Doktor nauk
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Doktor nauk (Russian: доктор наук, literally transtated as "Doctor of Sciences") is a higher doctorate degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk (Russian: кандидат наук) which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D. degree. Both Doktor and Kandidat must meet nation-wide standards enforced by the Russian federal government.
Doktor Nauk is conferred by the federal government agency, the Higher Attestation Commission (Russian: Высшая аттестационная комиссия, abbreviated Russian: ВАК, VAK), on the solicitation by the Specialized Dissertation Committee where the doctoral candidate had defended his/her research work. 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/her Doktor Nauk. 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.
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 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 referred journals. The defense must be held at the session of a Specialized Dissertation Committee accredited by VAK. Prior to the defense, three referees holding Doktor Nauk degrees themselves, must submit their written motivated assessments of the thesis, and dozens of other reviewers must mail their conclusions made based on a thesis summary (a 40-45 page brochure).
In the ex-USSR, this degree is considered sufficient credential for tenured full professorship at any institution of higher learning. Unless an academic holds a Doktor Nauk, she/he can make it to a full professor only through 15 years or more of outstanding teaching service on the university level. At least one published and widely accepted textbook and the degree of Kandidat Nauk are required in the latter case, anyway. A Doktor Nauk degree holder can become a tenured full professor after just one year of teaching experience in a non-tenured faculty position.
The Doktor Nauk thus has no academic equivalent in North America or Britain, as it is a post-doctoral degree. On the average, only 10 per cent of Kandidats are eventually making it to the Doktor. Although some exceptionally talented researchers in Mathematics do earn Doktor Nauk in their late 20s, the average age of the scholars reaching Doktor in most disciplines is about 50; this implicitly indicates the amount of contribution that must be made.
