Education is becoming more expensive, but Mykolaiv region remains among the most affordable: how much does it cost to study at universities?

Despite the rapid rise in the cost of higher education in Ukraine, the Mykolaiv region remains among the regions with relatively affordable tuition fees. At the same time, the difference in fees between courses and universities here can run into tens of thousands of hryvnias.

This is evidenced by data from Education.ua, NikVesti reports.

Tuition fees at universities across Ukraine’s regions. Infographic: Education

It should be noted that the average cost of tuition at universities in the region is over 22,600 hryvnias per year. The most expensive degree programme in the region is medicine — the average tuition fee reaches 49,000 hryvnias per year. The most affordable field remains mechanical engineering, where a contract costs over 15,000 hryvnias.

There is also a noticeable difference between the educational institutions themselves. The highest average cost is at the Academy of Maritime Sciences and Innovations — over 33,500 hryvnias per year. The cheapest tuition is offered by the Pylyp Orlyk International Classical University, where a year costs over 19,000 hryvnias.

Overall, in Ukraine, tuition fees have risen by approximately 60% over the last four years. Whilst in 2022 the average cost of tuition was just over 19,000 hryvnias, by 2025 it had exceeded 30,700 hryvnias.

Rising tuition fees. Infographic: Education

The highest prices are currently recorded not only in the capital but also in the western regions of the country. Experts attribute this to increased demand for education in relatively safer regions during the war. The regions with the most expensive education include Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia regions, where the average cost of tuition exceeds 34–37,000 hryvnias.

At the same time, Mykolaiv Oblast is among the five regions with the lowest cost of higher education, alongside Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Poltava and Sumy regions.

The most expensive and cheapest institutions. Infographic: Education

Nationwide, the most expensive fields of study traditionally remain dentistry, medicine, international relations, law, IT and the arts — despite the high cost, they remain consistently popular among applicants. Conversely, the fields the state considers strategically important for the economy and post-war reconstruction — agricultural disciplines, mechanical engineering, transport and energy — are cheaper.

Among Ukrainian universities, record-high fees in 2025 were recorded at American University Kyiv, the Ukrainian Catholic University and Sigmund Freud University. Meanwhile, the most affordable education is traditionally offered by teacher training and theological institutions, where fees start at around 11–15 thousand hryvnias per year.

The most expensive and cheapest degree programmes. Infographic: Education

It was previously reported that the Cabinet of Ministers had allocated 30.6 million hryvnias to higher education institutions in the Mykolaiv region. The funds will go towards supporting the work of universities that are continuing their teaching despite constant air raid alerts and shelling.