Regulations on the Procedure and Conditions for Choosing Elective Courses
by Higher Education Applicants at the Third (Educational-Scientific) Level
of Higher Education (Doctor of Philosophy)
Approved:
By the Academic Council of
National Aerospace University
«Kharkiv Aviation Institute»
Protocol No. 1 dated August 19, 2026
Put into effect by Order No. 316 dated August 19, 2026
QMS KhAI-VAID- P/001:2026
Effective Date: August 19, 2026
Revision No. 1
1. General Provisions
1.1. Regulations on the procedure and conditions for choosing elective courses by higher education applicants at the third (educational-scientific) level of higher education for the Doctor of Philosophy degree (postgraduate students) at the National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute» (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) were developed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», the Procedure for the Preparation of Higher Education Applicants for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science in Higher Education Institutions (Scientific Establishments), approved by Resolution No. 261 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 23, 2016, and the Regulations on the Preparation of Higher Education Applicants for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Postgraduate Students) and Scientific Degree of Doctor of Science at National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute».
1.2. The Regulations contain the main requirements for postgraduate students to exercise their right to choose educational courses within the limits provided by the relevant educational-scientific program and curriculum. The Regulations are developed to organize the selection of elective educational courses (cycle of professional training courses).
1.3. The educational-scientific program in any specialty consists of a mandatory component and an elective component. The volume of freely chosen courses is determined by Paragraph 15 of Part One of Article 62 of the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», namely: «Persons studying in higher education institutions have the right to: … 15) the choice of educational courses within the scope provided by the relevant educational program and curriculum, in a volume of not less than 25 percent of the total number of ECTS credits provided for this level of higher education.»
1.4. The purpose of the Regulations is to:
- ensure conditions for the individualization and flexibility of the educational process at the university;
- foster academic freedom and autonomy of postgraduate students;
- increase motivation of applicants to study and their responsibility for their own educational choice.
1.5. Individual educational trajectory is a personal path for realizing the educational potential of a postgraduate student, formed taking into account their abilities, interests, needs, motivation, capabilities, as well as existing educational and scientific resources of the university and requirements of the educational program.
1.6. Free choice of educational components is the right of a postgraduate student to choose educational components that are not mandatory for study according to the educational program, in order to deepen knowledge, broaden horizons, and form their own unique specialist profile.
1.7. The implementation of a postgraduate student's right to free choice of educational components at the university is based on the following principles:
- academic integrity: the process of selection and subsequent mastery of educational components is carried out in compliance with academic integrity;
- openness and transparency: information about educational components offered for selection is complete, up-to-date, publicly available, and posted in a timely manner on the official website of the university;
- voluntariness: the selection of educational components is carried out by the postgraduate student on a voluntary basis;
- responsibility: the postgraduate student is responsible for their choice, the timeliness of study, and the learning outcomes of the chosen components;
- expediency and openness: the chosen educational components must be logically linked to the educational program, correspond to the individual educational trajectory of the postgraduate student, and contribute to expanding their competencies.
1.8. The volume of elective educational courses accounts for no less than 25% of the total number of ECTS credits provided by the curriculum for training Doctor of Philosophy applicants at the third (educational-scientific) level of higher education.
1.9. Catalog of Elective Educational Courses (hereinafter referred to as the Catalog) is a list and brief information about educational courses freely chosen by postgraduate students.
1.10. Elective educational courses are designed to:
- take into account personal aspirations and preferences regarding future professional activities;
- acquire the ability to solve complex problems in research and innovation activities, etc.
1.11. The ways to form the elective part of a postgraduate student's individual work plan within the chosen educational-scientific program are determined by the guarantor of the educational program and the support group.
1.12. At the meetings of working groups for each ESP, a list of elective courses related to the topics of dissertation research is formed. Instructors of elective courses prepare an annotation/syllabus, ensure the preparation of educational-methodical complexes of educational courses, and send them to the ESP guarantor for inclusion in the catalog and posting on the website.
1.13. The results of the selection of elective educational courses by postgraduate students are specified in the Working Curricula and individual study plans of their work.
1.14. Postgraduate students have the right to choose elective courses for the entire period of study.
1.15. The study of elective courses by postgraduate students is carried out according to the Regulations on the Organization of the Educational Process at the National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute».
2. Procedure for Implementing the Right to Free Choice of Educational Courses by Postgraduate Students
2.1. National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute» (hereinafter referred to as the University) is responsible for the quality of teaching and proper methodical support of the educational components offered to postgraduate students to exercise their right to free choice.
2.2. Instructors of elective courses ensure the preparation of educational programs, syllabi/work programs for educational courses, and educational-methodical materials required for studying elective courses.
2.3. The volume of elective courses (in ECTS credits) is determined by the educational-scientific program for the relevant specialty and curriculum. The volume of each elective course is 5 ECTS credits.
2.4. Implementation of the free choice of educational courses by postgraduate students involves:
- selecting an appropriate block of educational courses in accordance with the individual educational trajectory;
- selecting educational courses from the Catalog of Elective Educational Courses, which is published on the official website of the Institute and is freely available to postgraduate students and instructors.
2.5. For familiarization and selection of elective courses by postgraduate students, a Catalog of Elective Educational Courses (Appendix 1) is compiled, recommended for study under a specific educational-scientific program of the relevant specialty, which is posted on the official website of the University.
2.6. An applicant has the right to choose elective courses from the curriculum of any educational-scientific program implemented at the third (educational-scientific) level of higher education at the University.
2.7. To include the applicant in an academic group for studying the relevant educational course, as well as to include the course in their individual study plan, the postgraduate student fills out a Google Form.
Deadline for completion – up to 14 working days after enrollment in the respective current academic year (for 1st-year postgraduate students), and until August 15 – for 2nd-year postgraduate students.
2.8. The processed responses from the postgraduate students' Google Forms, after processing by the Department of Education Quality, Analytics, and Educational-Methodical Support, are entered into the postgraduate student's individual study plan.
2.9. If a postgraduate student was unable to make a timely choice of educational courses for a valid reason (illness, etc.), they have the right to make their choice during the first month after starting their studies. A postgraduate student who neglects their right of choice will be included in a formed academic group for studying elective courses.
2.10. Replacement of elective courses chosen by the postgraduate student is possible only in exceptional cases in the presence of valid reasons based on an application from the postgraduate student.
2.11. The Catalog indicates the titles and codes of the educational courses offered for selection, with active links to the Google Form (the relevant application form for satisfying applicants' rights to choose educational courses offered for other educational programs and levels of higher education), detailed annotations of the Catalog's educational courses: prerequisites, brief description of content, learning objectives, volume in ECTS credits and hours, forms of final assessment, information about instructors, etc.
2.12. The norms of these Regulations apply to full-time and part-time postgraduate students of the University in all specialties.
3. Procedure for the Selection of Educational Courses by Postgraduate Students
3.1. The deadlines for conducting the procedures for the selection of educational courses by postgraduate students are determined by the need for timely (for planning and organizing the educational process, its methodical and personnel support) formation of the contingent of postgraduate students in groups and study streams.
3.2. For postgraduate students studying under educational-scientific programs in which the elective component is planned for the first academic year, the course selection is organized during the first two weeks of study.
3.3. Departments responsible for teaching elective courses submit to the educational-methodical department and sectoral scientific-methodical commissions of the University a list of courses offered for selection to postgraduate students, work programs (syllabi), and brief annotations of elective educational courses.
3.4. At the meetings of the sectoral scientific-methodical commissions of the University, the lists of elective courses for each elective list are approved.
3.5. Approved lists of elective educational courses and annotations for the specified courses are posted on the official website of the University.
3.6. The procedure for selecting educational courses by postgraduate students consists of the following stages:
First stage – familiarization of postgraduate students with the procedure, deadlines, and specifics of enrollment and formation of groups for studying educational courses of the elective component at the University.
Second stage – familiarization of postgraduate students with the lists of elective courses offered both under the ESP they are studying and under other programs. Annotations of elective courses as well as portfolios of the instructors of these courses can be reviewed on the official website of the University.
Third stage – enrollment of postgraduate students for studying educational courses. The selection of educational courses is carried out by personal voting in the electronic educational support system Pilot or by filling out a Google Form with priority ranking (1-3).
The courses selected by the postgraduate student are entered into the postgraduate student's individual study plan, which is recorded in the applicant's personal account in the Pilot system.
A course is considered selected if the number of applicants in the formed group is at least 8 people.
3.7. If an academic group is not formed for studying a particular elective course, such postgraduate students are given the opportunity to study a course according to their 2nd or 3rd priority selection.
3.8. A postgraduate student who, for a valid reason (illness, academic mobility, etc.), has not selected elective courses, has the right to decide during the first working week after reporting for study.
3.9. A postgraduate student who has not selected a list of elective courses and has not submitted an application within the specified deadlines will be enrolled in courses that the program guarantor deems necessary to optimize the size of academic groups.
3.10. A postgraduate student cannot unilaterally refuse a block/list of courses selected and approved by the Academic Council of the University. Unauthorized refusal to study a course results in academic debt, for which the postgraduate student may be expelled from the University.
3.11. After the final formation and approval of academic groups for studying elective courses, information about the elective courses is entered into the postgraduate student's individual plan. From that moment on, the elective course becomes mandatory for the postgraduate student.
Credit Transfer Procedure
3.12. In case of reinstatement or transfer of a postgraduate student, the transfer of elective courses is carried out by the Department of Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies based on an extract from the minutes of the meeting of the support group of the relevant specialty (Expert Group).
3.13. Credit transfer is carried out on the basis of actually studied courses of a certain cycle, provided there is an equal number of credits or similarity of acquired competencies.
3.14. The graduating department may allow postgraduate students of academic mobility programs to transfer elective courses taken at another partner university, even if they are not provided for by the curriculum of the relevant specialty at the university.
4. Final Provisions
4.1. The Regulations are approved by the Academic Council of the University and brought into force by an order of the Rector of the University.
4.2. Control over the implementation of the Regulations is exercised by University officials within their powers established in their job descriptions.
4.3. Amendments and additions to the Regulations are considered and approved by the Academic Council of the University and brought into force by an order of the Rector of the University.