Before the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, about 5,000 people traditionally studied in postgraduate programmes. This year, the number of applicants for PhD programmes has risen to 140,000 - the same number of applicants registered for the exam.
Another 100,000 people want to apply for a master's degree. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykhaylo Vynnytskyy at the discussion "Ukrainian Education in Time of War: Challenges and Opportunities", organised by LB.ua in cooperation with EFI Group as part of the New Country special project.
"For our understanding, we traditionally had 3,500 people in postgraduate studies on state scholarships and about 1,200-1,500 contract students. So, 5,000 is our normal level. Two years ago, 15,000 entered postgraduate studies, last year 18,000 entered postgraduate studies, and this year we introduced a compulsory exam for postgraduate studies - 140,000 people have registered for it," the Deputy Minister said.
A total of 245,000 people have registered for the single entrance exam, which is mandatory for masters and PhD students.
Vynnytskyy added that the reform of the higher education system in Ukraine began ten years ago, and this path is still ongoing. In particular, in the issue of increasing the subjectivity of students and bringing the Ukrainian system closer to the European one. In his opinion, the reform process moved quickly when there was agreement between the minister and the head of the relevant parliamentary committee.