Gov’t to scrap bureaucratic hurdles in academic degree system from 2027

The upcoming changes will significantly ease the path for researchers. Candidates will no longer be required to pass qualification exams in foreign languages, with the exception of independent researchers, or publish a separate dissertation abstract. The decree also eliminates the mandate to register thesis topics and post public defense announcements via the Supreme Attestation Commission (OAC).

Furthermore, researchers will no longer need to submit their dissertations for formal debate at a designated "leading organization," secure external conclusions on the practical implementation of their findings, or publish a full-scale monograph for Doctor of Science (DSc) degrees in social sciences and humanities. For foreign citizens invited to work in local educational and research institutions, Uzbekistan will waive the nostrification process entirely, recognizing their foreign academic degrees directly for the duration of their employment.

The decree shifts the final authority for awarding degrees away from centralized OAC oversight. The current requirements for the OAC expert councils to conduct a separate scientific review and for the commission to formally ratify the decisions of local scientific councils will be canceled. Instead, the local councils will bear full, direct responsibility for the quality and objectivity of dissertation reviews, as well as for detecting plagiarism. To ensure a smooth transition, researchers whose defense notices are published before January 1, 2027, will still receive their degrees under the old regulatory framework.

To maintain academic integrity under this decentralized model, Uzbekistan will introduce a ranking system for scientific councils starting January 1, 2027. The OAC will manage an open-access online portal displaying these ratings based on strict evaluation criteria. Dissertations approved by local councils will be selected on a random basis for independent review, involving international experts, to verify quality.

Scientific councils that show poor performance or fail to meet standards will face strict penalties from the OAC. The commission will hold the power to suspend council chairs and secretaries, dissolve underperforming councils, or temporarily ban specific institutions from forming new defense panels. Additionally, the OAC retains the authority to audit approved dissertations at random and overturn council decisions if justified.

Alongside these structural changes, the decree launches a new "Degree within a Project" framework designed to fast-track applied research. Under this program, the Innovation Development Agency will run annual competitions for research projects lasting up to three years in priority fields. Doctoral students selected for these projects will be treated as researchers at the host institution and will receive standard doctoral stipends funded through state science programs and other legal sources. Crucially, if a researcher successfully defends their PhD thesis during the project cycle, the scientific report of their project will bypass further formal evaluation. Admissions under this scheme will operate independently of the standard annual state budget quotas for doctoral programs.