.

Get a degree for future benefits and privileges (work abroad, salary increase, increased pension, etc.).

Extend student life and communication with interesting literate people, while the research process itself, writing a paper may not be interesting.

In any case, representatives of each of the four paths will study at the postgraduate school. What they will come to in the end is unknown. We only know that real connoisseurs and active scientists will be needed today, tomorrow, and yesterday, as well as excellent teachers who can convey innovative developments to students, teach them to adapt to the scientific environment, and not be afraid to step forward firmly.