Living and Studying in Ukraine
General information
Population 50 millions.
Territory 603,700 sq. km
Borders on Russia, Belorus, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova.
Capital Kyiv (Kiev). Territorial division 24 regions, Autonomous
republic of Crimea, cities with the special status Kyiv and Sevastopol.
State language Ukrainian. Russian language is widely used.
Ukraine is a presidentparliamentary republic with the authority divided
between the President (Head of the executive power), Verkhovna Rada
(legislative power, Parliament) and court system. Political life is
characterized by a great number of political parties. The main law
is Constitution adopted in 1997.
Review of History
First known societies that inhibited the territory of Ukraine, dated
3 century B. C., had developed agriculture. First state unions were
established in 1st century B. C. Tribal unions of Slavs of forest-steppe
area started to cultivate lands in Dnieper river bed, one of the longest
rivers of Eastern Europe, in the 1st century A.D.
By the last quarter of the 9th century the ancient Rus state had been
formed with the centre in Kyiv and under the leadership of Rurikovitch
dynasty.
Between the two centuries 10-11 Kiev Rus experienced a great development
of culture, arts and written languages.
At the end of the 12th century Kiev Rus was split into many small
reign areas. As the result the process of the development of education
and written language was impeded.
Further development of Ukrainian lands was connected with the history
of other countries and made influence on their culture and education.
On the other hand, European traditions in education influenced the
process of establishment of the first higher school in Kyiv in 1632
Collegium and Lviv University, founded in 1661. Kyiv professors were
among the most respected scholars. Many of them were invited to Moscow
and Zagorsk and other scientific centres of Russian empire.
The 19th century was marked by the establishment of several universities,
that Ukrainian education took pride in. In 1805 The university in
Kharkiv was founded (Eastern Ukraine), 1834 in Kyiv, 1865 in Odessa.
Rapid development of industry, agriculture and trade in Ukraine promoted
the system of higher education. Technical and agricultural universities
started to appear. Scientific researches were among priorities. The
language of education was Russian.
To get education in Ukrainian language became possible only in twenties
of the 20th century. The programme of liquidation of mass illiteracy
that took place at the period made the education more democratic and
accessible.
During the Soviet Union times Ukraine was one of the most developed
countries. Its economy demanded a great number of highly qualified
specialists for implementation scientific researches results into
industry. These demands were met due to a big number of universities
and institutes. Ukrainian scientists were the authors of new achievements
in the area of air-space technologies, welding, IT, etc.
Success in Ukrainian education drew attention of foreign students.
Since 1940 had been preparing in Ukraine. Nowadays, Ukrainian graduates
take leading positions in foreign companies including Asia, Africa
and Latin America. You can see them among state officers, doctors,
engineers.
The end of world confrontation and establishment of Ukraine as an
independent state opened new perspectives for Ukrainian education
and its integration into the academic world.
Nineties are characterized by deep changes in the national system
of education. The changes in structure and content of education started
as the result of the development of new marketing relations. Labour
market demanded new skill standards. Management, marketing, law, financing
and computer engineering were among priorities. At the same time with
the state sector private institutions had started to be developed.
Foreign languages such as English, German, French, Spain were the
main part of the curriculum, that built favourable conditions for
successful preparation to International Language exams. Ukrainian
universities take an active part in work of European educational bodies
as well as European Association of International Education. Ukraine
was one of the countries that signed the convention on the Recognition
of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in Europe (Lisbon, 1997).
In 1999 the Parliament of Ukraine ratified the convention. Bilateral
cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign universities is intensively
developed. Ukrainian universities are active participants of the European
union Programme TEMPUS.
Nowadays, popularity of higher education is growing.
System of education
The system of education provides good quality and is well developed.
One of the most important tasks for central and local authorities
is to give equal possibilities in getting top quality education for
all citizens of Ukraine.
The table on page 9 represents the structure of education.
In the area of education and upbringing are involved 7% of Ukrainian
professionals who teach 11 mln. students (22% of the population).
There are 18400 institutions for pre-school preparation. According
to the Constitution secondary school takes the central part in the
system and is free and quite accessible. 7 mln. students attend 21900
schools. Private sector in secondary education is insignificant. Totally,
there are 200 private schools (1% of all the amount of students).
Transition of secondary school from 10 (11) to 12 level system, according
to European standards, is taking place now. Moreover, there is no
difference in content of Ukrainian (post-soviet) secondary education
from standards of secondary school of other European countries.
You can take vocational education in 1003 technical institutions (utchilische)
on the base of lower secondary education and upper secondary education.
In Ukrainian system of education College of Further Education (tekhnikum)
refers to the lower part of higher education.
Higher Education
Having more than 1 mln. students institutions of higher education
in Ukraine form a system which considers to be one of the biggest
in the world.
In Ukraine you can get higher education in universities (academies,
institutes) accredited on 3-4th level.
After 4 years of studying you can get Bachelor degree, 5 years is
for specialists, five and a half or 6 years Masters degree. Among
all the enumerated degrees Specialist is the most popular.
You become a student of a university according the results of entrance
exams in July August.
The academic year beginning on the 1st of September lasts up to the
end of July and consists of two terms. All the students go on holidays
between two terms: the first term (September - January) and the second
one (February - June). Summer holidays last for two months.
At the end of each term the student takes 3 or 5 examinations and
3 or 5 tests. Successful pass of examinations and tests guarantees
the possibility of getting to the second term.
Students have classes everyday but for weekends. They attend lectures,
tutorials, work with materials in libraries and resource centres.
Higher education course includes work placement, when students have
the possibility to gain experience.
Recognition of qualification gained is the priority of the state.
In case of successful graduation of a university students get the
Diploma no matter what form of property it refers to. The transcript
of the subject list with marks is attached to the Diploma. Although
the state guarantees the conformity to standards of qualification,
the employer takes into consideration how authoritative the university
is.
Today, you can get the education in 313 universities, academies and
institutes of Ukraine of 3-4th level of accreditation. Among them
there are 220 state institutions, 93- non state. 54,9 % of state universities
students get free education.
International Students
International students get their higher education in universities,
academies and institutes, that are not only accredited, but also have
a special license to teach foreign students. All the universities
from this Guide possess the license. The Ministry of Education and
Science of Ukraine controls the quality of educational services done
to foreign students.
International students start their studying with foundation year.
It includes a course of Ukrainian (Russian) language and some of the
comprehensive subjects according to the future profession.
Further education is continuing together with Ukrainian students.
Entrance Procedure
To select a university and profession you are to take the information
right from the institution according to the address, given in the
Guide, Embassy of Ukraine in your country or agent, who represents
the Ukrainian University.
You have to send the following to the University:
An application form;
The copy of the document about secondary education signed by a notary;
The copy of birth certificate signed by a notary;
Medical certificate that states you have no health problems and infectious
disease;
8 documental photos
If there are no problems with the documents, you will get an official
proposal, 2 copies of contract and the invoice for study course and
other payments.
After that you have to send a letter of confirmation of your coming
to take a course, one copy of the contract, a copy of the bank document,
that confirms your payment.
The university sends the official invitation to the applicant.
Visa
As soon as you get the invitation you have to address the Embassy
of Ukraine in your country. There you can find out the information
about the list of documents needed to get a student visa.
To get through the passport control you have to show the passport
with visa, the copy of the official invitation, medical insurance
policy.
On coming to the place of study, international students have to be
registered in the local authorities. As a rule, this procedure is
done by the international department of the university.
Medical Insurance
The procedure of medical insurance of international students is a
usual practice in Ukraine. Medical insurance can be paid together
with study payment or at the airport in Ukraine.
There are other ways of payment as well.
Accommodation
International students live in university hostels. There are various
types of hostels. To get more information you can address the accommodation
department of the university. It is also possible to live in Ukrainian
families or to rent a flat.
Money
National currency is Hryvnia (UHR). 1 USD = 5.7 Hryvnia (1/11/00)
.
You can change foreign currency in banks, kiosks, in the international
airport. In the airport the currency rate is the same as in other
places.
Payment for purchasing and services is done in hryvnias. Nevertheless,
some companies take payments in USD.
You can use credit cards of international payment systems. They can
be used in many of the shops, hotels, transport companies, clubs and
restaurants. In cities the net of exchange machines is well developed
including the most popular among students that of AVAL bank. This
bank is often used to open the account for international students.
Here you can save money both in foreign currency and Ukrainian hryvnia.
Departments of the bank are situated in many regions of the country.
It makes it easier to transfer money through the Western Union.
Holidays
New Year 1st of January
Orthodox Christmas 7th of January
International Women Day 8th of March
Orthodox Easter
Labour Day 1st of May
Victory Day 9th of May
Trinity Sunday
Constitution Day 28th of June
Day of Independence 24th of August
Communications
UKRTELECOM company, the sponsor of the Guide, provides excellent telephone
communications both in Ukraine and all over the world.
Most of the universities provide access to Internet for their students.
There are also a lot of Internet- cafes.
You can use services of fast mail, represented by DHL, Federal Express,
UPS, TNT and other companies.
Medical Service
Most of the state Universities provide free medical service in students
hospitals. Students can also go to state and private hospitals, where
medical service is to be paid.
Service of the ambulance is free.
Climate
Climate is mostly continental. The average temperature in January
is 1C, in November +5C, in July +22C.
Transport
The international airport of Borispol is the air gate of the country,
36 km from Kiev. To get from the airport to Kiev you can take a taxi,
shuttle-bus, bus. You can also order pick up service in the university.
Besides Borispol airport you can take international flights from Simferopol,
Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk. International railway connections
are with Bulgaria, Check, Slovak, Germany and Poland. International
bus routes are from Poland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium,
France, Germany. By ship you can get from Turkey.
It is better to find out your own route to the university from the
university itself or the agent.
Ukraine has a well developed transportation system. So there will
no problems to get to any part of the country. You can travel all
over the country by train or bus. The fare for distance 500 km is
about US$12-15. Tickets on train you can buy in advance either at
the railway station or in the city. On the day of departure a ticket
can be bought on the station only.
For air travel within the country you can buy tickets from the local
companies. Flight cost at distance 500 km is about US$50.
Local transport includes buses, trolleybuses, trams, taxis. The fare
is US$0.15. You can buy tickets from the conductor or in yellow kiosks
at stops.
The fare for taxi is $US1 + US$0.20 per 1 km.
In Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk you can take Underground, paying
at the entrance a ticket of US$0.12 (without time and destination
limits!).
During warm period a water transport is quite comfortable: on the
Dnieper river or by the Black sea.
Electricity
The standard electrical currency throughout Ukraine is 220 volts.
Some outlets operate on 127 volts, but these are very rare. You may
need a converter as well as an Eastern European plug adapter if you
are bringing electrical appliances. You should be aware that there
are frequent power surges, and other irregularities in the electrical
supply. You may want to consider brining a surge protector.
Food
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.