Valery Falkov, head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, proposed replacing undergraduate and specialist programs with four to six years of basic higher education. This was reported on the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.
At the meeting of the Union of Russian Rectors at Moscow State University named after MV Lomonosov, the minister suggested to move away from the opposition of undergraduate and specialist degrees. Instead, it proposes to take the best of the two types of education and create basic (core) higher education programs with flexible study conditions and schedules.
“Clearly, education must strike a balance between basic and applied knowledge areas in the face of changing economic and labor market challenges. At the same time, taking into account the instructions of the President of Russia, the same program can be implemented at different times, in accordance with the goals and needs of employers. Falkov noted that it is necessary to differentiate the educational requirements of specialists with higher education, depending on the nature of their future professional activity.
The Minister also added that while establishing basic (basic) higher education programs, the principle of interdisciplinarity should be preserved and the practical training of personnel should be strengthened. After mastering the first stage of higher education, one can move on to a more in-depth study of the subject within the framework of specialized master’s programs (one-two years), residency, assistantship-internship and postgraduate studies.