Department of Social Studies

The head of the department is Colonel
Oleh Hmilyar Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Assistant Professor

The Department of Social Sciences was created on the basis of the directive of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine dated April 18, 2007 № D-322/1/03 and is a structural unit of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Military History of the National Defense University of Ukraine, which carries out educational, methodical, scientific and scientific-pedagogical activity on training students at tactical, operational and strategic levels.

The department consists of:

• department management;
• scientific and teaching staff;
• research laboratory of problems of philosophy of war, history of military pedagogy and culture;
• training and laboratory complex.

The main tasks of the department are:

• implementation of educational activities that ensure the training of military specialists for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine in selected specialties and specializations;
• carrying out preparation of philosophy doctors in the field of knowledge 01 "Education" from the specialty 011 "Educational and pedagogical sciences" and in the field of knowledge 05 "Social and behavioral sciences" from the specialty 053 "Psychology";
• retraining and advanced training of military personnel, employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, officials of other components of the security and defense sector of Ukraine, and civil servants;
• implementation of scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activities in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine by conducting scientific research and ensuring the creative activity of participants in the educational process, using the obtained results in the educational process of the university;
• ensuring cultural and spiritual development of the individual, education of personnel in the spirit of patriotism and respect for the Constitution of Ukraine.

The educational process at the department is provided by four doctors of science, nine candidates of science and philosophy doctors.

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor Andrii Vitchenko and Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor Liudmyla Budahiants are considered leading scientists of the Department of Social Sciences. Monographs, textbooks, educational manuals are regularly published under the leadership of the department’s scientists.

Professor Andrii Vitchenko the scientific bases of the pedagogy of the higher military school, military andragogy were substantiated and developed, the system of training the lecturer of the higher educational institution was designed on the basis of competence and technological approaches, the model of interactive learning using case technologies was developed.

The long-term, creative activity of Associate Professor Liudmyla Budahiants contributes to the integration of the latest achievements in the philosophy and methodology of military science, the philosophy of democracy, and philosophical anthropology into the educational process of training university students and PhD students.

Scientific-pedagogical and scientific staff of the department take part in the work of specialized scientific councils for the defense of dissertations in the field of psychological and pedagogical sciences.

The department annually holds a scientific and practical conference dedicated to the philosophical-sociological and psychological-pedagogical problems of training an individual to perform tasks in special conditions.

In recent years, scientific and pedagogical staff of the department has been studying the psychological, pedagogical and philosophical aspects of the use of troops (forces) during the russian-ukrainian war. The department actively researches the problems of military leadership, professional and psychological selection, psychological training of military personnel for combat operations, political philosophy, teaching methods at a higher military school, teacher’s pedagogical skills of a higher military school, military andragogy, image and oratorical skills of a military leader, gender mentality in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.