Zharova E.Yu. The Evolution of Graduation Examinations at Natural Sciences Departments of Physics-Mathematics Faculties of Universities in the Russian Empire (Part 1. Up to the Charter of 1884)

Abstract: The focus of this research is placed on the transformation process of graduation exams at natural sciences departments of physics-mathematics faculties of universities in the Russian Empire up to the beginning of the 1880s. It is shown how under the effect of three charters – 1804, 1835 and 1863 – changed the procedure of taking graduation exams and took hold the particular system of so-called faculty examinations, when the decision on which specific subjects and how thoroughly the student of the graduating course will take was decided independently by the faculties, without the participation of the Ministry of Public Education. The research is based, in the first place, on the use of the comparative-historical method and is founded on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The author comes to the conclusion that the beginning of the formation of the system of graduation exams at the universities in the Russian Empire was laid out with the adoption of the charter “Provisions for conferring scientific degrees” in 1819, which added to the already existing degree of candidate of sciences the grade of an enrolled student. All this led to students finishing universities having to pass a graduation exam in order to have advantages in service and the right to the rank of the IVth class in the Table of Ranks. The final development of the system of the graduation exam is linked to the activity of minister S. S. Uvarov, when the new university charter and the new “Provisions” were adopted, while the Charter of 1863 and the “Provisions” of 1864 preserved the usual system of final faculty examinations.

Keywords: