Higher education qualifications combine both academic and professional qualifications. This is a very important feature of Ukrainian higher education inherited from its Soviet past. The State Diploma serves as both an educational certificate and a professional license. Employment is determined by a match between the state determination of the knowledge and skills required for different occupation levels and the state determination of levels of educational qualification. Hence is the correspondence between classification of educational qualification and that of the occupational structure, leading to the introduction of the term 'educational-proficiency' level.
The Law on Higher Education (2002) establishes a three-level structure of higher education: incomplete, basic, and complete educational levels with corresponding educational-proficiency levels of Junior Specialist, Bachelor, Specialist and Master. In 2016 the Ministry of Education transformed this system to the levels of Junior bachelor, bachelor's, master's, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Sciences.
Junior Specialist
Junior Specialist or Junior bachelor is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained incomplete higher education, special skills and knowledge sufficient for discharging productive functions at a certain level of professional activity, stipulated for initial positions in a certain type of economic activity. The normative period of training makes 2.5-3 years.
Persons with basic secondary education may study in the educational and professional programs of junior specialist's training, obtaining at the same time complete secondary education.
Bachelor
Bachelor is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained basic higher education, fundamental and special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training makes 4 years (240 ECTS credits).
Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor may be carried out according to the shortened programme of studies on the basis of the educational- proficiency level of Junior Specialist.
Master
Master is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who has attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with professional tasks and duties (work) of innovative character at a certain level of professional activity (in engineering, business administration, pedagogy, arts, etc.).
Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Master may also be carried out on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Specialist. The period of training makes typically 1-1.5 year (60-90 ECTS credits).
During his/her studies at the Master's or Specialist's level, students are required to write his/her final work on a selected subject and make its presentation, to be able to collect, analyse and summarize, synthesize and to communicate study and practical material; often knowledge of a foreign language is required.
Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Specialist or Master in such fields as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, teaching is carried out on the basis of complete secondary education within the period of 5-6 years (301-360 ECTS credits) (as is common in Western Europe for state registered professions).
Former higher education qualifications
Specialist
Specialist was an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor had attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training was 1 year (60 ECTS credits). In 2016 the specialist degree was disbanded in Ukraine