Research methodology

Studies of education programs of all three levels were carried out in several stages. On the first stage a comparative analysis of Bachelor and Master Education programs of the US, Europe, Ukraine and Russia on similarities of disciplinary and credit components was conducted. They were based on subjects of domestic educational and professional programs of "Bachelor" and "Master" degrees. The data was tabulated.

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The Main Determinants of Improvement of Model of Educational Training of Specialists in the Field of PR Based on Competency Approach by Andrii Kyrychok

On the second stage, on the basis of data obtained a table was compiled, which contained information on the minimum, maximum and average number of subjects repeated, their list and the total number of credits of the education programs. Subjects were placed according to audience rating, which was measured by the number of frequencies in the list of universities. The data was entered into the primary data table.

On the third stage of the study, based on the table data for each of the universities, a number of subjects, which coincided with the domestic educational and professional programs, were calculated. On that basis, the program ranking was compiled.

On the fourth stage, on the basis of the third stage data, five the most effective educational programs of "Bachelor" and "Master" degrees, which structure is similar to domestic educational programs, were chosen. The main criteria for selection were the requirements for the duration of the program - 4 years for bachelor and 2 years for masters. In addition, it should include high scores in the ranking of subjects" frequency and practice.

The fifth stage of the study included the comparative analysis of educational training programs of "Doctor of Philosophy" degree. But, since Ukraine has moved to a three-level model of higher education not so long ago, the domestic educational system for PhD degree does not have western model yet. Therefore, we have chosen five training programs for "Doctor of Philosophy" degree in order to compare them and to demonstrate their credit-disciplinary component for further integration into the domestic education system.

We have also identified ten subjects from each educational level according to the highest credit/number of frequencies in the educational and professional programs (EPP). Besides this, considering the best possible educational training programs for each educational level as an example, we have identified the one, which is the most appropriate according to relevant qualitative and quantitative indicators and will describe its construction principles and features, to be applied to build our own three-level training program.

Discussion of research results

Bachelors

The study analysed 37 programs for "Bachelor" degree, which train specialists in public relations, providing different training period. According to European and American programs, training often lasts for three years, not four, as it is customary in Ukrainian or Russian universities. Education in Western universities is usually single-disciplined, the list of disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, compared to domestic universities, is limited. The number of credit hours at universities in Europe and the US is almost twice lower than in Ukrainian. Educational programs at European and United States universities differed by variability of subjects" choice. Educational programs of domestic and Russian universities hardly differed by name, but they were wide enough, that would be an advantage. It was found that training in public relations could be carried out with a focus on completely different disciplinary component. Six main fields of training in PR were identified. They are advertising and PR; communication; marketing; art and design; journalism and business and management. The study found that the average total credit exposure in Western universities is 133 credits, at universities of Russia the figure is 250 credits, and at domestic universities - 245 credits

(Fig.1).

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The Main Determinants of Improvement of Model of Educational Training of Specialists in the Field of PR Based on Competency Approach by Andrii Kyrychok

Fig. 1. The average amount of credits for EPP of "Bachelor" degree.

Therefore, it is clear that the training programs in Western universities are nearly half less according to credit component, yet at the same time, their efficiency is much higher. Here is a list of ten disciplines, which according to credit indicator and frequency at high schools showed the highest result: Theory of Advertising and PR 8.0k./33; Fundamentals of Journalism 7.5k./32; Principles of Marketing 7.0k./28; Copywriting 7.0k/28; Fundamentals of Management 6.0k./25; Ethics in Advertising and PR 5.0k./24; Integrated Marketing Communications 5.0k./24; Speechwriting 4.9k/ 2; Branding 4.8k. /0; Principles of Oratory 4.7k./ 7.