The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has ordered higher education institutions to review the names of their educational programs. The reason was numerous cases of inconsistency between the name of the program and its content, which creates risks for accreditation and violations of the law.
As the Director General of the Directorate of Higher Education and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine reported during an online meeting with university representatives, incorrect naming of educational programs can lead to legal conflicts, since programs are often classified according to the specialties to which they actually belong.
What did the Ministry of Education and Science reveal?
During the monitoring, the most problematic names that do not meet the requirements were identified. These include words that are often used to create “catchy” names, but violate the standards. Among such words are:
- right,
- design,
- management,
- economy,
- business,
- security,
- transport and others.
For example, in the History and Archaeology major, one of the programs was called “History and Anthropology of Law,” although this name is misleading as to the true content of the program. In another case, in the Economics major, a program was created called “Agribusiness,” which is more in line with other specializations.
What are the new rules?
The Ministry of Education and Science has banned universities from using the following in the names of educational programs:
- Names of other specialties or fields of knowledge.
- Names of programs that include professions with additional regulation (law, veterinary medicine, etc.).
- Names of professional qualifications that require a different level of education or specialty.
These rules will help ensure that educational programs correspond to real specialties and avoid disorientation of students and applicants.
In the summer of 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a new list of branches and specialties in accordance with the Law “On Higher Education” and the recommendations of the European Commission. The new list is significantly simplified: instead of the previous 28 branches, only 10 remain (+1 additional branch “Security and Defense”).
This initiative is consistent with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) and aims to increase the transparency, quality, and competitiveness of Ukrainian higher education.
Universities are now required to review the names of educational programs and bring them into line with new standards. This is a challenge for many universities, which previously often created “marketing” names to attract students. However, according to the Ministry of Education and Science, such a practice only damages trust in the education system.
This reform process is an important step in bringing Ukrainian education up to international standards, as well as in avoiding legal conflicts and misinformation for future students.
