Doctor of Sciences

Doktor nauk (Russian and Ukrainian: до́ктор нау́к, literally translated as "Doctor of Sciences") is a higher doctoral degree which may be earned after the Candidate of Sciences (the latter is informally regarded in Russia and many other post-Soviet states as equivalent to PhD obtained in countries in which PhD is not the highest academic degree).

The "Doktor Nauk" degree was introduced in Russia in 1819 and abolished in 1917. Later it was revived in the USSR on January 13, 1934, by a decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. By the same decision, a lower degree, "Candidate of Sciences" (Kandidat Nauk), roughly the Russian equivalent to the research doctorate in other countries, was first introduced. This system was generally adopted by the USSR/Russia and many post-Soviet states.

Doktor nauk degrees are conferred by a national government agency called the Higher Attestation Commission (Vysshaya Attestatsionnaya Komissiya, VAK) on the solicitation by the specialized dissertation committee before which the candidate has defended her or his dissertation. Such committees are created in academic institutions with established research record and are accredited by VAK. The total number of committee members is typically about 20, all holding the Doktor Nauk 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 the consideration. The candidate must conduct independent research. Therefore, no academic supervisor is required; moreover, typically the candidate is an established scholar him/herself, supervising a few Ph.D. students while working towards his or her Doktor Nauk dissertation. However, it is normal practice when an experienced consultant is appointed to help the scholar with identifying the research problem and finding the approach to solving it; yet this is not technically regarded a supervision.

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