Higher education in Ukraine operates several levels, all of which are regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. In early 2016, Ukraine had 802 universities, but the Ministry intends to lower that number to 317. Ukraine had 1,586,700 higher education students in 2016-17.
For specific universities, see the List of universities in Ukraine.
Brief historical survey The first higher education institutions (HEIs) emerged in Ukraine during the late 16th and early 17th centuries under the Kingdom of Poland.
The first was the Ostrozka School, or Ostrozkiy Greek-Slavic-Latin Collegium, similar to Western European higher education institutions of the time. Established in 1576 in the town of Ostrog, the Collegium was the first higher education institution in the Eastern Slavic territories but was closed in 1636, when it was replaced by the Jesuit College in Ostrog.
The Kyiv Mohyla Academy was established in 1632 and in 1694 officially recognized by the government of Imperial Russia as a higher education institution. It operated until 1819, when it was transformed into the Kiev Theological Academy. The National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, refounded in 1991, draws on this history. The oldest continuous higher education institution in Ukraine is the Lviv University, which began as the Jesuit Collegium with a royal charter in 1661 and has continued since then under different names and authorities.
More higher education institutions were set up in the 19th century, beginning with universities in Kharkiv (1805), Kyiv (1834), Odesa (1865), and Chernivtsi (1875) and a number of professional higher education institutions, e.g., the Nizhyn Historical and Philological Institute (originally established as the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in 1805), a Veterinary Institute (1873) and a Technological Institute (1885) in Kharkiv, a Polytechnic Institute in Kyiv (1898) and a Higher Mining School (1899) in Katerynoslav.
Rapid growth followed in the Soviet period. By 1988, the number of higher education institutions had increased to 146 with over 850,000 students.Higher education in Ukraine; Monographs on higher education, 2006 Most HEIs established after 1990 are owned by private organizations.
The Constitution of Ukraine (1996), Law on Education (1996), the Law on Higher Education (2002) and the major reform legislation Law on Higher Education (2014) constitute the legal framework for Ukrainian higher education. Ukrainian legislation regulating higher education includes also more limited legislation as well as decrees and regulations of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Because of a perceived lack of quality, 76 higher education institutions and their branches were denied licenses in 2015. Ministry of Education will close 10 more schools, Ukrainska Pravda (1 March 2016)
Access and affordability
As in most communist Eastern European states, access to education for the masses was a high priority in Soviet Ukraine, largely due to the fact that during imperial times mostly only the nobles and the wealthy had access to post-secondary institutions. Citizens of the Soviet Union had free access to secondary education and were required to complete at least a junior specialist degree, equivalent to an associate degree in the US. Moreover, the Soviet Union exercised mandatory conscription of its male population. However those studying for a degree were exempt from the draft until they had completed their studies, so men would often stay enrolled to reach master's degrees to delay their entry into the military.
After gaining independence Ukraine retained the Soviet principle of having a post secondary education system that its population could afford. In 2009, Ukraine spent 7.3% of GDP on education compared to the United States' 5.2%. Trade schools (Technikums), which are analogous to community colleges in the US and award the junior specialist degree, continued to remain freely accessible for most citizens. Students wishing to enroll in a trade schools do not need to complete the full 11 grades of school and may enroll in 9th grade. However budget constraints forced tuition charges on university programs. Students wishing to enroll in universities must complete the full secondary education curriculum. During the last year of school, they take a placement test to determine their chances of enrolling and whether or not they will have to pay tuition. Moreover, students enrolled may receive a monthly stipend which is designed to cover their living and school expenses while they are enrolled in college. In 2012 the minimum monthly stipend was ₴550 for students enrolled in Technikums and ₴730 for students enrolled in Universities. In 2016, tuition costs for higher education were averaging less than $1,000 per academic year; but corruption forced them considerably higher.In Ukraine’s universities, trading bribes for diplomas, Politico Europe (30 January 2016) Students pursuing a doctoral degree beyond Specialist or master's degree are generally treated in a similar manner to graduate students in the US where they are expected to assist the faculty and may receive pay from the university as they perform their own research.
Although online education is not prominent in Ukraine, students may enroll in extramural college, which is the most common type of long distance education in Ukraine and many other former Soviet nations. During this type of enrollment, the student continues to work and is given all their assignments for the semester ahead of time. The student completes the assignments then returns to the university to explain their reasoning and complete testing. Many businesses in Ukraine subsidize their employees who return to pursue a higher degree using this method.
Higher education qualifications Higher education includes both academic and professional qualifications. This very important feature was inherited from Ukraine's Soviet past. The State Diploma serves as both an educational certificate and a professional license. Employment is determined by a match between the state determination of the knowledge and skills required for different occupation levels and the state determination of levels of educational qualification. Hence the classification of educational qualification corresponds to the occupational structure, leading to the introduction of the term ‘educational-proficiency’ level.
The Law on Higher Education (2002) establishes a three-level structure of higher education: incomplete, basic, and complete educational levels with corresponding educational-proficiency levels of Junior Specialist, Bachelor, Specialist and Master. In 2016 the Ministry of Education transformed this system to the levels of Junior bachelor, bachelor's, master's, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Sciences.
Junior Specialist Junior Specialist or Junior bachelor is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained incomplete higher education, special skills and knowledge sufficient for discharging productive functions at a certain level of professional activity, stipulated for initial positions in a certain type of economic activity. The normative period of training makes 2.5–3 years.
Persons with basic secondary education may study in the educational and professional programs of junior specialist’s training, obtaining at the same time complete secondary education.
Bachelor Bachelor is an educational proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained basic higher education, fundamental and special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training makes 4 years (240 ECTS credits).
Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor may be carried out according to the shortened programme of studies on the basis of the educational- proficiency level of Junior Specialist.
Master Master is an educational proficiency level of higher education of a person who has attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with professional tasks and duties (work) of innovative character at a certain level of professional activity (in engineering, business administration, pedagogy, arts, etc.).
Training specialists at the level of Master may also be carried out on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Specialist. The period of training makes typically 1–1.5 year (60-90 ECTS credits).
During their at the Master’s or Specialist's level, students are required to write their final work on a selected subject and make presentations, to be able to collect, analyse and summarize, synthesize and to communicate study and practical material. Knowledge of a foreign language is often required.
Training specialists of the level of Specialist or Master in such fields as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, teaching is carried out on the basis of complete secondary education within the period of 5–6 years (301-360 ECTS credits), as is common in Western Europe for state registered professions.
Former higher education qualifications
Specialist Specialist was an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor had attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training was 1 year (60 ECTS credits). In 2016 the specialist degree was disbanded in Ukraine. Ministry of Education cancels the "experts" and "Ph.D.", Ukrainska Pravda (11 July 2016)
Diplomas and Certificates Higher education graduates are awarded qualifications of the appropriate educational-proficiency levels and they are granted diplomas of the state format. The Diploma is the State-recognized document that serves as both an educational certificate and a professional license, confirming the attainment of the appropriate higher educational level and qualification of a certain educational-proficiency level (an academic degree in a field of study and speciality). The Law on Higher Education (2002) establishes the following types of documents that confirm higher education qualifications: Dyplom Molodshoho Spetsialista (Diploma/ qualification of Junior Specialist) Dyplom Bakalavra (Diploma/ qualification of Bachelor) Dyplom Spetsialista (Diploma/ qualification of Specialist) Dyplom Mahistra (Diploma/ qualification of Master)
Quality assurance The national system of quality assurance (QA) in Ukraine is one by means of licensing and accreditation procedures carried out by the Department for Licensing, Accreditation and Nostrification of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, through the State Accreditation Commission, the State Inspectorate of HEIs, and the Higher (Supreme) Attestation Board.
Licensing