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Thespecialist degree is anacademic degree conferred by acollege oruniversity. The degree is formatted differently worldwide and may be either a five-year program or a doctoral level graduate program that occurs after a master's degree but before a doctoral degree. In the post-Soviet system, the degree is between a bachelor's and a master's degree.
The Diploma of Specialist (Russian:дипло́м специали́ста,romanized: diplóm spetsialísta) is a five-year higher-educationdiploma that was the only first higher-education diploma in theformer Soviet Union (the Candidate of Sciences was the first academic level degree whilethe Doctor of Sciences was the highest academic credential) and continues to be offered throughout the USSR successor states in parallel with the newbachelor's degree.[1] In terms of the number of instructional hours it is typically, 35 to 42 classroom hours per week, 34 weeks of instruction plus 6 weeks of exams per academic year. Commonly referred to simply as "Diploma" (Russian:дипло́м,romanized: diplóm), the Soviet/Russian-style Diploma of Specialist is believed to have originated in theengineering education in theRussian Empire. According tothe Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the specialist degree calledqualification (degree) of "specialist" (Russian:квалификация (степень) "специалист",romanized: kvalifakatsiya (stepen') "spetsialist").[2]
In the early 1990s thebakalavr (бакалавр), bachelor's degree) andmagistr (магистр, master's degree) were introduced in all countries of theCommonwealth of Independent States exceptTurkmenistan andTajikistan. However, Diploma of Specialist (five years) is still conferred inBelarus,Russia andTajikistan. The Diploma of Specialist was discontinued in the following countries:Kazakhstan (2004),[3]Ukraine (2017),[4]Georgia,Azerbaijan,Uzbekistan, andMoldova.
Under the Federal Law on Education ofRussia, the Diploma of Specialist requires a minimum of five years of study.[2]
Below are some examples of Diploma of Specialist programs in the former USSR and Russia:[1]
In the United States, the Specialist's degree is hierarchically above the master's degree and below the Doctorate. It was invented by colleges and schools of education as an alternative to obtaining a doctorate, and focuses on subjects pertinent toK-12 education - such as leadership and counseling, and educational psychology.
Degrees commonly available include:
The American Specialist degree typically requires 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours beyond the master's degree (60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours beyond the Baccalaureate) and can be completed in one to three academic years of continuous full-time or part-time enrolment. Depending on the particular program,practica and / orinternship and / or practical field work may be required. Students admitted directly from the baccalaureate may earn aMaster's degree in progression toward the Specialist's degree; or the institution may accept applications only from students who already hold a master's degree.
The coursework for an Ed.S. or Sp.A. in Education program is approximately the same workload as a second Master's in terms of credits. But whereas coursework for the initial master's degree is from the introductory and lower intermediate levels of graduate study (e.g. Levels 500 and 600 at institutions that use 100 - 900 level course numbering systems), work for the Specialist's degree will be in the intermediate and upper levels (e.g. 600, 700 and 800 level courses). According to the U.S. Department of Education's International Affairs Office's leaflet, entitled, "Structure of the U.S. Education System: Intermediate Graduate Qualifications," (Feb 2008), the Ed.S., as a degree, is equivalent to the D.Min. or Psy.D. / D.Psy. This reflects the degree's origin as an alternate to professional doctorates.
Ed.S. programs lead toprofessional degrees in the application of advanced educational theory but do not typically place an emphasis on conducting original research such as inEd.D. / D.Ed. orPh.D. programs.
School Psychology andCurriculum and Instruction are two of the most common areas where a specialist degree is found. In the field ofschool psychology, the degree is typically an Ed.S. or SSP. Despite being virtually identical in scope and function, the Ed.S. and SSP both exist within the field of school psychology because training programs can be offered within the departments of psychology or education. They simply designate the type of program from which the degree originated. As another alternative, some programs within psychology departments have begun offering a Psy.S. degree instead of an SSP.
In many fields outside of education, thepostgraduate certificate fills the same need as a Specialist degree - but differs in being an academiccertificate rather than an academicdegree. Postgraduate or graduate certificates typically require one-third to one-half the coursework of a master's degree and an offered in a specific topical area, such as a Certificate in Historic Preservation.
Certain graduate programs arede facto specialist degrees. In the field of Engineering, theEngineer's degree is a post-Master's degree, offered at a modest number of US universities (but including some prestigious ones such asStanford andCaltech), which is relatively analogous to the Specialist degree.
In French higher education, theMastère Spécialisé is a degree designed essentially as a post-Master's degree, offered as a full-time, one-year program (although there are "Executive" versions of this degree, designed for working professionals, which take a little longer to complete). As such, this French degree also forms a close analogy to its US counterpart, although theMastère Spécialisé is offered in a variety of fields such as business, informatics, and aeronautics.
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