Almost every agency page on this subject tells you that Ukrainian universities teach in English. Very few tell you which ones say so themselves, and that is the only version of the answer worth having.
Some Ukrainian universities document English-medium study clearly, in their own published materials. Others say nothing about it at all, and at least one has historically taught international students in Russian. The language your degree is taught in is a per-university, per-programme question — not a country-wide one.
We have researched and published full profiles for thirteen Ukrainian universities. Below is what each of them states about language of instruction, taken from the institution’s own website or the Ukrainian government’s study portal, with nothing filled in where they are silent.
What each university publishes about language
| University | City | What is published |
|---|---|---|
| Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University | Ivano-Frankivsk | Instruction for international students is in English throughout, across all six degree programmes |
| I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University | Ternopil | Separate published fees for English-language and Ukrainian-language streams across Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health and Paramedic study; Nursing listed with instruction in English |
| Bogomolets National Medical University | Kyiv | Students may study in the state language or in English; separate tuition rates published for Ukrainian-medium and English-medium study |
| National Pirogov Memorial Medical University | Vinnytsia | Languages of instruction for international students given as Ukrainian and English |
| Open International University of Human Development | Kyiv | Government study portal records instruction available in Ukrainian and English |
| Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University | Kharkiv | Russian has historically been the language of instruction for its international programme, with applicants completing a Russian-language preparatory course first |
| Kharkiv National Medical University | Kharkiv | Not published — the university’s international-student pages do not state current languages of instruction |
| Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University | Lviv | Not published |
| V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University | Kharkiv | Not published |
| Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv | Kyiv | Not published |
| Sumy State University | Sumy | Not published |
| Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics | Kharkiv | Not published |
| National Aerospace University “KhAI” | Kharkiv | Not published |
“Not published” does not mean “does not teach in English.” It means the institution does not state it in the public materials we checked, so we will not state it for them. If you are interested in one of those universities, ask us and we will put the question to them in writing — or tell you plainly that we could not get an answer.
The two signals that actually mean something
Reading a lot of these pages, two things separate a documented English-medium programme from a claim.
- Separate published fees by language
- A university that charges a different tuition rate for English-medium and Ukrainian-medium study is operating two real streams. Ternopil and Bogomolets both publish those rates. It is the hardest single piece of evidence available.
- Teaching capacity stated on the record
- Ternopil states that about 85% of its teaching staff hold certificates of English proficiency, and that teaching materials for all disciplines studied by international students are supported in English. That is a claim about the people doing the teaching, not about the brochure.
The question most pages never mention: the clinical years
If you are studying medicine, the language of the lecture theatre and the language of the hospital ward are not automatically the same thing.
A programme can be taught in English for the pre-clinical years and still place you in a Ukrainian-speaking hospital for clinical rotations, where patients and staff are speaking Ukrainian. Ask the university, in writing, what language your clinical years are conducted in, and whether the university expects you to reach a working level of Ukrainian by then.
Several of the profiles on this site carry that same warning, because it is where students are most often surprised.
Preparatory study, if the language is the obstacle
Ukrainian universities run a preparatory year for students who need the language before starting a degree. It exists precisely because language of instruction is a real barrier rather than a formality.
Our guide to the preparatory course in Ukraine sets out what that year covers and how it fits into the admission timeline.
Proving your English
Where a university admits you to an English-medium programme, it will want evidence that you can follow it. What counts as evidence differs by university — some accept an international test result, some run their own assessment, and some accept prior education delivered in English.
We will not publish a single requirement here, because there is no single requirement. Tell us the university and programme you are considering and we will confirm what that institution asks for.
Where to go next
- Medical universities in Ukraine — a fuller comparison of the medical schools, including clinical networks and international-student history
- Is a Ukrainian medical degree recognised — the recognition question, and why your own licensing authority is the only source that settles it
- University directory — every university we can help you apply to, grouped by city
