A dissertation requires maximum attention and concentration from postgraduate and doctoral students, because the quality of their writing and defence determines their future career. Today, we will talk about the timeframe for preparing a dissertation and when to start working on it.
Postgraduate studies
The duration of postgraduate studies is four years. For people who work at a university and are engaged in scientific, scientific and technical or scientific and pedagogical activities at their main place of work, postgraduate studies can last up to five years without a break in employment or during a sabbatical.
Scientific publications for postgraduate students
Preparing and publishing scientific articles is one of the key requirements for postgraduate students. Most questions arise with regard to articles published in category B professional scientific journals of Ukraine. Such articles must be unique, relevant and relevant to the topic of the dissertation. Articles published in journals indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases are distinguished separately, where the requirements are much higher and the preparation of one publication can take several months.
To successfully defend a dissertation, scientific results must be presented in at least three scientific publications, including:
- articles in professional scientific journals of Ukraine;
- articles in journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science;
- one patent for an invention that has passed the qualification examination;
- individual monographs or chapters in collective monographs.
Postgraduate students conduct their research in accordance with an individual research plan, which contains the content, scope and timing of research tasks, and also provides for the deadline for defending the dissertation during the standard period of postgraduate study at the university.
Dissertation defence
It is important to note that a dissertation can be defended both before the end of the postgraduate study period (after completion of the individual plan) and after its completion. The legislation stipulates that the defence is allowed no later than two years after graduation. If more than 6 months have passed since graduation, the postgraduate student pays for the defence procedure on their own. In other words, the thesis defence is free of charge only if it is held no later than 6 months after graduation.
If two years have passed since the end of postgraduate studies, you need to re-enter postgraduate studies to defend your dissertation.
The date, time and place of the public defence of the thesis are determined by a one-time specialised council.
Doctoral studies
The standard period of doctoral studies is two years. In case of early defence of the dissertation, the doctoral student is expelled from the doctoral programme from the moment the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on approval of the decision of the specialised academic council to confer the degree of Doctor of Sciences and issue the relevant diploma comes into force. In accordance with the law, a doctoral student also receives a one-time payment in the amount of the remaining scholarship, which was provided for in the institution's budget for the relevant year of training.
Scientific publications for doctoral students
The main scientific results of a doctoral dissertation must be presented in scientific publications. Such publications include:
- articles in scientific periodicals included in the list of professional publications of Ukraine;
- articles in scientific periodicals of other countries in the field of the dissertation;
- monographs or chapters in collective monographs.
It is also mandatory to have publications on the topic of the dissertation in journals indexed in Web of Science or Scopus. The only exceptions are dissertations containing information classified as a state secret.
Why is it important to prepare for your dissertation defence in advance?
- Timely publication of scientific articles in the Scopus and Web of Science databases and in peer-reviewed scientific periodicals.
- Strengthening the report by participating in scientific events.
- Timely preparation of the dissertation.
- Deep understanding of the material.
- Sufficient time to finalise the work.
- Practising the presentation.
- Preparation of the necessary documents.
- Analysis of possible questions from the commission and opponents.
- Moral readiness for the presentation.
You should not postpone the start of work on your dissertation; its preparation should begin as early as possible. This is important because a dissertation is a large-scale study that requires considerable time. In addition, the results obtained must be confirmed through the publication of scientific articles, which also takes a lot of time, especially in databases such as Scopus and Web of Science.
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