Ukraine's Ministry of Education Announces Admission Procedures for Higher Education Institutions for 2026 — Details and Innovations

On March 24, 2026, the official website of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine released the admission procedures for higher education institutions for the year 2026. This document aims to regulate the fundamental principles and procedures that universities will employ during the organization of admissions for prospective students. The new procedures contain crucial information regarding admission conditions and the benefits available to applicants from temporarily occupied territories or areas where active hostilities are ongoing.

Lawyer Taiya Avram from the public organization Donbas SOS elaborated in her explainer for NV that the admission procedures serve as a compilation of rules, conditions, and criteria that universities and applicants will follow. She emphasized that it would have been prudent to publish this document earlier, before the New Year, considering the challenging situation arising from the full-scale invasion, which has left many young people in occupation and struggling to obtain information about admissions.

Compared to the previous year, the new admission procedures include changes in the presentation of information and address errors made during past admission campaigns. For instance, the procedures explicitly outline how grades from school certificates are considered as entrance examinations, as well as the option for admission based on entrance examination results instead of the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT), even if the applicant took the NMT but did not appear for testing.

The timelines for signing contracts by applicants from temporarily occupied territories have also been clarified, and it has been determined who can take advantage of the simplified admission procedure. These changes are expected to facilitate better organization of the admission campaign, reduce confusion, and decrease the number of unjustified refusals from universities.

The key criterion for selecting applicants for undergraduate programs in 2026 remains high scores on the NMT, entrance examinations, and creative competitions. The higher the scores, the greater the chances of successful admission, obtaining a budget place, or receiving a scholarship. This applies to both general applicants and those from privileged categories, as the number of budget places and grants is limited.

In 2026, several privileged categories for admission to higher education institutions were defined. The benefits offered to each of these categories vary slightly. For example, applicants recognized as victims of the Revolution of Dignity, those with war-related disabilities, combatants, and individuals for whom special conditions for taking the NMT cannot be created, have the right to be admitted based on entrance examination results instead of the NMT.

Applicants from temporarily occupied territories or areas of active hostilities who relocated after October 1, 2025, are eligible for admission based on entrance examination results instead of the NMT and can apply for budget places under quota-2. Meanwhile, for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from such territories who left before October 1, 2025, admission to budget places under quota-2 is possible based on NMT results.

Additionally, quota-1 provides special conditions for individuals with disabilities of groups I and II, children with disabilities, orphans, and individuals who have become victims of armed aggression against Ukraine. They may be admitted to budget places based on successful completion of the NMT in 2026.

Regarding admission to master's programs, special conditions are established for applicants who have a registered or declared place of residence in temporarily occupied territories or areas of active hostilities. They may be exempt from taking the Unified Entrance Exam (UEE) and the Unified Professional Entrance Exam (UPEE) under certain conditions if they plan to enroll in the same university where they obtained their bachelor's degree in 2026.

It is important to note that the funding source for master's studies remains the same as it was for bachelor's studies. Therefore, if students studied on a budget basis for their bachelor's degree, they will also have the opportunity to study for free in their master's program.

For admission to doctoral programs, applicants must take the UEE and UPEE; however, exceptions are made for those for whom special conditions cannot be created for these tests. They may take entrance examinations at the university. However, for applicants from temporarily occupied territories or areas of active hostilities, no simplified procedures or benefits for admission to doctoral programs are provided.

For applicants from temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities, specially allocated budget places under quota-2 are available. However, their number is limited, and the fewest budget places under this quota will be in universities located in relatively safe regions, such as Kyiv, Ternopil, and Lviv. Only 10% of budget places will be allocated in such institutions, but no less than one place from the total number received by the educational institution. More budget places, up to 40%, will be available in relocated universities and those located in Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv regions.

If there are not enough budget places under the quota, after enrollment, applicants may submit a request to the rector for transfer to a vacant budget place. However, there are no guarantees that such a place will be available or allocated additionally. Last year, organizations such as Donbas SOS appealed to the Ministry of Education to ensure an adequate number of budget places, as they were so scarce that applicants sought assistance. It is hoped that this year the situation will improve.