Study in Ukraine

Overview

With over 80,000 students from 158 countries in 2019, according to data released by the Ukrainian State Center for International Education, Ukraine has emerged as one of the top study destinations. Europe’s second-largest country, Ukraine, covers an area of 603,628 km2 with a population of around 41.5 million. The country shares its borders with Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Belarus to the north, Moldova and Romania to the south and further, has a coastline along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Among the total number of international students that study in Ukraine, majority of them pursue Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (87.85%), followed by preparatory courses (8.64%), postgraduate education (3.50%) and academic mobility (0.01%). Of the top, India is the largest country of origin of international students in the country, amounting to 22.9% of the total. Other top sources of international students in Ukraine include Morocco (10.23%), Azerbaijan (6.8%), Turkmenistan (6.64%), Nigeria (5.44%) and Turkey (4.68%).

Ukraine saw its first higher education institutions in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and even then it managed to attract international students. The first among all was the Ostrozka School established in 1567 in the town of Ostrog and the oldest university was the Kyiv Mohyla Academy set up in 1632. As of 2019-20, Ukraine housed a total of 455 higher education institutions with international students. The country boasts education that goes beyond classrooms - interdisciplinary programs, multicultural environment, state-of-the-art campus facilities, high-end training and research among other things.

In Ukraine, the top area of study is the highly respected field of health and medicine. Studying medicine in Ukraine promises not just greater impact but better career prospects, higher salary and universality through a blend of theory and practice. Second to health and medicine is information technologies and third is agricultural science and food.

Covid-19 Response

As the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the globe, Ukraine has also been significantly affected by it with over 1.99M cases as of April 17, 2021. In the beginning, the education system was kept closed as one of the measures to slow down the spread of the virus.

• Before arriving in Ukraine for study, the foreign citizen must check which zone their country belongs to. Countries are divided into red and green zones.

• Classes are being delivered in remote format.

• If a foreign citizen arrives from a country that belongs to the red zone, they will have to undergo a quarantine period of 14 days.

• International students who come to take exams are exempt from passing observation or self-isolation.

• Most of the Ukrainian HEIs are tackling similar problems and ensuring a remarkable study at home experience for international students:

  • Lack of institutional strategies and resources for arranging distance learning

  • Implementation of good-quality multimedia services is still new and the variety of such services needs to be navigated

  • Limited experience and expertise of the teaching staff and/or lack of digital proficiency.

Also Read: Ukraine vs Russia: Which is Better for MBBS Abroad?

Why Study in Ukraine

Low Cost:

Ukraine is one of the most favourable countries to pursue medical courses as the fees at universities is quite low as compared to Indian medical education. Quality medical education is available in Ukraine with less expenditure.
Globally Recognized Universities: Ukraine offers some of the top universities in the world with state-of-the-art facilities that enable students to learn in a diverse environment. Some of these universities are over 200 years old.
Quality Education: Top universities in Ukraine rope in highly-qualified international faculty to guide students in their medical careers. These universities are also recognized by the Medical Council of India and WHO and candidates can pass the MCI screening test and practice medicine in India.

No Entrance Exam or Donation:

Students seeking medical education in Ukraine universities will not have to pay any donation charges in order to take admission. Also, there is no national medical entrance test in Ukraine that candidates will have to clear in order to secure admission in these universities.

Good Clinical Exposure:

Universities in Ukraine offer excellent clinical exposure to students where they can test their medical knowledge and gain practical experience.

Secure Environment:

Ukraine is a safe country to pursue higher education as the crime rate is low and universities provide quite a secure environment for students.

Low Cost of Living:

The cost of living in Ukraine is also low and Indian students can easily bear the expenditures other than the education fees.

IELTS and TOEFL not Required:

Even though most of the universities in Ukraine offer medical education in English, they do not require students to take IELTS or TOEFL tests in order to prove their aptitude in English.

Higher Education System in Ukraine

Ukraine joined the Bologna Process in 2015, integrating the Ukrainian education into the European Higher Education Area. Ukrainian higher education institutions offer courses in English, Ukrainian and Ukraine across a variety of areas of study. 

Managed by the Ministry of Education, higher education in Ukraine includes the following levels and categories of establishments: 

• Level I -  vocational schools and other HEIs of a corresponding level

• Level II - colleges and other HEIs of a corresponding level which deliver Bachelor and junior specialist courses

• Level III - academies, institutes, conservatories, and universities which deliver Bachelor's and Specialist, as well as junior specialist courses

• Level IV - academies, institutes, conservatories, and universities which deliver Bachelor's, Master's and Specialist courses.

Again, the stages of studies in higher education are divided into: 

Non-university level post-secondary studies (technical/vocational type):

The country’s postsecondary education is considered “higher education” and two levels of institutes complete them. First is level 1- technical and vocational schools and the second is level 2 - technicums and colleges which award the qualification of Junior Specialist. 

University-level Studies: 

These include the first stage of Bakalavr (Bachelor’s degree), Specialist, second stage of Magister (master’s degree), third stage of doctoral degree -1 and doctoral degree - 2.

Teacher Education: 

Overall, teacher education in Ukraine refers to Training of pre-primary and primary/basic school teachers, secondary school teachers and higher education teachers. 

Non-traditional studies:

Distance higher education, lifelong higher education, higher education training in industry and other forms of non-formal higher education comprise non-traditional studies in Ukraine. 

Types of Higher Education Institutions in Ukraine

There are six types of higher education institutions in Ukraine. These are: 

Universities: With the fourth level of accreditation, universities in Ukraine can either be multi-disciplinary establishments (classical universities) or branch establishments (specialist or focused on a particular professional field like medical, agriculture, etc.). They can also conduct research at their research and methodological research centers.

Academies: Similar to universities, academies in Ukraine also have the fourth level of accreditation. They are concentrated in a definite discipline of study and act as leading methodological and research institutes in applied and fundamental research fields.

Institutes: Institutes in Ukraine have both third and fourth level of accreditation. They deliver courses in a specific branch of knowledge which may conduct research and may be independent or a part of a university or academy.

Conservatories: With third and fourth level of accreditation, this type of HEI is concerned with culture and arts and especially music. Some also hold research and act as activity centres. 

Colleges: They have Ukrainian education’s second level of accreditation that train students to obtain specific higher education qualifications. Colleges may also have sub-units within other HEIs. 

Technical Schools: With first first level of accreditation, technical schools in Ukraine offer educational activity in specialist areas of skills and knowledge based on specific occupations. They may also have sub-units within other HEIs.

List of Higher Education Organisations in Ukraine

In Ukraine, the national system of quality assurance is done by means of accreditation and licensing carried by the Department for Licensing, Accreditation and Nostrification of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Given below are the organisations that regulate higher education in Ukraine:

• Accreditation Commission of Ukraine

• Association of Private Educational Institutions of Ukraine

• Council of Rectors of Ukrainian Institutions of Higher Education

• Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine

• Ministry of Culture of Ukraine

• Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

• Ministry of Health of Ukraine

• Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

Grading Scale in Ukraine

Conforming to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the Ukrainian grading system is based on its current control of work during a semester including verbal questioning, colloquiums, control works, etc.

Curriculum and Degrees Offered in Ukraine

Ukraine’s four-level higher education system includes the following degrees: Junior Specialist, Bachelor, Specialist and Master, as set up by the Law on Higher Education of 2002. However, in 2016, the Ministry of Education made amends to the system and transformed the levels into: Junior bachelor, bachelor's, master's, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Sciences.

Junior Bachelor or Junior Specialist: This is a qualification obtained at an educational-proficiency level of higher education. The same is for those who have completed secondary education and have incomplete higher education or special skills and knowledge in a given professional field. It usually takes 2.5 to 3 years to complete a Junior Bachelor’s degree in Ukraine. Example:

Bachelor: Bachelor’s in Ukraine refers to an educational-proficiency level of higher education of students who have obtained basic higher education, fundamental and special skills on the basis of complete secondary education. It usually takes 4 years for one to complete a Bachelor’s degree.

Master: This counts those who have attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient enough to take up work of innovation character at the professional level. The duration of a Masters course in Ukraine is 1 to 1.5 years. However, training specialists in fields such as dentistry, medicine, veterinary medicine can take up to 5-6 years.

Doctoral Level: Ukraine has a two-degree system at the doctorate level. The first is Candidate of Sciences or Doctor of Philosophy and the second is Doctor of Sciences. While the former takes at least three years of study, achieved by submission of a thesis, the latter is the highest degree in Ukraine, that required an original contribution to the chosen field along with a dissertation.

Campus Student Life, Athletics & Extra-Curricular Activities in Ukraine

Student life, in Ukraine, goes beyond the classroom experience which includes networking, multicultural environment, university accommodation, events, sports and more. Living and studying in a country like Ukraine requires students to learn how to co-exist within the Ukrainian culture, adapt to a fresh environment and interact with students from different cultures and countries.

Given that Ukraine is a tolerant country, it is extremely safe for both domestic and international students alike. The country’s government makes sure that students are safe throughout their stay in Ukraine. The top-ranked cities for safety are Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa.

Sports in Ukraine forms an integral part of university life and it is due to the country’s diverse geography and climate that people find myriad sports opportunities. Although football and Basketball are the most popular, many Ukrainian students engage in sports including light athletics, sport aerobics, basketball, football, volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, chess, powerlifting, tourism, single combat, etc.

Further, being a student in Ukraine also means that students have a great social life, full of remarkable activities, involvement in student unions and more. All in all, Ukrainian universities are popular for conducting different activities, contests and having cultural clubs that open to students from different communities.

Medical Education in Ukraine

Medical education in Ukraine is considered one of the best in the world, despite its breakup with the USSR (Soviet Union). Lakhs of students from across the globe choose Ukraine to study medicine because of the importance it lays on fundamental knowledge and excellent practical skills.

After integrating into the Bologna process, Ukraine reformed its educational system and adapted to EU standards. This paved the way for the country to train specialists of medical and pharmaceutical fields and prepare them in higher education establishments of I-IV levels of accreditation. These include a total of 64 medical schools, 47 medical colleges and their branches, 2 nursing institutes, 12 medical universities, 2 medical academies, 1 national pharmaceutical university and 3 academies of postgraduate education.

Six medical universities and one medical academy of postgraduate education in Ukraine have the status of national institutions. It is also notable that Ukrainian diplomas, today, have wide global recognition, and the level of professional training is highly appreciated by foreign recruiters across the world.

Benefits of Studying MBBS in Ukraine

Given the popularity of studying medicine in Ukraine, aspirants often look for ways how studying MBBS in Ukraine would benefit them. Find out some of these reasons:

Better Career Prospects: In Ukraine, holding a degree in medicine or MBBS will find one work within 6 months after graduation. Moreover, universities in the country offer diverse internships, in which most often manage to get a job offer after having proven themselves. Moreover, students can also try in Europe, the Middle East or other countries as Ukrainian diplomas are accredited by IMED, WHO, MCI, PMDC, ECM and many other international medical organisations.

Higher Salary: A qualified doctor in Ukraine is of immense value. A good specialist there earns INR 5,34,171 per month, that is around 5 times more than a normal citizen’s salary. They can earn even higher in Europe.

Blend of Theory and Practice: Medical universities in Ukraine are characterised by their global nature. Students are not only provided with top-notch theoretical knowledge in classrooms but also allowed to apply their knowledge on the field. This approach allows students to understand and learn medical practices, innovative technologies and activities directly at the hospital.

Greater Impact: With the ever-growing importance of qualified and skilled doctors across the world and also in Ukraine, they are more likely to make a greater contribution and impact on the community and the field.

Structure of Medical Education in Ukraine

The table mentioned below is an overview of the structure of medical education in Ukraine:

Most Popular Medical Courses Among International Students in Ukraine

Here are the four most popular medical courses among international students in Ukraine. Many also opt for postgraduate studies in the field of medicine that last between 2 and 3 years.