State Committee on Affairs with Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan regulates the educational process in Doctoral studies at the Azerbaijan Institute of Theology (AIT) under its jurisdiction, in accordance with the Laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Education” and “On Science”, “Rules for the Establishment of Doctoral Studies and Admission to Doctoral Studies” approved by the Resolution No. 129 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 1, 2010, “Regulations on the Procedure for Awarding Scientific Degrees” approved by the Decree No. 728 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 11, 2019, relevant decisions of the Higher Attestation Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and internal regulations of the AI.
Doctoral studies are carried out in the following specialties in the field of “Philosophy” at the AII:
· 7213.01 – “Religious Studies”
· 7214.01 – “History and Philosophy of Religion”
Doctoral studies are carried out under the Doctor of Philosophy program. The full-time (with separation from production) period of study in the Doctor of Philosophy program is 3 years, and part-time (without separation from production) is 4 years. In exceptional cases, the period of study may be extended for all forms of education.
Citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan who have completed a master's degree of higher education (defended a master's thesis) or whose education is considered equivalent to it are admitted to the doctoral program on a competitive basis.
Documents for doctoral studies are accepted electronically through the "Centralized Education Information System" (TMIS). Persons wishing to submit documents for doctoral studies should visit the website of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan (https://portal.edu.az/), select the "Registration of students in higher and secondary specialized educational institutions" service there, and register in accordance with the instructions.
The following documents are submitted for admission to doctoral studies:
- application (in the name of the head of the enterprise or organization where the doctoral studies are conducted);
- Personal registration form of personnel
- CV;
- 2 photos (3x4 cm in size);
- Reference letter from the place of work;
- for those with work experience, an extract from the "Labor and Employment" subsystem of the Centralized electronic information system of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan on labor contracts, in cases specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as an extract from the labor book in relation to labor contracts terminated before July 1, 2014;
- a list of published scientific works or an abstract on the chosen specialty;
- a duly certified copy of the diploma of graduation from a higher educational institution (certificate of recognition of educational documents for citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan who have studied abroad);
- a copy of an identity document.
You can familiarize yourself with the most frequently asked questions and answers regarding the admission of documents to the doctoral program [HERE].
A corresponding announcement is made in the media and on the official website of the AII about the acceptance of documents.
Admission to the doctoral program is held every year in June (foreign language exam) and September (exams in philosophy and specialty).
The qualification suitability of persons wishing to be admitted to the doctoral program is determined by the admission committee established under the chairmanship of the AII rector. The intended scientific supervisor conducts an interview with the person wishing to be admitted to the doctoral program and submits a written decision on consent or refusal to implement the supervision to the admission committee. In case of refusal, another scientific supervisor is prop osed. (The opinion of the scientific supervisor is required in the document acceptance process.)
The admission committee makes a decision on admission to the exams based on the opinion of the intended scientific supervisor and other submitted documents.
Those who wish to be admitted to the doctoral program take entrance exams in a foreign language (except for Russian, the choice must be free or in accordance with the specialty), philosophy, and a specialized subject in the scope of the curriculum valid for the master's level of higher education. Those who do not take the foreign language exam are not allowed to take the philosophy exam, and those who do not take the philosophy exam are not allowed to take the specialty exam.
The foreign language exam is held by the State Examination Center (SEC) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The content, time, procedure for evaluating the exam results, and the passing score of the foreign language exam are determined by the SEC in agreement with ANAS and the Ministry.
Those who score a passing score in the foreign language exam are allowed to take the philosophy exam.
Those who have a valid international language certificate (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English Qualifications, TestDaF, DELF, DALF, STANAG) in a foreign language are exempted from the entrance exam in a foreign language. The equivalence of the exam results of the international language certificate to the passing score is determined by the SEC in agreement with ANAS and the Ministry.
The philosophy exam is held in higher education institutions, scientific institutions, and organizations determined by the relevant bodies to which the higher education institutions, scientific institutions, and organizations that carry out admission to doctoral studies are subordinate. The result of the exam is evaluated as “acceptable” or “unacceptable”.
In order to conduct the entrance exam in the specialty subject, examination commissions are established in higher education institutions, scientific institutions and organizations for relevant subjects.
The entrance exam in the specialty subject is carried out by a commission established by the head of the higher education institution, scientific institution and organization where the doctoral program operates, and only those who have received an “acceptable” in the philosophy subject are admitted to the exam.
In case of equal scores, preference is given to those who have received a higher grade in the specialty subject and have published scientific works in the competition.
Finally, the admission commission established at the AII makes an appropriate decision based on the results of the exams.