Doctor of science

Doctor of Science (DSc)

Course overview

The Doctor of Science (DSc) is of a higher standing than either a masters degree (such as the Master of Science(MSc)) or the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and is awarded for work that makes an original, substantial and distinguished contribution to knowledge in a field with which the applicant is concerned. Work submitted for the degree normally comprises publications that have appeared in the forms of books or papers in scholarly journals that are then presented in the form of a thesis. 

The degree will give the applicant authoritative standing in that field and the right to general recognition of this standing by scholars in the field.

Entry requirements

Admission to the program:

• have held a PhD degree in a relevant field before applying for admission to the degree

• be qualified researcher or have equivalent professional experience to at least 3 - 5 years after the PhD degree completion in the relevant field

• the candidate must have supervised at least one PhD candidate to successful completion

• have had a close research association with Higher Education Institutes, Research Institutes for not less than five years 

• The degree shall be awarded for published original contributions of special excellence in some branch of science

Application process

The application process comprises two main stages.

Stage A: Submission of application for initial assessment

The application form, the application fee, and other documents of the work are to be submitted to the Mongolian Academy of Sciences for initial assessment.

A candidate must apply for admission to the degree by submitting the following in the first instance:

• a curriculum vitae;

• an abstract and/or brief description of the work including a list of the published original contributions upon which the application is based; and

• a statutory declaration identifying the submitted work as original and stating that it has not previously been accepted for another academic organization’s qualification. Where co-authored work is submitted, those parts which are the candidate's own should be identified, 

• Every candidate shall submit three soft-bound copies of the work upon which the application is based together with the required entry fee.

• Additional work, published or unpublished, may be submitted in support of the application.

Stage B: Examination following successful initial assessment

Following a successful initial assessment, in which the application is approved, the candidate is issued with a fees statement. 

The Mongolian Academy of Sciences determines whether or not the degree will be awarded following receipt of the document's' reports. In the case of a successful outcome, the applicant will then be able to graduate through the usual process.

Submission of work for documents

General requirements

The work may comprise book chapters, review articles, and refereed scientific papers. It is important to note that the work must 'make an original, substantial and distinguished contribution to knowledge in the field concerned; and give the applicant authoritative standing in that field and the right to general recognition of this standing by scholars in the field'.

Conjointly authored work

Work submitted for the degree may have been written conjointly with another author or authors, as long as the conjoint work is clearly indicated and that there is 'satisfactory evidence to show that the applicant was responsible for a major portion of the work'.

Publication date

Publications must have been published at least one calendar year prior to the date of submission. For example, if the DSc thesis is submitted on 1 September 2009, the publications contained therein would need to have been 'published' at least one year before this date, that is, 31 August 2008. 

The definition of 'publish' is normally taken to be the date when the work in question was issued. For example, a paper may be submitted on 1 January 2009 but not appear in press until 15 April 2009. This last date would be the date that the work was 'published'. The interval of a year is felt to be a sufficient period of time for the research community to consider the publications and validate / question the findings.

Further information

Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Research and Research Training Manager, T.Altansuvd