Education in Ukraine

 Education in Ukraine has a long & a very rich history. Its students, graduates & academics have long been known & appreciated all over the world. The pioneering research of scholars working in the ukraine’s higher education institutions and academies, such as Dmytro Mendeleyev, Mykola Zhukovsky, and Yeugeny Paton, are part of the universal history of scientific progress.Education in Ukraine focuses on useful information for all foreigners, who want to study in Ukrainian universities.There are nearly 61,000 of foreign students from 152 countries at Ukrainian institutes of higher education.They are attracted by Ukraine’s good-quality higher education at a low cost compared to other countries.Most foreign students live in hostels provided by the school at low cost, keeping their expenses low. Every student is guaranteed not only in getting of education on high level, but also in getting of diploma, which corresponds to all the standards of Bolonga System for today.

Brief historical

Ukraine produces the fourth largest number of academic graduates in Europe.

The first higher education institutions (HEIs) emerged in Ukraine during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The first Ukrainian higher education institution 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. The oldest university was the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, first established in 1632 and in 1694 officially recognized by the government of Imperial Russia as a higher education institution. Among the oldest is also the Lviv University, founded in 1661. More higher education institutions were set up in the 19th century, beginning with universities in Kharkiv (1805), Kiev (1834), Odessa (1865), and Chernivtsi (1875) and a number of professional higher education institutions, e.g.: 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 Kiev (1898) and a Higher Mining School (1899) in Katerynoslav. Rapid growth followed in the Soviet period. By 1988 a number of higher education institutions increased to 146 with over 850,000 students.[1] Most HEIs established after 1990 are those owned by private organizations.
The Constitution of Ukraine (1996), Law on Education (1996), and the Law on Higher Education (2002) constitute the legal framework for Ukrainian higher education. The 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.

Access and affordability

As with most communist Soviet and Eastern European states access to education for the masses was deemed a high priority, this was 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 perusing their degree were exempt from the draft until the completion of their studies, therefore 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 is affordable to its population. In 2009 Ukraine spent 7.3% of GDP on education compared to the United State’s 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 by most citizens, students wishing to enroll in a trade school 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 which determines their chances of enrolling and whether or not they will have to pay tuition or not. 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 UAH for students enrolled in Technikums and 730 UAH for students enrolled in Universities. 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 predominant 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 of 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 peruse a higher degree using this method.

Higher education qualifications

Higher education qualifications combine both academic and professional qualifications. This is a very important feature of Ukrainian higher education inherited from its Soviet past. The State Diploma serves as both an educational certificate and a professional licence. 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 is the correspondence between classification of educational qualification and that of the occupational structure, leading to the introduction of the term ‘educational-proficiency’ level.
The Law on Higher Education (2002) establishes the three-level structure of higher education: incomplete, basic, and complete educational levels with corresponding educational-proficiency levels of Junior Specialist, Bachelor, Specialist and Master. 

 

Living in Ukraine

Monthly expenses are about $150 to $200 per month.
In order to live comfortably while you are in all over the Ukraine, the student will need to have about 1200 USD to 1500 USD per year available for living costs, in addition to the cost of the tuition. The cost of living is cheaper, lot more than other European cities.
Rent for shared hostel accommodation is around 300-600 USD per year.
Rent for a flat in a private apartment per Month is 700-900 USD per year.
You’ll also have the opportunity to visit some of Ukraine most famous and historical cities and sights, including Yalta, Odessa, red sea, etc.
Indulge yourselves into social activities and organise theatre visits, meals, parties and trips to parks and paintballing venues.
Moderate Climate around the year.
Taking Three Months Jobs during the summer vacation in countries like U.K., Sweden, etc.
Ukraine is a big agricultural country with different cooking traditions.
Different food can be bought in shops, supermarkets, agricultural markets. Cafeterias, restaurants and fast food restaurants propose different cuisine. Indian and Pakistani mess is available.
Students can spend as little as 70 to 100 USD per month on food.
Kiev is the capital of modern Ukraine on the river Dnieper. Ancient churches, beautiful landscapes and a variety of cultural facilities can be found here.
The city of Odessa is the largest trading center in Ukraine. It contains a variety of resorts at the Black Sea.