Higher education in Ukraine is a combination of systematised knowledge, skills and practical abilities, ways of thinking, professional, ideological and societal qualities, moral and ethical values, and other competences acquired in a higher education institution (scientific institution). According to the Law on Higher Education (Закон України ‘Про вищу освіту’), this level of education is obtainedthrough the study of a relevant discipline to obtain a qualification of higher complexity than that of complete general secondary education.
Citizens of Ukraine can receive higher education free of charge on a competitive basis. Annual quotas are also set for the number of state-funded (free) study places for certain categories of persons (e.g., orphans, children deprived of parental care, persons from temporarily occupied territories, etc.). This policy aims to ensure that vulnerable categories have access to higher education at the expense of state or local budgets.
Higher education in Ukraine is provided by higher education institutions and certain scientific institutions. A higher education institution (HEI) (заклад вищої освіти) is a type of institution that is a legal entity of private or public law, operating under a licence to conduct educational activities at certain levels of higher education. It carries out scientific, scientific-technical, innovative and/or methodological activities, ensures the organisation of the educational process and the provision of higher and postgraduate education to individuals, taking into account their vocations, interests and abilities. According to the statistics of the SSI ‘Institute of Educational Analytics’, as of the beginning of 2023, 332 HEIs and 550 of their divisions, including institutes, academies, colleges, as well as colleges within the structure of HEIs, provided educational services in Ukraine.
Ukraine has been a member of the Bologna Process since 2005.
The training of higher education specialists is carried out according to the relevant educational programmes (educational professional, educational scientific or educational creative) at various levels of higher education, regulated by the National Qualifications Framework.
Admission to all Bachelor's and certain Master’s such as medical, pharmaceutical and veterinary degree programmes is based on complete general secondary education and the results of external independent evaluation. In addition, scores for special achievements (e.g., winners of academic competitions in basic subjects) may be taken into account. Some educational programmes may also consider the applicant's level of creativity or physical ability for admission.
To apply for a Master's programme, applicants must pass a unified entrance examination in a foreign language (according to an external independent evaluation), in addition to university examinations. Applicants for specialities in the branches of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Journalism, Management and Administration, Law, Public Governance and Administration and International Relations also must pass a unified professional entrance examination. It is a testing for general educational competences and subject-specific testing that is also independent.
The academic year in Ukrainian HEIs is the period from the beginning to the end of classes. As a rule, it begins on 1 September and ends at the end of June of the following calendar year. The academic year is a unit of calculation of a student's study time. It consists of two terms. The first term covers the autumn-winter period of the calendar year, and the second term covers the spring-summer period. The academic year is designated by the numbers of the two consecutive calendar years in which it falls, e.g., academic year 2023/2024.
As a result of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine since 2022, the procedure for admission to HEIs has undergone significant changes. Admission to higher education is now based on a simplified procedure, mainly for security reasons. However, competition for budget places continues to be based on the results of independent but modified examinations to ensure transparency and equal opportunities for applicants. Such independent examinations are held both in Ukraine and in EU countries.
According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, HEIs have been relocated to ensure a safe educational environment for participants from regions affected by active hostilities. As of 1 July 2022, 29 HEIs and 64 separate structural units of state, communal, and private HEIs from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and certain communities of Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions have been relocated. This includes the first wave of relocations in 2014. This means that almost all HEIs in the territories temporarily lost to Ukraine have been relocated.