Ukraine introduces new Master of Law educational standard, developed with OSCE support

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has approved new requirements for a Master’s degree programme in law, developed with the assistance of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine. The order issued by the Ministry, on 17 August 2020, (link) enacts the use of the Standard of Higher Education for speciality no. 081 “Law” at Master’s degree level, making it applicable starting from the 2020/2021 academic year.

The document set the requirements to provide the due quality of Masters Programmes. In particular, it lists competencies the Master’s in Law should obtain and outlines criteria for evaluation of the results of the studies. It establishes ways to assess and certify students’ knowledge, inter alia, through the Unified State Qualification Exam. The Standard will be used for evaluation of law faculties, notably in the process of certification of universities and their educational programmes.

On average, over 7,000 students graduate annually from Ukraine’s universities with a Master of Law diploma, so the Standard will contribute to improving the quality of education for a new generation of legal professionals, thus strengthening rule of law and the protection of human rights in the country.

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator facilitated expert discussions for the elaboration of the Standard in 2019 and provided experts to finalize its text.