In 2029, Ukraine will begin piloting a three-year bachelor’s degree for graduates of specialized academic lyceums. The model is scheduled to be permanently implemented in 2030. This will allow students to earn an additional year of high school, and after entering higher education, they will have one less year of bachelor’s degree. This was reported by Vgorode.ua and the portal PromPolitInform.
Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykola Trofimenko explained to Vchisya.Media that the three-year bachelor’s degree will reduce the length of university study from four to three years for graduates who completed a three-year specialized high school. The idea is that students will acquire some of the knowledge and competencies currently acquired in the first year of a bachelor’s degree while still in school. This allows for faster completion of a diploma while maintaining the quality of education and specialized training.
At the same time, the three-year bachelor’s degree will not be universal. If a graduate enters a major that doesn’t match their profile, or chooses a field where the school cannot provide the necessary knowledge base, they will take a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree or a separate compensatory course to acquire basic competencies.
WHEN WILL THE NEW MODEL LAUNCH AND HOW WILL THE TRANSITION BE EXECUTED
The implementation of the three-year bachelor’s degree will occur in two stages: A pilot launch in 2029 for graduates of pilot academic lyceums who chose a three-year specialized high school in 2026;
Permanent implementation in 2030, when the model becomes the standard: 12 years of secondary education + 3 years of specialized bachelor’s degree + 2 years of master’s degree.
The exceptions are majors where the specialized school cannot provide certain bachelor’s competencies.
Implementing the project will require updating higher education standards and curricula to clearly define which competencies are developed in specialized schools and which remain at the bachelor’s level.
A transition period of one to two years will be needed to fine-tune the system: adjust programs, clarify specialized admission requirements, and address potential gaps in training. A pilot launch in 2029 is planned for this purpose.
Due to the high school reform, the number of applicants in 2029 may decrease significantly. This is not due to the three-year bachelor’s degree, but rather because only graduates of the pilot lyceums will complete their 12th year of study—approximately 15,000 people instead of the usual 200,000 per year. This changes the logic of the admissions campaign: universities will compete for students, not the other way around.
IMPACT ON UNIVERSITIES AND FUNDING
The three-year bachelor’s degree model should not significantly impact university revenues. It only changes the curriculum structure: instead of “4 years of Bachelor’s degree + 1.5 years of Master’s degree,” it will be “3 years of Bachelor’s degree + 2 years of Master’s degree.” A separate pathway is provided for students changing majors through a compensatory course.
The average annual student population will remain stable, and the financial situation of educational institutions is more influenced by demographic and economic factors.
HOW MANY CREDITS WILL A THREE-YEAR BACHELOR’S DEGREE HAVE?
The basic volume of a three-year Bachelor’s degree will be 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits. Therefore, the average workload will remain standard—60 credits per academic year.
Students can individually choose up to 80 credits per year, for example, to accelerate their learning or add elective courses. However, this is not a mandatory requirement for designing a standard program at the university level.
To launch three-year programs, it is necessary to formally establish a new structure of learning outcomes, entry requirements for specialized secondary education, and mechanisms for compensating for educational gaps when changing majors (through compensatory courses or other transitional solutions). The Ministry of Education plans to begin this process immediately after final approval of the content of the three-year specialized high school.
