Atyrau University Master’s Students to Receive Dual Diplomas

For the first time, graduate students at Kh. Dosmukhamedov Atyrau University have successfully defended their dissertations under a dual-degree education program. Upon completion, they will receive diplomas from both Kazakh and Turkish universities.

The dual-degree program is one of the key priorities in integrating Kazakhstan’s higher education into the international academic space. This initiative is being implemented under a cooperation agreement between Atyrau University and Nigde Omer Halisdemir University in Turkey. The students studied in the Department of Kazakh Language and Literature at the Faculty of Multilingual Education.

“Studying in Turkey allowed us to explore the languages of Turkic-speaking nations and conduct research on their linguistic differences. We analyzed the common roots, similarities, and distinctions between Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Azerbaijani, and Turkish from a philological perspective. The one-year study abroad also gave us a valuable opportunity to learn the Turkish language. Today, I successfully defended my dissertation on the literary work of prominent Kazakh writer Askar Altay under the supervision of a Turkish professor,”

shared graduate student Lazzat Alimova.

Atyrau University maintains active cooperation on dual-degree programs with Nigde Omer Halisdemir University in Turkey and Astrakhan State University in Russia.

“Student exchange under the dual-degree initiative has already begun. This fall, a Turkish student will come to study in Atyrau. In September, 15 students from the tourism program will go to Poland, and one student specializing in foreign languages will study in France,”

stated Kansulu Otepkaliyeva, Vice-Rector for Science and International Relations.

These graduate students, who studied on state scholarships, alternated their academic years between the two institutions over a two-year period. They will soon receive joint diplomas issued by Atyrau University and Nigde Omer Halisdemir University.