In Azerbaijan, a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science degree can only be obtained by meeting the requirements set by the Higher Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (HAC). Beyond the substance of the research itself, the HAC sets specific requirements for the length of the dissertation and for the number of publications a candidate must prepare before the defence.
What requirements does the HAC set for a dissertation?
The procedure for awarding academic degrees is governed by the “Regulation on the procedure for awarding academic degrees”, approved by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. A Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded after a defence before a dissertation council established by the HAC, provided the candidate holds a master's degree and has completed doctoral studies. A Doctor of Science degree is only available to those who already hold a Doctor of Philosophy degree. The dissertation and its autoreferat (a summary of the study) are submitted in Azerbaijani or Russian.
The required length is 200,000-240,000 characters for a Doctor of Philosophy dissertation and 400,000-440,000 characters for a Doctor of Science dissertation, excluding tables, figures, appendices and the list of references; the length may be increased by up to 20% for the humanities, and reduced by up to 20% for the exact and natural sciences.
Dissertation structure and formatting rules
Chapters are numbered using Roman numerals, and sections are formatted according to the template set by the HAC.
A typical dissertation structure includes:
- title page
- table of contents
- an introduction setting out the relevance, aims and objectives of the research
- the main body, divided into chapters
- a conclusion presenting the findings
- a list of references
- appendices, where necessary
Separate requirements on length apply to the autoreferat, which introduces the research community to the results of the study ahead of the defence.
Number of publications required to defend a dissertation
The number of required publications depends on the degree sought and the field of study:
- A candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree must publish at least five articles on the dissertation topic, two of which without co-authors.
- At least one of these articles (humanities and social sciences) or two (exact and natural sciences) must appear in journals included in international abstracting and indexing systems.
- A candidate for the Doctor of Science degree must publish at least fifteen articles in the humanities or ten in the exact and natural sciences, of which at least five must be without co-authors.
- Candidates must also present at academic events – at least three papers for a Doctor of Philosophy and at least five for a Doctor of Science.
A patent related to the dissertation topic may be counted as equivalent to one or two publications, depending on the number of co-authors.
What most often delays a dissertation defence?
The most common reason for a delayed defence is a shortfall in the number or level of publications required, in particular the absence of articles in journals from international abstracting databases. Formatting issues also occur, such as exceeding or falling short of the permitted length, or an autoreferat that does not match the required template.
Particular attention is paid to the use of other authors' material without proper attribution – where this is identified, the HAC takes action against the academic supervisor and the official opponents who supported the work.
Preparing a dissertation in Azerbaijan is a sequential process in which the content of the research, the formatting of the work and the candidate's publication record are all assessed to an equal degree. Planning publications well in advance and following HAC requirements closely improve the chances of a timely defence.
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