Supreme Certifying Commission

a state body attached to the Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education of the USSR; the commission confirms upon petition of councils of institutions of higher education and scientific institutions the learned degree of doctor of sciences and the academic titles of professor, assistant professor (dot-sent), and senior research associate and also exercises control over the work of learned academic councils in awarding the academic degree of candidate of sciences. It was founded in 1932 and began its work in 1934.

The Supreme Certifying Commission also exercises general control over the work of the councils in certifying scholarly and teaching cadres and grants councils the right to accept doctoral and candidate dissertations for defense when these councils did not earlier have this right. It also confirms the personnel composition of the councils, enumerates the specializations in which dissertations may be accepted for defense, and performs other functions. (Councils of those institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the academies of sciences of Union republics, and their branch academies that have received from the Supreme Certifying Commission the right to accept dissertations for defense have their personnel compositions confirmed by the presidiums of the corresponding academies.)

The composition of the Supreme Certifying Commission is confirmed by the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1970 this commission had a presidium and 11 sections: physics-mathematics, chemistry, biology, humanities, medicine, economics, machine construction, mining, construction, radio technology, and military affairs. The commission also has 76 expert commissions in departmental specializations and also enlists reviewers who give their conclusions on departmental dissertations or scholarly works of individuals when these works are presented for certification.

The Supreme Certifying Commission confirms academic degrees and titles in the following fields of knowledge (including various specializations): physics-mathematics, chemistry, biology, geology-mineralogy, engineering, agricultural economics, history, economics, philosophy, philology, geography, jurisprudence, education, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, art, architecture, military and naval affairs, and psychology.

Among the noted scholars and representatives of industry serving on the Supreme Certifying Commission in 1970 were 12 presidents of the academies of sciences of Union republics, 47 academicians, 78 corresponding members of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 34 academicians and corresponding members of academies of sciences of Union republics, 24 academicians and corresponding members of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR, 11 academicians and corresponding members of the Lenin Ail-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, four academicians of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR, 195 professors and doctors of science, and 16 high executives from the national economy.