Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is today a classic university with a distinct research profile, and the leading contemporary academic and educational hub of Ukraine. With the independent Ukrainian nation arising, the university is facing new challenges and responsibilities. The academic experts of the future can be identified by a thorough professional knowledge and the ability to think creatively, with an understanding of the massive responsibility to be taken when working at the leading-edge of academic thought. Only a university with a long tradition of achievement and success both in teaching and in research could cope with such a mission. On 21 April 1994, Kyiv University was granted the status of "National" by Leonid Kravchuk, the President of Ukraine by Decree № 176/94, and on 25 November 1999 a further Decree, № 1496/99, of Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine at that time, significantly expanded the autonomous status of the university. Decree № 412/2008, of Viktor Yushchenko, then President of Ukraine, on 5 May 2008, further stipulated the conversion of the University to becoming the main principal educational and scientific centre of Ukraine for the education of academic and teaching staff with higher qualifications. Then on 29 July 2009 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with Regulation № 795 granted the University the status of being a self-governing and autonomous national research university, while providing increased funding for the future development of the university.
The high status of a classical research university is underpinned by the numerous academic achievements of its staff. The staff at the University have a broad range of formal achievements recognised, in particular with the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Awards from the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and branches of the national academies of science, Orders of Merit, Orders of Saints Cyril and Methodius, awards of the honorary title of Honoured Educationalist of Ukraine and Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, also Awards by the President of Ukraine for young academics and Awards by the Ukrainian Parliament to the most talented young scientists in basic and applied research, and scientific and technological development.
The University awards Bachelor's, Specialist Bachelor's and Master's degrees in addition to higher qualifications for postgraduate students and Doctor's degrees. Vocational education and vocational training is carried out in 47 disciplines with 84 specialisms, studied today by more than 25 thousand students. Higher postgraduate qualifications are being studied for by more than 1,600 postgraduate students and there are over 100 studying for their Doctor's degree. Over 350 doctoral and higher postgraduate theses are submitted annually at the university. Courses of study are provided by 184 Departments. The academic potential of Kyiv University is today demonstrated by more than 40 full members and corresponding members of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 515 members of staff with Doctor's degrees and 1,845 staff with higher postgraduate degrees.
The Department of Economics at Taras Shevchenko National university of Kyiv has had a Ukrainian-German Department of Environmental Management and Entrepreneurship created. This is the first time that in Ukraine a Department has been formed with the status of being Ukrainian-German, designed to teach students under an economics and environmental studies profile. It is characterised by its international lecturing staff, both Ukrainian and German.
There are 14 Faculties within the university: Geography, Geology, Economics, History, Cybernetics, Mathematics and Mechanics, Preparatory, Sociology, Radiophysics, Psychology, Physics, Philosophy, Chemistry, and Law. There are 7 Institutes; the Institute of Biology Research Centre, a Military Academy, a High Technology Centre, a School of Journalism, the Institute of International Relations, a Postgraduate Education Centre, and the Institute of Linguistics. Kyiv University has a number of other facilities, including: a Ukrainian Studies Centre, a Geological and Zoological Museum, a Museum of the History of the University, an Interfaculty Museum of Linguistics, an Informatics Centre, an Astronomical Observatory, a publishing and reprographics unit called "Kyiv University", and the Maksymovych Academic Library. At the time of writing, 3,459,752 specimens of documents were held in inventory.
The University also has a Department of Preparatory Studies. It provides vocational training for Ukrainian citizens in subjects of general education, submitted to External Independent Assessors (EIA) of school leavers of general secondary education, to a syllabus drawn up by the EIA. There are also courses of study for foreign nationals at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Each year the Department enrols 1300 citizens of Ukraine and 1000 foreign nationals.
Student accommodation is provided by a campus with comfortable halls of residence, computer clubs, sports facilities, cafeterias and dance halls. To promote a healthy lifestyle, the University has both health spa and sports facilities in Crimea on the Black Sea coast, as well as in the Kyiv area, on the banks of the river Dnipro.
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv has established strong international links with leading academic and research institutions around the world. Today the University has 160 partnership agreements with 145 universities and 15 international organizations and foundations in 51 countries. In addition, there are more than 60 agreements (Memoranda) on collaboration between the Faculties of the University and foreign universities or their subdivisions. Teaching at the University are some 25 lecturers from over 15 countries. Each year more than 900 lecturers, researchers and students travel abroad to some 52-58 countries. Two-thirds of those taking overseas trips travelled abroad for academic purposes: participating in conferences, internship and research.
There is advanced learning of foreign languages within almost every Faculty, underpinned by tuition of some professional and specialized courses in English, which permits the active participation by students and postgraduates in international events at the highest level. In particular, under the auspices of the Franco-Ukrainian International Research Association of Chemistry (known as MNDO in Ukrainian and GRDI - "Groupment Franco-Ukrainian en Chimie Moleculaire" - in French), students at the Chemical Faculty may receive degrees in parallel from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the Paul Sabatier University of the Academy of Toulouse, France, and then undertake joint postgraduate laboratory research, becoming scholarship students of both universities funded by the French Embassy in Ukraine. Successful submission of research theses allows such young scientists to obtain degree certificates valid both in France and Ukraine, as agreed by the Ukrainian Higher Attestation Commission.
As a result of bilateral partnership agreements with foreign educational and scientific establishments, in addition to inter-governmental agreements between Ukraine and a number of foreign countries, the University annually welcomes each year some 100 to 170 international students, representing 46 universities from 22 countries around the world, to enable part of their education. Contracted for a full degree course of study at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv are a number of foreign nationals who have individually applied for admission and enrolled as students. During the 2010/2011 academic year, in order to enable an increase in the number of foreign students, the University Academic Council extended the admission process for foreign nationals by permitting them to study in Russian.
The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv occupies first place among the 50 top Ukrainian universities, according to the 2011 ratings by the principal employers in Ukraine.
Our doors are open to all who seek and spare no effort to work for the welfare and prosperity of Ukraine!
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