Ukrainian Global University

Ukrainian government, educational institutions, and civil society organizations have jointly launched Ukrainian Global University (UGU). It is a global network that brings together the world’s best educational institutions. This non-profit initiative aims to connect Ukrainian students, fellows, scientists, and tutors with educational institutions worldwide, newly offered scholarships, fellowships, and postdoc programs for their commitment to come back to Ukraine. The platform ensures that the displaced students, scholars, and fellows are not abandoned; it also supports those who are willing to study/do research abroad in order to come back and rebuild Ukraine.

The initiative was launched in partnership with the Office of the President of Ukraine by a consortium of leading Ukrainian educational institutions and organizations, i.e. Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS), Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), Professional Government Association of Ukraine (PGA), SET University, Kyiv Academic University. The initiative is endorsed by the President’s Fund for Education, Science and Sports and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. The scholarships provided by schools, colleges and universities all over the world are funded by these educational institutions and third party donors. UGU facilitates their allocation to students from Ukraine.

We are helping you because we care about you and the future of Ukraine. Ukrainian Global University (UGU) aims to bring together the world’s best educational institutions to support Ukrainians and give them opportunities for high-quality education. The main goal of the UGU initiative is to overcome the devastating consequences of Russia’s aggressive war and jointly with the international intellectual community help you gain access to the world’s best institutions for a commitment to come back and rebuild Ukraine.

No. The initiative does not charge any fees for participation or other services.

For now, we help students get into undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs – obtain Bachelor’s, Master’s or Ph.D degrees. Please note that currently we are not helping with transfers from Undergraduate, Master’s, or Ph.D. from one school to another, as well as to the students who want to get into high schools (please refer directly to our co-founders Ukrainian Global Scholars, if you want to find a school abroad). The specific eligibility conditions may be different for different programs, which can be located at the tab “Our Partners”.

Due to the regulations under the martial law in Ukraine, UGU cannot guarantee departure for studies for men older than 18 and younger than 60 while prohibition of border-crossing remains in effect. UGU does not have any opportunity to facilitate crossing the border for this category of people, therefore you are not currently eligible for our programs which require offline studies abroad, unless you have a legal permission to leave Ukraine.

No, we currently focus on mid- or long-term programs. However, please follow our Facebook and Telegram page for updates, as we will expand the program going forward.

Please check the list of all available universities and their programs here.

• receive high-quality global education in exchange for the commitment to return to Ukraine upon graduation to help rebuild the country;

• participate in our orientation program that will prepare you for studies abroad;

• join a platform launched by leading Ukrainian institutions and organizations that has helped many Ukrainian students access education abroad;

• gain access to internships and employment opportunities in Ukraine through our network.

The initiative requires all students to return to Ukraine after finishing their education/research to help rebuild the country post-war. Our mission is that you consider UGU as a bridge between the top education and your successful career back home versus an escape from Ukraine. An important step in your application is to sign a contract where you undertake responsibility to return to Ukraine within 5 years of obtaining your terminal degree abroad.

After being accepted at the world’s educational institutions, you will become a member of the UGU community and leverage all its resources. We are working with governmental institutions and businesses to help you find internships and job opportunities back home.

Finalists are not required but are strongly encouraged to play an active role in the UGU community. The types of activities that you can perform are volunteering, such as supporting marketing campaigns or joining our Admissions Team and sharing your knowledge and expertise with new generations of UGU students.

The admissions criteria may be different for each program, though our team makes sure that:

• Your grades are good enough to apply abroad.

• Your intentions to come back and help rebuild Ukraine upon graduation are genuine.

• You will be a good fit for our partner educational institutions.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, UGU does not provide individual feedback on applications. Be assured that each application is reviewed carefully by our admissions team.

For some programs, we will ask you to list contacts of people, who would be able to provide a recommendation for your successful admittance into the program. Please think about people, who know you best and can attest to your skills in your chosen academic field.

1) Complete the UGU application form for particular program
2) If selected based for formal criteria, receive an information about further selection round, which may differ depending on the program
3) After passing the selection, receive a formal UGU endorsement, which will in parallel be sent to the educational institution at which you applied
4) Submit applications to UGU partner educational institutions. Please note that for some programs, when specifically mentioned, we would specifically recommend you to apply in parallel both for UGU and the educational institution in order to save time
5) If selected by the educational institution, receive full or partial scholarship support, depending on the conditions of the particular program
6) Participate in UGU pre-departure orientation
7) Become part of the UGU global alumni network

Yes, being a UGU finalist or put on the waiting list in the previous years, but we did not find an institution for you, significantly simplifies the process of selection and review of your application. You will be asked about your status in the application forms which you will be filling for the programs, and we encourage you not to forget about mentioning that status.

Participation in the UGU in the previous years without being selected does not affect your participation in the UGU application for the next years. Your application will be treated on a general basis.

Yes, you can if you are ready to start your undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate degree from the beginning. However, some programs are explicitly banning that (in this case, information will be provided in the program description).

Absolutely not. This is a non-commercial initiative.

UGU benefits Ukrainian students. Thus, having Ukrainian citizenship is a key and non-negotiable prerequisite.

It may depend on the program, but normally your score on Duolingo should not be lower than 85 (TOEFL equivalent of 51-61).

We do not have an affiliation with any educational institutions. We do, however, have partnerships established with a number of educational institutions around the globe. The number of such partnerships changes every day as we develop UGU. Our partner institutions do not guarantee admission and simply imply the willingness of schools to consider UGU applicants.

In most cases, educational institutions that signed Memorandum of Understanding with UGU will provide generous scholarships to cover the cost of education and living expenses for Ukrainian students.

Your participation in UGU does not guarantee admission to any educational institutions, however it maximizes your admission chances. You will most likely go through a separate application process  at the educational institution after successful submission of this application to the UGU.

This will depend on a particular educational institution.

Yes, they are. Ukraine Global University was co-founded by Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS.foundation). However, UGU has its own application and admission process and does not work with high schoolers, instead helps undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students.