This study, one in a series on education in the Soviet Union, focuses on the status of higher education in the system and in the state. In an introductory section, basic legislation and decrees and the education ladder, or organizational structure, are outlined. The second section describes the organization, functions, and institutions of the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Institutions, and the Republic Ministries of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education. Basic requirements for admission to higher education and admission to specialties are outlined in section three. The fourth section focuses on higher education programs: types of institutions, undergraduate study, and graduate study. Teacher education and certification, including teacher-training institutions and curricula and certification procedures are considered in section five, and the growth of higher education in the 1970's is analyzed in the final section, where data on specialty group enrollments and enrollments of women and full- and part-time students are presented. Appended are lists of official Soviet specialties in higher education, the names of the higher education institutions especially recognized by the Soviet government for their achievements in training specialists and in research, and a list of references. (MSE)