You can do whatever you want and get a job even if you don't have a Russian degree. If you're wondering whether a degree earned at a Russian university would be accepted as a local equivalent, the answer is no. In the EU and the United States, a degree is used as a standard of measurement to provide employers an indication of a candidate's level of ability.
Only around five Russian institutions have been validated as providing degrees equal to those in the United States or the United Kingdom and do not require extra revaluation. In most situations, you will be required to complete a local verification procedure to demonstrate that your acquired knowledge meets the standard competency criteria. If you wish to work as an engineer in the United States, for example, you'll need to obtain Washington Accord verification or be lucky enough to find someone who will hire you without one.
What is the worth of a Russian graduate degree?
Where is it valued, and by whom? What institutions are they coming from?
You'll need to consider the field in which you get your degree, the degree itself, and where you want to use it, as well as the school from where you earned it. So, while a business degree from a mid-ranking Russian university may not be as respected in the United States as a business degree from a mid-ranking American university, several Russian schools are at the top of their fields, and there are universities with excellent departments in areas such as math, physics, and computer science—among others. Language and political science programs at MGIMO, for example, will be acknowledged.
And, indeed, if you want to study Russian literature, Chechen language (or any other minority language of the former Soviet nations), Russian law, or Russian history, Russia is the place to go.
There are a few things to keep in mind concerning Russian education. For one thing, some programs appear to be quite specialized, such as master's degree programs in radio telemetry and petroleum engineering. Siberian Federal University, for example, provides a Ph.D. in “Electro technology in Metallurgy.” In the United States, I'm pretty sure that would be classified as general metallurgy, and you'd choose to focus your thesis on electro technology issues if that was something that interested you. In the United States, the radio telemetry program would most likely be housed in an electrical engineering department. The risk here, in my opinion, is that some of these programs appear to have a very restricted emphasis. And even if they aren't, you'll want to ensure that their depth and scope correspond to how those same courses are taught anywhere else you wish to use the degree.
Siberian Federal University also offers a master's degree in “Techno sphere Security in the High North and Arctic Regions.” That seems a little specialized, but I'm sure there's a market for it, and I'd want to obtain it before I invest in my nuclear-powered icebreaker.
Also, be aware of how higher education works in Russia.
The masters (or at least the masters-level under whatever name), the Ph.D., and subsequently the Doktor Nauk (unlike in the United States)So, there is a degree higher than a Ph.D., which several European countries used to have but now have less (except Serbia which is even more confusing than Russia). Outside of Russia, the Ph.D. and Doktor Nauk will frequently have comparable reputation or worth (if obtained from a high-quality school/department).
I've had to explain what a Doktor Nauk is to academics in America who went to schools like Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. However, they had little experience with Russian higher education. Whatever the case may be, you won't be able to apply for the Doktor Nauk without at least a master's degree and a substantial amount of research. However, while looking at doctorate programs, you should be aware that there may be two levels or two sorts of programs, and this is why. Get university assignment help at the earliest to seek a professional intervention.
When considering any graduate school, I recommend the following:
—how does it stack up against the ones you KNOW are great? If you're searching for chemistry Ph.D. in Russia, have a look at Cal Berkeley's and see how it compares in terms of curriculum, lab facilities, and professors. What are these professors up to? Is it true that they are publishing? What have they made in their respective fields? So, how about the students? What are they doing, and where are they from?
—be cautious of master's-level programs taught in English for international students, particularly in broad subjects like “tourist management” or “digital intelligent control systems.” Okay, if they're being taught in English for someone other than Russians, but who? People from Central Asia, the Middle East, maybe India, and elsewhere are most likely. Look into the backgrounds of these students and what they could be doing with their degrees. Not all of these degrees are terrible, but some were designed to earn money by catering to international students who would not be able to get into or afford an American or European university. — Always, in some instances, institutions that are just somewhat well-regarded in general have outstanding departments in specific disciplines. For example, San Francisco State University in the United States has excellent English and comparative literature departments. Still, it is unlikely that you will pursue a graduate degree in chemistry there. UC Davis is a good institution in general, but it is often regarded as the greatest in the world for veterinary medicine. Some institutions establish particular excellent departments while others are slack.
