Arts education in Ukraine after 1991
Arts education in Ukraine after 1991. A considerable number of educational institutions in independent Ukraine after 1991 offer professional training in various arts, including fine arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, music, film, choreography, theater) and applied art (graphic design, fashion design, ceramics, and decorative art). Arts education in Ukraine is often linked to culture education and both fall under the purview of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. Arts training is also offered at multiple private institutions, as well as those overseen by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.
Laws and institutions
Following Ukraine’s 1991 Declaration of Independence, the transition to a market economy reshaped relations between the state and the education sector. The previously centralized system of arts education, controlled by the Ministry of Education of the Ukrainian SSR and other central government agencies, moved toward greater regional autonomy. In present-day Ukraine the national policy in the area of arts education is regulated rimarily by the laws of Ukraine ‘On Education’ (the current law enacted in 2017 replacing the law from 1991) and ‘On Culture’ (2011) as well as by the laws of direct effect, including ‘On Preschool Education,’ ‘On General Secondary Education,’ ‘On Extramural Education,’ ‘On Vocational Education,’ and ‘On Higher Education.’ In 2019 the Cabinet of Minister of Ukraine adopted the resolution ‘On Certain Issues of Primary Arts Education,’ formally introducing the concept of ‘primary arts education’ and establishing requirements for the structure and standards of educational programs. In 2021 the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine developed programs for children’s schools teaching music, choreography, visual arts, and theater and circus arts. The ministry also stipulated regulations concerning educational levels, required competencies, program duration, and other parameters.
Currently, arts education in Ukraine is structured across four levels: primary, specialized, professional pre-university, and higher arts education, which train students in different types of arts, such as music, visual arts, theater, and choreography. Primary programs are offered in music schools, art schools, and choreography schools alongside general primary and lower secondary education. Specialized programs (second level) provide more advanced artistic training in art lyceums in parallel with full secondary education. Professional pre-university education (third level) is delivered through art colleges that prepare students for professional practice and grant junior bachelor degrees. Higher arts education (fourth level) is offered by universities and academies that train advanced specialists and confer degrees from bachelor through doctoral levels.
Arts education in Ukraine is supervised by the State Agency of Ukraine for Arts and Art Education (Derzhmystetstv), established in 2019. The agency’s activities are directed and coordinated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine through the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications (Ministry of Culture of Ukraine). Another institution—the State Research and Methodological Center for the Content of Arts and Culture Education (est. 2017)—provides methodological and educational expertise and consulting in the fields of specialized primary and professional pre-university arts education.
Primary and specialized secondary arts education
Primary arts education is offered both within and outside of general education system, drawing significant participation from children of all ages. In 2012, for instance, 1,496 extramural education institutions of different specializations (including art schools and music schools) and types (public and private) served approximately 1.3 million children, representing over 59 percent of elementary school students, 30 percent of middle school students, and 8–10 percent of high school students. More than 870 art studios, centers, clubs, and galleries enrolled 33,740 children. Students of general education schools also take arts classes, including music, fine arts, and theater and choreography. The principal institutions of primary specialized arts education are the so-called arts schools (mystets'ki shkoly) that, in contrast to informal/amateur arts studios and clubs, provide formal training and issue state certificates to their graduates. Formerly known as ‘primary specialized arts education institutions’ or ‘schools of esthetic education,’ arts schools are predominantly communally owned and funded from local budgets. They train about 40 percent of all children engaged in arts education at extramural institutions.
The number of such arts schools under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine increased from 1,488 to 1,593 between 1991 and 1996, then declined slightly and stabilized by 2005. By 2007 the total stood at 1,468 and continued to fall to 1,457 by 2012. Following the Russian occupation of the Crimea and parts of the Donbas, this sector experienced further contraction, reaching 1,296 schools in 2017 and 1,272 in 2019–20. Of these, 702 were music schools, 445 combined arts schools, 99 art schools (specializing in painting and drawing), and 7 choreography schools. These institutions enrolled more than 300,000 students training in music, visual arts, theater, choreography, and choral performance. Combined arts schools offer instruction in more than one form of fine arts.
Specialized secondary arts education is offered in seven arts lyceums, known until 2021 as specialized secondary arts boarding schools, which prepare students for higher arts education in academies and universities. Four focus on music (Kyiv State Music Lyceum, Lviv State Music Lyceum, Odesa State Music Lyceum, and Kharkiv State Music Lyceum), two specialize in visual arts (Kyiv State Art Lyceum and Opishnia State Art Lyceum), and one in choreography (Kyiv State Professional Choreography College).
Higher arts education
In independent Ukraine, technical secondary schools (tekhnikums), vocational schools, and colleges of arts and culture were reclassified as higher education institutions with 1st and 2nd levels of accreditation. The Law of Ukraine ‘On Education’ (1991) and subsequent regulations issued by the Ministries of Education and of Culture and Arts also gave institutions greater autonomy over managerial and teaching appointments and training programs. In 1998 Ukraine moved closer to European educational models by introducing a three-cycle higher education system: a two-year first cycle focused on professional orientation; a two- to three-year second cycle providing advanced professional training; and a one-year third cycle devoted to specialized research preparation. The revised structure established new program lengths: 2–4 years for junior specialists (first cycle), 4–5 years for bachelors and specialists (second cycle), and one year for the newly introduced master’s degree (third cycle).
In the 1990s, Ukraine had five higher musical institutions accredited at the 3rd and 4th levels of accreditation, along with one theater, one art, and three higher schools of culture. In addition, the country operated 33 music schools, 7 art schools, 2 theater schools, a choreographic school, a school of pop and circus arts, and 26 schools of culture, all of which provided higher artistic training. These specialized institutions—whose numbers declined from 70 in the late 1990s to 64 in 2007—were subsequently accredited at the 1st and 2nd levels and granted arts college status by 2020, in accordance with the 2020 Cabinet of Ministers ‘Resolution on the Professional Arts Colleges.’ Together with ten higher arts institutions accredited at the 3rd and 4th levels with the status of academies and universities, they accounted for only 8.5 percent of all higher education institutions in Ukraine by the end of the 1990s. They were located primarily in all 25 oblast centers of Ukraine, that is, in large cultural centers with a developed infrastructure of professional arts institutions, theaters, philharmonics, and concert venues. As of 2025, there were 55 arts colleges in Ukraine, including 18 music colleges, 4 visual arts colleges, and 4 theater, circus, and choreography colleges. However, the largest single category of arts colleges are the so-called arts and culture colleges (29) that offer training in multiple arts, including music, acting, choreography, visual arts, and design. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine also oversees 14 arts and culture universities and academies (3rd and 4th levels of accreditation), comprising 6 institutions specializing in visual arts, 4 in music and theater, and one in theater, film, and television, among others.
Enrollments
In the early years of independence (1991–95), the severe economic crisis and drastic cuts to state funding for arts and culture led to an overall declines in enrollments in arts and culture programs. For instance, music conservatories and art institutes graduated only a small number of specialists, and the total intake for a single year in a one of the leading institutions could range from a few dozen to 100–150 students. The situation somewhat changed after 1995 with the rise of commercial education. Existing arts and culture schools began introducing new majors in fields such as design, public relations, fashion design, and show business. One example was the Kyiv State Institute of Culture, now Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, which became infamous for its radical embrace of new market-oriented programs, often at the expense of traditional arts and culture curriculum. By the end of the 1990s, each of the arts and culture institutes in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv enrolled between 1,500 and 3,000 students. In contrast, enrollment at fine arts schools—music conservatories and art institutes—was lower, ranging from 600 to 1,200 per institution.
Over the following decade, enrollment in arts and culture programs continued to rise alongside overall student enrollment in Ukraine, but fell sharpy after 2007/8, reflecting the country’s broader demographic decline. Nonetheless, at the start of the 2010/11 academic year, a considerable number of students (70,468) were enrolled in arts programs at higher education institutions of all four levels of accreditation under the Ministries of Culture and Education. 72 percent of these students were women, i.e., approximately 50,737 women and 19,731 men pursued arts studies, indicating a 2.6:1 female-to-male ratio. Musical arts (31 percent or 22,000 students) and design (26 percent or 18,000 students) were the most common specializations. Together, these two fields accounted for 48 percent of all arts students, demonstrating a strong concentration in applied and performing arts. Musical arts had roughly 22 percent more students than design. More than 2,000 students pursued master’s-level studies in arts and culture across 42 institutions of different types (under the Ministries of Culture and Education). Of these programs, design represented the largest share at 31 percent, that is, about 620 design master’s students, while art restoration accounted for only 3 percent, or approximately 60 students. This distribution shows a tenfold difference between the most and least popular master’s-degree specializations, suggesting substantial variation in demand across subfields.
Beginning in 2014, the Russo-Ukrainian war in the Donbas and the ensuing economic crisis led to a decline in both arts education institutions and student enrollments. This decline stemmed from the loss of institutions in the occupied regions and broader population decreases. A few arts institutions were transferred from the occupied areas to Kyiv-controlled territory, among them Luhansk State Academy of Culture and Arts and Donetsk State Music Academy. 500 students were transferred to other Ukrainian institutions of arts education. As a result of Russian occupation, 88 elementary arts schools (6.3 percent) and 9 arts colleges (13 percent), which were in communal ownership, remained in the occupied territories. Additionally, the deteriorating economic conditions harmed arts programs especially.
The number of elementary arts schools declined from 1,489 in 2000 to 1,296 in 2017 and 1,265 in 2022, with a particularly sharp drop after 2014. In spite of this, student enrollment remained stable between 2000 and 2015, increasing slightly from 295,700 to 301,700. By contrast, enrollment in arts- and culture-related higher education programs fell between 2010 and 2016 from 72,200 to 51,100 across all institutions, and from 23,300 to 15,500 in dedicated arts universities and academies (3rd and 4th levels of accreditation). In 2017 Ukraine had 1,296 elementary specialized arts schools serving 306,900 students, six arts lyceums enrolling 2,200 students, 51 arts colleges with 17,000 students, and 15 arts focused universities and academies enrolling 15,500 students. Institutions under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine—arts colleges, universities, and academies—accounted for 10.4 percent of all higher education establishments in Ukraine.
In spite of lower enrollments in many academic programs, higher arts education remains fairly popular in Ukraine. Design is the most sought-after undergraduate program in arts and culture, followed by fine arts, music, stage arts, and audiovisual arts and production, which continue to outpace other arts and culture fields in demand. For instance, in 2023 admission competition at higher educational institutions under Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture averaged 11 applicants per state-funded place in design, 4.5 in fine and decorative arts and art restoration, 3 in audiovisual arts and production, 3 in theater arts, and 2 in music.
After the Russian full-scale invasion
Currently, there are 1,250 elementary specialized arts schools, 7 arts lyceums enrolling 1,741 students (down from 1,884 in 2024), 55 arts colleges, and 14 arts and culture universities and academies, all under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. Students also specialize in arts and culture subjects at colleges and universities overseen by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (for instance, Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design is a leading higher education institution in the fields of graphic design, interior design, and fashion design, while Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts offers training in music, design, theater, television, and film). According to the 2025 Osvita.ua rankings, the top five arts higher education institutions in Ukraine are Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Lviv National Academy of Arts, the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture in Kyiv, Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, and Kyiv National University of Theater, Film, and Television.
Since the onset of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the country’s system of arts education has sustained extensive damage. By April 2024, 48 arts schools and two arts colleges in Bakhmut and Mariupol had been completely destroyed, while an additional 72 arts schools and one music lyceum were damaged. Several major universities and academies, including Kharkiv National University of Arts, Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, and Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts and Design, also suffered severe destruction. Most of the affected institutions are located in Donetsk oblast, Kharkiv oblast, Kherson oblast, Kyiv oblast, Sumy oblast, and Mykolaiv oblast. As of November 2025, a total of 187 arts education institutions had been destroyed or damaged by Russian troops, and at least 113 arts schools and six arts colleges remain under temporary occupation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Volkov, Serhii. Mystets'ka osvita v kul'turi Ukraїny 90-kh rokiv XX stolittia (Kyiv 2006)
Mykhailychenko, O. ed. Mystets'ka osvita v Ukraїni: teoriia і praktyka (Sumy 2010)
Arts Education in Ukraine: Building Creative Capacities for the 21st Century (Kyiv 2012)
Derzhmystetstv’s official website: https://arts.gov.ua/
State Research and Methodological Center for the Content of Arts and Culture Education’s official website: https://www.dnmczkmo.org.ua/
Serhiy Bilenky
[This article was written in 2026.]
