Recall that the universities of the Union State already have a successful experience in organizing the education of students according to the “double degree” system – the historical faculties of Lomonosov Moscow State University were pioneers in this field. MV Lomonosov and Belarusian State University. It was there that in 2019 the master’s program “History of the Belarusian Diaspora” was successfully launched, which will be the third graduate this year.
How is the training in the pilot program at RUDN University going? Did you manage to realize your plans and train unique specialists who also know the intricacies of Russian and Belarusian legislation? For answers, we went to the Institute of Law at RUDN University.
- We are ready to defend master’s theses, – assured us Sergei Zinkovsky, director of the Institute of Law. – It will take place in Moscow, on the premises of the university. Now we are working on technical issues with BSU. Students will attend in person, but we would very much like our Belarusian colleagues to come to us as well.
Russian student Anna Slabenkaya has practically everything ready for defense, as do her Belarusian friends.
– I am with the guys all the time in contact. Now they are in BSU, but they will soon return to Moscow, Anna said. – During the study, we can say that we have become one team. Especially after the practical task of creating a common legal entity, where Russians and Belarusians became its founders. We decided that after college we would help and support each other in everything. According to Anna, the uniqueness of the program lies not only in the completion of two degrees, but also in the possibility of acquiring new friends and business partners.
- For me, this master’s program was like a breath of fresh air: so much theory! Anna shared her impressions. – One semester I studied in Minsk. Of course, it was difficult, the program was very dense, there were above all many creative missions, which is generally unusual for a legal profession. Despite the fact that in many respects our regulations are similar, there are differences in terms of the implementation of the legislation. In general, Belarusian teachers have a very advanced view of many things. I was particularly struck by the development of digital law and copyright in Belarus.
Anna is confident that all undergraduate students enrolled in this pilot program will be in high demand in the job market.
The university itself is confident that the project has taken place and plans to launch new joint LLM programs in the future.
- Now, it seems to me, is such a historic moment when Russia and Belarus reach a new level of integration. 28 trade union programs are implemented, which implies close interaction between Russian and Belarusian companies, authorities and public organizations. Any project requires legal support, which means attorneys who understand the laws of two states at once will be especially valuable…
The university itself is convinced that the project has taken place and in the future plans to launch new joint master’s programs in the field of law.
- We believe that this master’s program is in demand, – said Sergei Zinkovsky. – The problems of integration of Russia and Belarus in various fields served as a solid basis for the creation of its concept. Our countries have their own national legislation, and the introduction of common approaches to solving similar legal problems is very important today. This year, we are expecting a new enrollment of students for this master’s program.
Speaking of prospects, Sergei Zinkovsky noted that the program helps to create a new generation of lawyers.
- When developing this program, we set ourselves the task of training a lawyer with a completely new worldview, based on the awareness of his responsibility towards society and the state. In addition, we were faced with the task of training a specialist capable of adapting as quickly as possible to any legal order. In this respect, the students acquired unique skills. We gave them a new toolkit, in fact, an algorithm for this adaptation.
However, RUDN University, one of the best universities in Russia today, is expecting this year not only prospective undergraduates, but also undergraduates. In particular, the Law Institute has prepared new programs for them. One of them, the program “Bachelor of Law and Politics”, according to the university, has no analogues in Russia yet. After studying there, students will receive a degree in two areas at once – jurisprudence and political science.
“Several years ago, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science made possible the simultaneous implementation of educational programs in several areas of training,” explained Sergey Zinkovsky. – We first tested this opportunity on the master’s program “Law in Public Policy”, which is implemented by our two departments – “Theory of Law and the State” and “Public Policy and History of the state and law”. The idea of this program is that at the end of the program, the student receives a master’s degree in law and political science at the same time. This year we are launching a similar undergraduate program based on this model.
RUDN is preparing to accept applicants for another unique program – an English-language Bachelor of Laws.
- All subjects, classes and even practice of this program are in English, – explained Sergey Zinkovsky. – Subsequently, bachelors of this program can continue their studies in the master’s program – both in Russian-language programs and in specially created programs in English.
As we have assured at the university, Belarusian applicants can also access all undergraduate, honors and master’s degree programs on an equal footing with Russians. This year, RUDN accepts children from Belarus based not only on the results of the unified state exam, but also on the central test, a centralized exam, as well as internal university exams.
Belarusian applicants can also enter all study programs on an equal footing with Russians.
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