Unit 1. Modern system of higher education in Russia

Диаграмма междисциплинарного пособия по английскому языку

В формируемое таким образом единое поле профессиональных знаний и умений магистрантов входят указанные когнитивные компоненты, развивающиеся на основе иностранного языка. Отметим также, что если научно-технический, междисциплинарный и межкультурный компоненты обеспечивают необходимое содержательное варьирование, то информационный или компьютерный компонент в большей степени отвечает за процессуальный аспект пособия. Иностранный язык используется как средство делового, профессионального и межличностного общения, что вносит весомый вклад в развитие единого поля профессиональных знаний и умений магистрантов технического профиля. Предлагаются также примерные тексты устных тем для аспирантского экзамена (см. часть 4).

Пособие рассчитано на два семестра учебного времени и снабжено диском для аудирования аутентичных материалов. Упражнения со знаком «*» содержат ключи для самоконтроля, представленные в приложении (см. приложение 14). Книга для преподавателей дополняет все виды поурочной деятельности магистрантов, в ней даны скрипты предлагающихся для аудирования материалов, а также ключи к большинству упражнений и тестам.


Part 1. Discussing scientific issues

Unit 1. Modern system of higher education in Russia

Warm-up

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Master of Arts (MA) Bachelor of science (BSc) Master of science (MSc) Undergraduate student Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Thesis Syllabus (plural: -i) Unified national test Two-tier degree structure Quality assessment Faculty members Applicant Dean Head of department Faculty Faculty (Am) Faculty office Department (full-time / part time / correspondence) First-year student Get in to university Graduate from a university State Attestation Commission (SAC)   Бакалавр гуманитарных наук Магистр гуманитарных наук Бакалавр естественных наук Магистр естественных наук Студент младших курсов Кандидат наук Диссертация Программа дисциплины ЕГЭ Двухступенчатая модель высшего образования Оценка качества Преподавательский состав Абитуриент Декан Заведующий кафедрой Факультет Профессорско-преподавательский состав Деканат Отделение (дневное / вечернее / заочное) Студент первого курса Поступать в университет Окончить университет Государственная экзаменационная комиссия (ГЭК)
  1. What is the role of education nowadays?
  2. Are you satisfied with what and how you have been taught at Polytechnical University?
  3. Have you had a chance to compare Russian system of higher education with the system of higher education abroad? What are strengths and weaknesses of our system in your opinion?
  4. What is the aim of higher education reforms, which are under way in Russia at the moment?
  5. What do you know about Bologna process? Can you describe this system?
  6. What are the differences between traditional and new educational systems?

 

System of education in Russia

Russians have always shown a great concern for education. The right to education is stated in the constitution of the Russia Federation.

Basic general education lasts for nine years. Graduates of this level may continue their education at senior high school to receive secondary general education. They may also enter an initial vocational school or non-university level higher education institutions. Initial vocational schools may offer one-and-a-half to two years' purely professional education joint professional and secondary general education for three to four years and skilled workers' training at different levels. Non-university level higher education institutions also offer three- to four-year professional and secondary general education and two-year vocational training. Secondary general education on the basis of basic general education continues for two years and ends when students are 17-18. Graduates from a secondary general school may apply for entrance to a higher education institution. Secondary education leads to the award of the Certificate of Secondary Complete General Education.

At present, there are some five hundred Cadet schools, military boarding schools, vocational schools and gymnasiums and a great number of Cadet classes in Russia.

Higher education is provided by public and non-public (non-State) accredited higher education institutions. Since 1992, Russian higher education has had a multi-level structure. The term "multi-level" indicates that degrees now maybe obtained on three levels instead of an only one level, as in the former Soviet Union. Nowadays, higher education institutions may confer the following degrees and diplomas:

Level 1 comprises the first two years of studies and is concentrated on compulsory fundamental courses in the given speciality. After this period, students may either continue their studies or, if they do not want to do so, leave the institution with an Intermediate Diploma. The Diploma gives its holder the right to exercise a professional activity in accordance with the level of education it represents. The Diploma supplement lists the results of normal examinations taken during the first two years of study.

Level 2 is a continuation of studies for the Bachelor degree during at least another two years; it leads to the four-year Bachelor degree. The function of the Bachelor degree is to provide a more academically rather than professionally oriented education. Each Bachelor programme contains a defined portion of fundamental education with courses taken from the humanities, the social sciences and economics, and natural sciences. Following a successful attestation, a State Diploma is issued attesting conferral of the Bachelor degree.
The supplement to the Diploma includes disciplines taught, number of hours, the grades, the practical training, the results of final state examinations.

Level 3 represents two options after the second levelmaster and specialist. The traditional qualification of Specialist Diploma has two functions: it opens access to professional practice (e.g. to engineers, teachers, etc.), and it is also the traditional prerequisite for admission to doctoral studies. The qualification of Diploma Specialist is conferred after studies lasting five to six years. State final attestation for a Specialist Diploma covers the defence of a project or a thesis and State final examinations.

Graduates of higher education institutions with a bent for research work may pursue their education as postgraduates attending educational programmes of postgraduate professional education. The hierarchy of advanced degrees in Russia traditionally includes two-stage system of doctoral degrees: the Candidate of Science (Ph.D. degree) and the Doctor of Science (D. Sc.degree).

Both university level higher education institutions and research institutions have the right to set up doctoral study programs. Two national bodies, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Russian Academy of Sciences are responsible for the general supervision of doctoral studies in higher education institutions and research institutions, respectively. Educational programs of postgraduate professional education can be implemented in those educational and research establishments which dispose high-quality academic staff, sufficient financial provision and research capacities.

The main route leading to the Ph.d. degree is the postgraduate study which is aimed at imparting in-depth theoretical, special and social education and of training scientific and teaching staff through the mastery of means and methods of scientific study so that they may be able to carry out independent research and educational work with great skill. The general prerequisites for admission to postgraduate study are completion of a full course of study at a university level higher education institution and award of the Specialist Diploma or of the Master degree, proof of creative thinking in practical work or study, and an age limit of up to 35 years for full-time and up to 45 years for part-time doctoral students.

In order to be awarded the Ph.D. degree, a student must complete, present and defend a dissertation (thesis). Dissertation topics should generally correspond to the scientific areas of the basic projects undertaken by the awarding institutions and be approved by its Academic Council for each doctoral student. A Doctor of Science or a professor specializing in the subject area is appointed as a supervisor for each Ph. D. student as soon as he or she joins a postgraduate department.

Today the new edition of the federal state educational standard of high professional education in planning (the third generation of educational standards) is still at the stage of development and implementation in the educational process. The third generation of the Federal State Educational Standard for Higher Professional Education raises the questions of the didactical component of learning disciplines, in particular, document studies, in the related state educational standards, as well as calls for cooperation and integration of the universities methodological departments. These activities are founded institutionally through the operation of the federal agencies of the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation. These agencies formulate competence requirements to professional activities of graduates (namely, document managers, librarians, publishers, booksellers, archivists). The work on this document has raised the question about systematization of the competences, which should be possessed by the graduates of higher education.

http://russian-crafts.com/customs/education.html

http://www.voyagesphotosmanu.com/russian_education.html

http://www.universitieseducation.com/about/

http://izvestija.kgasu.ru/files/1_2009/Krasheninnikov_59_65.pdf

http://www.gpntb.ru/win/inter-events/crimea2008/disk/185.pdf

http://www.studyrussian.com/MGU/russian-education-system.html

1) Complete these sentences with the key vocabulary words in the form required

Postgraduate; quality assessment; disciplines; curriculum; prerequisite; education services; to enroll; faculty members (2); confer; tertiary education; curricular (2); enrolment; to re-enrol; undergraduates

1. Some knowledge of the French language is a ………….. for employment there.

2. It is important to develop outcome measures as tools for ………….. .

3. The Young Engineers Clubs aim to encourage a greater number of Scotland's more able youngsters to continue with subjects which give them the option of …………… in science or engineering.

4. All students are required ………….. initially at the beginning of their course of study at the University, and …………… annually, at the beginning of each academic year.

5. At the time of …………… you will also be given a timetable of lectures and practicals, and details of Faculty and campus induction programmes, which you are expected to attend.

6. Because the national ............... cannot be properly taught without new textbooks, we will earmark funds for class and library books.

7. …………… considerations are therefore at the centre of the decision-making process.

8. Such testing is only indirectly related to providing a measure of particular competencies or …………… objectives and not at all to providing a description of them.

9. The Centre was established in 1984 to support ………….. in developing research projects and to house large-scale multi-disciplinary research projects.

10. Some …………… have taken early retirement and left, so a lot of subjects have lost some of their most able people.

11. The Oxford …………… student has hit on a novel way of studying moths on his forthcoming trip to Sumatra.

12. The university has already ………….. honorary degrees on several prime ministers.

13. There are many opportunities for students from all ………….. to enhance and make use of their computing skills while they are ………….. .

14. ………….. similarly went through a phase of detailed examination of their weaknesses and future potential.