The Most Popular Majors at Universities in 2026: Where Prospective Students Are Applying

The Most Popular Majors at Universities in 2026: Where Prospective Students Are Applying
Education
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Ukraine
Table of contents

• What to Study: The Most Popular Majors of 2026
• Promising Professions: Who the Government Supports
• 2026 University Rankings: Where Students Most Want to Enroll

Ukrainian college applicants are shifting trends: while interest in management and psychology remains steady, demand for engineering and IT programs is growing rapidly. Find out which universities emerged as the clear leaders in the 2026 admissions cycle and where the most applications were submitted

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The 2026 college admissions season brought several surprises. Although applicants were allowed to submit a maximum of 10 applications this year instead of the usual 15, the total number of applications to universities rose by as much as 28%. In a comment to the “Ukrinform” news agency, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Mykola Trofimenko discussed the fields of study chosen by today’s youth, citing the latest data from the Ministry of Education and Science.

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The top three majors among Ukrainian applicants remain unchanged. Most recent high school graduates want to become managers—a record 105,000 applications were submitted this year for the “Management” major, which is significantly more than last year. “Psychology” and “Philology” confidently hold the silver and bronze positions, each attracting over 60,000 applications

However, young people’s interests are gradually shifting toward technology. The Ministry of Education reports huge demand in the IT sector: computer science, cybersecurity, and information security have firmly established themselves among the top ten most sought-after professions. Marketing, economics, finance, and law remain traditionally popular, although the frenzy surrounding law schools has subsided somewhat this year.

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Promising Professions: Who the Government Supports

One of the most positive trends of 2026 is a sharp surge in interest in fields that the government is currently prioritizing. The country needs a workforce and brilliant engineering minds

As Mykola Trofimenko noted, this is an excellent sign, as the economy and reconstruction projects are currently critically short of such specialists. Prospective students understand this, which is why they have applied en masse this year for construction and civil engineering programs (nearly 24,000 applications compared to last year’s 14,000). The popularity of automotive engineering, agronomy, electrical engineering, robotics, and mechanical engineering is also growing rapidly.

2026 University Rankings: Where Students Most Want to Enroll

When it comes to specific institutions, universities in Lviv and Kyiv have become the main draws for students this year

Lviv Polytechnic University is the undisputed leader in terms of the number of applications—nearly 60,000 people are trying to enroll there. Second place went to Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. In the capital, the renowned Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv received the most applications

In addition, young people are actively choosing strong regional and specialized universities: the State University of Trade and Economics, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian University, as well as the universities in Chernivtsi and Lutsk

The final picture of who will be studying where will become clear a little later, when universities begin publishing lists of admitted freshmen. But one thing is already clear: Ukrainian youth are increasingly prioritizing not only prestige but also the actual demand for a profession in the job market

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Reminder! The process of registering a student’s residence is transitioning entirely to a digital format. The “Diya” portal has officially launched an online dorm registration feature, which allows students to avoid lines at the Administrative Service Center and the need to collect paper documents. Find out how to submit an application in just a few clicks and who currently has access to the service.

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Frequantly
asked questions
How do you choose a major if you have no idea what you want to be?
Start simple: list the school subjects that come easily to you and don’t frustrate you. Then take some high-quality career guidance tests.

It’s very helpful to visit job search websites and simply read job descriptions—what exactly a particular specialist does and what salary is offered for that role. This is a great way to take off your “rose-colored glasses.”

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