Modern Russian Postgraduate Education: Main Problems and Key Factors in the Development

The article explores the key issues of postgraduate training. Today, there are a number of contradictions that are associated with the need to develop a holistic concept for determining the place and functions of postgraduate studies in modern society. The paper aims to analyze the main difficulties and problems that candidates for an academic degree face during their postgraduate studies. Research methods: the Main Problems of Postgraduate Studies questionnaire developed and tested by the authors, a method of statistical data analysis. The study revealed that the main goals of entering postgraduate studies for most postgraduate students are associated with obtaining an academic degree, and more than 50% of respondents consider scientific activity to be their calling. The main difficulty noted by postgraduate students is the lack of opportunity to conduct research work and test its results. Among other factors, they highlight the need to combine the work with education. But at the same time, almost 77% of students do not plan to drop out. The paper concludes that postgraduate students of the Siberian Federal University have high motivational and target settings, allowing them to successfully study, engage in scientific activity, and obtain an academic degree. The study findings will help create measures of legal and organizational support, which will allow establishing collaborations, building interdisciplinary links between specialties to obtain high-quality scientific research, as well as attracting foreign applicants to study at the postgraduate level in Russia.