Higher education is defined as a combination of systematic knowledge, skills and practical abilities, ways of thinking, professional, worldview and civic qualities, moral and ethical values, and other competencies acquired at a higher education institution (scientific institution) in the relevant field of knowledge for a specific qualification at levels of higher education that are more complex than the level of complete general secondary education and are regulated by the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” dated September 28, 2017, No. 1556-18.
This Law establishes the basic legal, organizational, and financial foundations for the functioning of the higher education system, creates conditions for strengthening cooperation between state bodies and business with higher education institutions on the principles of autonomy of higher education institutions, combining education with science and production in order to prepare competitive human capital for the high-tech and innovative development of the country, personal self-realization, and meeting the needs of society, the labor market, and the state for qualified specialists.
Ukrainian legislation on higher education is based on the Constitution of Ukraine and consists of the laws of Ukraine “On Education,” “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity,” and other regulatory and legal acts, as well as international treaties of Ukraine concluded in accordance with the procedure established by law.
Citizens of Ukraine have the right to receive higher education free of charge in state and municipal higher education institutions on a competitive basis in accordance with higher education standards, if a citizen is obtaining a certain degree of higher education for the first time at the expense of the state or local budget.
Citizens of Ukraine who have not completed their studies at the expense of the state or local budget for a certain degree of education have the right to re-enroll in higher education free of charge for the same degree of education, provided that the funds spent on the payment of services for the training of specialists are reimbursed to the state or local budget in accordance with the procedure approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 658 of August 26, 2015.
The training of specialists with higher education is carried out in accordance with relevant educational or scientific programs at various levels of higher education:
🚩 initial level (short cycle)
🚩 first (bachelor's) level
🚩 second (master's) level
🚩 third (educational-scientific/educational-creative) level
🚩 scientific level
These levels are regulated by the National Qualifications Framework (a systematic and competency-based description of qualification levels), which is intended for use by executive authorities, institutions, and organizations that implement state policy in the field of education, employment, and social and labor relations, educational institutions, employers, and other legal entities and individuals for the purpose of developing, identifying, correlating, recognizing, planning, and developing qualifications.
A higher education document (academic degree) is issued to a person who has successfully completed the relevant educational (academic) program and passed the certification.
The following types of higher education documents (academic degrees) have been established for the corresponding degrees:
🚩 Associate's degree
🚩 Bachelor's degree diploma
🚩 Master's degree diploma
The junior bachelor's, bachelor's, and master's degree diplomas indicate the name of the higher education institution (scientific institution) that issued the document (in the case of higher education obtained at a separate division of a higher education institution (scientific institution), the name of such a unit is also indicated), as well as the qualification, which consists of information about the degree of higher education obtained by the person, their specialty and specialization, and in certain cases, their professional qualification.
An integral part of a junior bachelor's degree is a diploma supplement.
For bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, there is a European-style diploma supplement containing structured information about the completed program of study. The diploma supplement contains information about the person's learning outcomes, consisting of information about the names of disciplines, grades received, and the number of ECTS credits earned, as well as information about the national higher education system of Ukraine.
🚩 Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Arts diploma
The Doctor of Philosophy/Doctor of Arts, Doctor of Science diploma indicates the name of the higher education institution (scientific institution) where the training was carried out, the name of the higher education institution (scientific institution) the specialized academic council (specialized council for awarding the degree of Doctor of Arts) where the scientific/artistic achievements were defended, as well as the name of the qualification.
The name of the qualification of Doctor of Philosophy indicates the name of the degree, field of knowledge, and/or specialty. If the dissertation research was carried out in related fields of knowledge, the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Science are awarded in the leading field, indicating the interdisciplinary nature of the work.
The title of the Doctor of Arts qualification indicates the name of the degree, specialty, and in some cases, the name of the specialization.
The degree of Doctor of Arts is awarded by a specialized council for awarding the degree of Doctor of Arts of a higher education institution of an artistic orientation based on the successful completion by the applicant of the relevant educational and creative program and public defense of a creative artistic project in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The term of preparation for a Doctor of Arts degree in creative postgraduate studies is three years. The educational component of the educational and creative program for the preparation of a Doctor of Arts degree is 30-60 ECTS credits.
🚩 Doctor of Science degree
Doctor of Science is the second scientific degree obtained by a person at the scientific level of higher education on the basis of a Doctor of Philosophy degree and involves the acquisition of the highest competencies in the field of development and implementation of research methodology, conducting original research, obtaining scientific results that provide solutions to important theoretical or applied problems, are of national or global significance, and are published in scientific journals.
The degree of Doctor of Science is awarded by a specialized academic council of a higher education institution or scientific institution based on the results of a public defense of scientific achievements in the form of a dissertation or published monograph, or a collection of articles published in domestic and international peer-reviewed professional publications, the list of which is approved by the central executive authority in the field of education and science.
A state-recognized higher education document is issued by a higher education institution only for an accredited educational program. For non-accredited educational programs, higher education institutions produce and issue their own higher education documents in the manner and according to the model determined by the academic council of the higher education institution.
State-approved higher education documents for persons studying under state order are produced by higher education institutions and issued at the expense of the state budget, and for persons studying at the expense of individuals or legal entities, the cost of higher education documents is included in the cost of tuition. The maximum cost of state-approved higher education documents and the list of information that must be included in a higher education document are established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
If a person obtains higher education under educational programs agreed upon between higher education institutions, including foreign ones, higher education institutions have the right to produce and issue joint diplomas according to a model determined by a joint decision of the academic councils of such higher education institutions.
If a person obtains higher education in two specialties (specializations) at the same time, the higher education institution has the right to produce and issue a double diploma according to the model determined by the academic council of the higher education institution.
Information about issued diplomas shall be entered by higher education institutions, except for higher military educational institutions, into the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (which includes the Register of Higher Education Institutions, the Register of Higher Education Documents, the Register of External Independent Assessment Certificates, and the Register of Student (Pupil) Tickets).