On August 30, the Government of Ukraine took an important step towards integrating our higher education system into the European educational area. It approved a new list of fields and specialties that meets the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” and the recommendations of the European Commission. This decision is part of a comprehensive transformation of the higher education system and its content.

Why is it important?

1. European integration: As a candidate country for accession to the European Union, Ukraine is actively implementing European legal norms in various areas, including education.
2. Statistical harmonization: The new list will allow Ukraine to more effectively collect, analyze, and report statistics on education and training to Eurostat, OECD, and UNESCO.
3. Compliance with international standards: The new list is harmonized with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), which will facilitate the recognition of Ukrainian diplomas abroad.

What has changed?

• Number of fields: The previous list included 28 fields of study. Now there are 11:
  • 10 fields corresponding to ISCED
  • 1 additional field “Security and Defense”, which takes into account the special conditions in which Ukraine is currently experiencing.

Implications and prospects

1. Updating standards: A large-scale revision of higher education standards will begin in 2025. This is due to the adoption of the Law on Individual Educational Trajectories in May 2024.
2. Interdisciplinarity: The new list will facilitate the implementation of interdisciplinary educational programs and improve the quality of training content in specialties with additional regulation.
3. New opportunities for applicants: It is expected that as early as 2025, applicants will be able to apply according to the new List.

What’s next.

• In the near future, a table of correspondence between the 2015 List of fields of knowledge and specialties and the new List will be prepared.
• A public discussion of this table will be announced.

Follow the updates on our website to keep abreast of further changes in the field of higher education in Ukraine!