Changes had been made to the admission and educational process for the doctoral level of higher education in Azerbaijan.
In a statement to Modern.az, education expert Elmin Nuri stated that with these changes, the admission requirements for doctoral studies, especially the competition conditions and document submission rules for PhD programs, have been updated, and more flexible mechanisms have been implemented.
He noted that the main points of the 2023 changes are related to the English language certificate. Unlike previous years, the requirements for an international certificate (IELTS, TOEFL, etc.) in a foreign language (mainly English) for admission to the PhD program have been further clarified. Holders of appropriate certificates are exempt from the foreign language exam organized by the State Examination Center:
“Furthermore, the rules for electronic submission of documents and the organization of doctoral admission exams (philosophy and foreign language) have been improved.”
The expert believes that the admission rules still create difficulties for many candidates today:
“As we know, admission is in 3 stages. Foreign language, philosophy, and specialization exams are given consecutively. Only those who pass the previous stage are admitted to the next exam. Complaints are mostly made about the first exam – the foreign language exam.”
Elmin Nuri stated that if doctoral studies are the highest level of higher education, then the foreign language proficiency requirement should also be high:
“The State Examination Center coordinates admission questions with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education. However, questions must be formulated on the condition that it is possible to provide an answer based on a real, current scenario.
Last year, we conducted a survey. Candidates said that they were required to write an essay about a device for admission, and it would have been difficult to write something about that device even in Azerbaijani.”
According to data from the State Statistical Committee, 758 people were admitted to the PhD program in 2024. Admission to the Doctor of Sciences program was 106 people, which is 5 fewer than in 2023.
The Committee has not yet published its report for 2025.
