The number of men aged 25 and over who entered higher education institutions has significantly decreased in Ukraine: MES

This year, the number of men aged 25 and over who entered Ukrainian higher education institutions has significantly decreased. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykola Trofymenko during a briefing.

He noted that this year fewer electronic accounts of applicants were registered than in 2024, but the number of applications submitted to universities has increased.

98,182 applicants were enrolled in budget places at all educational levels – bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate studies – and 207,831 were enrolled in contract places. The share of women among those enrolled increased from 44.8% to 52.3%, while the number of applicants aged 25 and over decreased from 28.4% to 23.9%.

831,692 people were admitted to the competition for bachelor’s degrees – this is 20% more than last year. 195,162 people enrolled, of which 57,934 were on a budget (2.4% less than last year), and over 137,000 were on a contract (4.7% more).

These data do not include applicants to medical and military educational institutions, where such indicators are not disclosed. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, the most popular specialties among bachelors remain “Management”, “Psychology”, “Law”, “Philology” and “Marketing”, although the state order for them is minimal.

Among the universities with the largest number of bachelors enrolled on the budget are Lviv Polytechnic, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Franko National University of Lviv, and Kharkiv Polytechnic.

As for the master’s degree, this year there was a noticeable decrease in the number of applications submitted – about 218 thousand compared to 280 thousand last year, that is, a decrease of 22.3%. More than 97 thousand people were enrolled in 2025, while in 2024 there were more than 125 thousand, which means a drop of 22.9%, despite an increase in budget funding by 6%.

“A logical question: why such a decline? In the figures, we see 15.5 thousand fewer applicants aged 25+. We understand that those who entered the master’s program in 2022–2023 for, let’s say, various tasks have already received education. And the majority of citizens aged 25+ already have higher education, ”, — noted Trofymenko.

A sharp reduction in the number of men over 25 years old was also recorded in postgraduate studies, while the proportion of women among those enrolled in the budget doubled. 4,643 people were enrolled in the full-time form of study, which gives the right to a deferral from mobilization, and 1,119 in the contract (correspondence) form, including foreigners.

Women make up 18.5% of those enrolled (last year it was 9.5%). 2,291 people over 25 years old were enrolled in the budget, of which 1,998 were men. Trofimenko emphasized that the number of male applicants has decreased by 70% compared to last year.

“We understand that postgraduate studies have also leveled off, balanced with the numbers before the full-scale invasion, and this is very correct”, he added.