The dissertation is finished. The articles have been published. It seems like everything has been done correctly. But it is precisely at this moment that the committee may reject it—and more often than not, this happens not because the work is poor. The reason is a failure to meet formal requirements, which are becoming stricter every year. Let’s take a look at exactly what the committee checks and where problems most often arise.
What exactly does the commission review?
Many doctoral students think that the defense is just one stage. In reality, there are several stages of review, and each one could result in rejection.
The Dissertation Committee reviews the set of documents and verifies that the publications meet the requirements prior to the defense.
The Expert Council of the Committee for Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Ministry of National Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan conducts the final review after the thesis defense—before the order awarding the degree is issued.
That means: Even a successful defense does not guarantee that you will receive your diploma if your academic record does not pass the KOKSNVO review.
Reason 1. The posts do not meet the requirements
The most common grounds for denying permission to defend a thesis. The committee verifies not only the fact of publication but also compliance with specific criteria. The requirements are governed by the Order of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (last amended in January and June 2025).
To be eligible to defend your thesis, you must complete one of the following:
— 1 article in Scopus (CiteScore ≥ 25%) or WoS Q1–Q4 + 3 articles in journals from the KOKSNVO list;
— 2 articles in Scopus (CiteScore ≥ 35%) or Web of Science Q1–Q3 — with no publications in KOKSNVO;
— One article in Scopus (CiteScore ≥ 75%) or WoS Q1—that’s enough on its own, without anything else.
If the posts do not meet any of the criteria, the application is automatically rejected.
Only certain types of documents are counted: Article, Review, Article in Press, and Conference Paper. The formats Editorial, Letter, and Short Communication are not counted, even if the journal is indexed in Scopus.
Reason 2. The journal lost its indexing status
The journal was indexed in Scopus at the time the article was submitted—but lost its indexing before the defense. The publication does not count.
Moreover, the rule here is strict: articles from the year of exclusion and the previous year are also not accepted.
This means: The journal may be removed from the list in 2025, and an article published in 2024 will no longer count.
We will select Scopus journals with the required percentile (35+/50+) that the committee will actually accept, and we guarantee publication.
No magazines in the risk zone. Only trusted publications related to your field.
Reason 3. A non-specialized journal
The journal is indexed in Scopus, and the percentile is acceptable, but the article’s topic does not align with the dissertation’s research area. The committee verifies that the publication corresponds to the specialty code. If the topics of the article and the dissertation differ, the publication will not be counted.
Always check the article's topic and keywords against your field's code before selecting a journal.
Reason 4. Failure to Meet Publication Deadlines
The article was accepted and published—but the issue was released after the documents had already been submitted to the dissertation committee. As a result, the publication does not count, even if the journal fully meets all requirements.
Plan your submissions at least 2–3 months before the deadline. It is the publication date of the issue that matters, not the date the article was accepted.
Reason 5. Errors in authorship and data
A single misspelled letter in the last name, an incorrect ORCID, or a mismatch in the name on the Scopus profile—any of these will prevent the article from being identified in the system. The committee does not accept publications that cannot be unambiguously linked to a specific author.
Check how your name and ORCID appear in your Scopus profile before you submit your documents, not after.
Reason 6. Low originality score or use of AI
Theses are checked through the NTSGTE system. The minimum threshold is 85% for originality. At some leading universities, it is 90%. If the result is lower, the student will not be allowed to defend the thesis.
Starting in January 2025, another requirement has been added: the use of AI tools without disclosure is considered a violation of academic integrity. This constitutes grounds for denying a degree, with no right to a retake of the defense.
Risks for 2025–2026: What Has Changed in the Requirements for COKSNVO Journals
In June 2025, MNVO Order No. 289 took effect, introducing new requirements for journals on the KOKSNVO List. The journals are now divided into three lists:
1. List 1 — one article is sufficient;
2. List 2 — 2 articles are needed;
3. List 3 — 3 articles are needed.
At the same time, the requirements for the journals themselves have become significantly stricter: DOIs, ORCIDs, double-blind peer review, anti-plagiarism systems, an AI policy, and a minimum of one-third of authors from abroad are now mandatory.
According to experts' estimates, no more than 20% of the current publications on the List meet the new criteria. This poses a real risk to those who had planned to fulfill the requirements through KOKSNVO journals.
Check your eligibility before submitting your application
Before submitting your documents to the dissertation committee, go over this list:
— These publications address one of the requirements set forth by KOKSNVO;
— The journal is currently indexed in Scopus or WoS;
— The journal's percentile meets the requirements for the year of publication or the previous year;
— The topic of the article corresponds to the dissertation’s field of study;
— The issue was published before the deadline for submitting documents;
— The name and ORCID are displayed correctly in the Scopus profile;
— The use of AI has been disclosed and approved by the ethics committee (if applicable).
Conclusion
Failure to defend a PhD dissertation in Kazakhstan is rarely due to the quality of the research itself. More often than not, the reason is a failure to meet formal requirements, which are becoming stricter every year.
Don't submit your work blindly. Review the journal before submitting your article, stay up to date on the current requirements of the Committee on Science, Education, and Innovation (KOKSNVO), and plan your submissions well in advance.
If you want to understand the specific requirements for your field and develop a sound publication strategy, please contact us. We’ll review your situation and select journals that will be accepted by the committee.
