Relevance. After graduation, the development of a young professional does not stop. It is, above all, a question of a culture of social relations and the necessity of establishing and strengthening social and professional status. Establishing personal and professional status starts with cultivating the relationships that drive socio-cultural development and base a person's socio-cultural abilities. This study examines the establishment of professional competence of postgraduate education specialists based on self-study, the main components and types of self-study. Purpose. The purpose of the study is a theoretical justification, development of the modern model of establishment of professional competence of specialists of postgraduate education in the Republic of Kazakhstan based on self-study. Methodology. The unbiased research methods included theoretical analysis and synthesis of teaching psychology literature, modelling, observation, and analysis of the competence activities of postgraduate education specialists. Results. As a result, approaches to the methodological design of independent work of educational programmes of postgraduate education were investigated and systematised, and all types of professional competencies of these professionals were identified. One factor of professional competence was identified as being the ability to perform assigned learning objectives independently, through a structured plan of independent work. Conclusions. The practical significance of the study is that the performed work of analysing the principles and methods of developing educational programmes for training postgraduate specialists is ready for implementation in the educational process of the higher education school. These recommendations can also be applied to the establishment of your course syllabus for the development of educational programmes in teaching disciplines and professional development courses in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Keywords: postgraduate education; specialist adaptation; professional competence; higher education