PhD A

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The doctorate A (doctor of a branch of science) was an academic form of qualification in the GDR . It was part of the III. University reform introduced with the ordinance on academic degrees of November 6, 1968 and regulated by the doctoral degree regulations of January 21, 1969. It required the preparation of an academic qualification in the form of a dissertation . While the faculties of the universities and colleges in the Federal Republic of Germany have their own doctoral and habilitation regulations, this was regulated uniformly in the GDR by doctoral regulations A. The right to award doctorates was granted to the scientific councils of the universities. At the same time, based on the Soviet model, the PhD B (Doctor scientiae) was introduced, which replaced the habilitation .

In the GDR, special study and qualification measures were created in order to be able to control young academics systematically, according to plan and according to their needs. The prerequisites for the PhD A were the possession of an academic degree at a university or college of the GDR, systematic deepening of the knowledge of the theoretical foundations of the relevant branch of science and in the field of Marxism-Leninism as well as "active participation in the formation of the socialist society". The doctorate A was achieved through the assistance , the research study as well as the scheduled and unscheduled aspirations . The assistance at universities in the GDR was a professional activity that mostly followed directly after the studies and was usually limited to four years. The research course, on the other hand, continued directly from the course and usually lasted three years. It served exclusively to prepare for the doctorate and was linked to a scholarship . The scientific aspiration was introduced in 1951 as part of the second study reform. As a postgraduate education of academics from the practice should thus particularly the need for PhDs cadres are covered in the economy. The scheduled aspiration lasted three years and released the doctoral student from his professional activity in favor of a scholarship. In order to accelerate the completion of dissertations, one-year partial aspirations with scholarships for research assistants or practical cadres could be awarded.

After a positive evaluation of the dissertation and its successful defense, which could also be waived, the doctoral degree of Promotion A was awarded. The dissertations were not only evaluated according to technical criteria, but also according to “their theoretical content and their social benefit”. These were judged according to their assumed usability in practice and their contribution to the further development of Marxism-Leninism. This often led to doctoral students including chapters on Marxism-Leninism in medical or scientific doctorates. Results that contradicted the official language regulations and representations of the GDR were sometimes suppressed. In any case, dissertations were not published and, as a rule, only a few copies were available in university libraries.

Estimates assume that a total of 101,654 A doctorates were accepted in the GDR between 1951 and 1985, i.e. an average of 2904 A doctorates per year (compared to 9420 per year in the Federal Republic from 1950 to 1982). This also includes the so-called "secret work" that was not recorded for political reasons. The proportion of “secret dissertations” is estimated at 30% in the social sciences and 10% in the natural sciences.

literature

  • Dieter Voigt u. a .: On the questionability of academic degrees and titles in the GDR. The primacy of communist ideology over science. An analysis of doctoral theses and habilitation theses from 1950 to 1990. In: Heiner Timmermann (Hrsg.): DDR research. Balance sheet and perspectives. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-428-08462-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quotation from Dieter Voigt et al.: On the questionability of academic degrees and titles in the GDR. The primacy of communist ideology over science. An analysis of doctoral theses and habilitation theses from 1950 to 1990. In: Heiner Timmermann (Hrsg.): DDR research. Balance sheet and perspectives. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-428-08462-4 , p. 236.
  2. ↑ Quotation from Dieter Voigt et al.: On the questionability of academic degrees and titles in the GDR. The primacy of communist ideology over science. An analysis of doctoral theses and habilitation theses from 1950 to 1990. In: Heiner Timmermann (Hrsg.): DDR research. Balance sheet and perspectives. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-428-08462-4 , p. 243.
  3. ^ Dieter Voigt: On the scientific standard of doctoral theses and habilitation theses in the GDR. In: Dieter Voigt, Lothar Mertens (ed.): GDR science in the conflict between research and state security. (Series of publications by the Gesellschaft für Deutschlandforschung, 45). Duncker and Humblot, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-428-08342-3 , p. 56 f.