What does the Ph.D.

"Candidate of Science" - a scientific degree. It exists in Russia and the CIS countries since the time of the Soviet Union - since 1934. This is an intermediate step on the scientific path from master to doctor of science and is awarded to the applicant, who:

• Has higher education;
• Passed all candidate examinations;
• Carried out a series of studies on his topic;
• Presented and proved the novelty and practical value of scientific ideas;
• Passed the procedure for defending the dissertation in accordance with the requirements established by law.

The Russian Ph.D. degree is an analogue of the Western PhD (read as pi-ech-di). PhD - Doctor of Philosophy. However, in fact, it is not identical with the degree of Doctor of Science in Russia. The latter implies an even higher level of results of scientific activity.

The degree of "candidate of science" is differentiated depending on the specialty on which the applicant can defend his work. In Russia, there are 23 branches of awarding such titles. For example: candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, candidate of philological sciences. But there are a lot of specialties. You can be a candidate of legal, veterinary, biological, military, geological, mineralogical, geographical, historical, pedagogical, political, medical, psychological, sociological, technical, pharmaceutical, philosophical, agricultural, chemical, economic sciences. In addition, there is such a title as a candidate of architecture, art history, culturology.

The degree of "candidate of philosophical sciences" should not be confused with the above-mentioned Western interpretation - the Ph.D.

Going along the scientific path, the applicant must understand the purpose for which he is ready to go through many difficult stages to obtain the degree of "candidate of science". It should be understood that this title is not a guarantor of great material wealth in the future. At least, the return will not be quick. At first it is an increase of about 10-15% of the salary. It is relevant and really meaningful with further scientific work, work in the university, participation in the competition for academic titles of the associate professor or professor, work at the department.

Writing a dissertation is a complex, laborious, multi-stage process. First of all, it is necessary to create a new, original intellectual product - the result of scientific activity. Then we need to organize the protection process. It usually involves many people: the scientific adviser, opponents, experts, reviewers, editors, consultants, etc. It is important to note that by making a decision to engage in science, you need to be ready to some extent with material investments. It is by no means a question of buying and not fulfilling the specific stages of work.

However, it is often necessary to carry out real large-scale research, which would be of real value and of practical importance, requiring certain resources. For example, carrying out experiments, experiments, sociological research by its very methodology is costly.

It's not a secret for anyone that the organizational aspects related to the measures of the defense itself, especially in the final period, may also require some financial investments. However, everything here is very individual, depending on the established traditions of the university, council, circumstances.