I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television

About I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television

The university is a state-owned higher-education institution administered within Ukraine’s public education system. Ukraine’s Unified State Electronic Database on Education records its official English name, Kyiv address, public ownership, higher education as its primary activity and a founding date of 1 September 1904. The register also links the institution to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. Its academic identity is deliberately specialized. The university describes two principal teaching units: the Faculty of Theatre Arts and the Institute of Screen Arts. These bring theatre, cinema, television and related scholarly work into one institution rather than dividing them among a broad range of unrelated faculties. Official material describes education at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, including PhD and Doctor of Arts provision. The university also reports 16 departments, although applicants should use the current program catalogue rather than treating every department as a separate admissions option. The institution was actively operating in August 2026. Its website published schedules, assessments and recommended-admission lists for the 2026 intake, including separate procedures for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral candidates. For prospective students, the main decision is therefore one of fit: this is an arts-focused university built around professional and creative formation, not a general university with incidental performing-arts electives. Applicants should compare the precise curriculum, artistic supervision, study format and entrance assessment attached to each competitive proposal.

Admission is program- and level-specific. For bachelor’s entry from complete secondary education in 2026, registration for university entrance assessments ran from 3 July to 10 July for all funding sources, with a later 25 July endpoint for applicants competing only for privately financed places. Entrance assessments for all funding sources ran from 8 to 19 July, and applications for competitive selection were accepted from 19 July until 18:00 on 1 August. The university’s application guidance states that undergraduate applicants needed a successful creative-competition score of at least 125 and specified minimum 2026 National Multisubject Test scores: 125 in Ukrainian language, 125 in History of Ukraine, and 100 in mathematics and the elective subject. Master’s applicants followed a different 2026 timetable, with university assessments and competitive applications extending into August. PhD and Doctor of Arts candidates had a separate process extending into September. Applicants must therefore consult the schedule and assessment program for their exact educational level and competitive proposal rather than relying on undergraduate dates. Applications are submitted through Ukraine’s electronic applicant account, with required university assessments completed according to the published schedule. Creative preparation is central to selection, but the specific tasks and evaluation criteria vary by specialization. The university’s latest detailed foreign-citizen rules located during research were for 2025, so international candidates should request the 2026 rules directly and confirm document recognition, language assessment, immigration procedures and whether selection can be completed remotely before making travel plans.

Academic provision centers on two broad fields identified by the university: audiovisual arts and production, and performing arts. The Faculty of Theatre Arts covers theatre-focused education, while the Institute of Screen Arts provides the institutional home for cinema, television and audiovisual study. The university says its accredited provision includes professionally oriented, scientific and creative programs at the first, second and third levels of higher education. The 2026 undergraduate admission results show the practical breadth within those fields. Listed performing-arts options included theatre and film acting, dramatic-theatre directing, puppet-theatre acting and directing, puppetry scenography, theatre studies and performing-arts production. Screen-oriented options included fiction-film directing, animation directing, film editing, television directing, sound directing, cinematography, film studies and audiovisual production. Availability, study mode and funded places differ by competitive proposal, so these examples should not be read as a guarantee that every option opens in every cycle. Training combines artistic practice with humanities and specialist study. The university identifies an educational theatre within its structure, while its description of faculty research points to art history and theory, theatre pedagogy, publications and student participation in scholarly work. This makes the institution relevant both to applicants pursuing production or performance and to those interested in critical or research-led work. Prospective students should examine the current educational-program documents and entrance-test programs closely: artistic specializations use distinct assessment content, and the applicable requirements cannot safely be inferred from the program title alone.

Key Highlights

• Public specialist arts university founded in 1904
• Officially registered as a state higher-education institution
• Organized around the Faculty of Theatre Arts and Institute of Screen Arts
• Active bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral admissions in 2026

Student Life & Environment

Student life is closely connected to creative production. The university maintains an educational theatre, and its structure also includes a library, a psychological service and student self-government. The Student Council states that it represents student interests, communicates information, organizes cultural events and supports creative and professional self-realization. Its committees draw students from both the Faculty of Theatre Arts and the Institute of Screen Arts, providing a route into campus organization beyond classes and productions. Housing requires particular attention. The university’s own 324-bed residence on Lukianivska Street is listed as temporarily closed for reconstruction. For 2025–2026, students needing accommodation were directed toward residences operated by the National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport or the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music. That arrangement should not be assumed for 2026–2027: incoming students should obtain the latest placement notice and confirm availability, price, location and contract conditions directly. The university’s psychological service advertises confidential assistance for students and postgraduate researchers facing emotional, social or study-related difficulties, including online support. Because artistic programs can involve rehearsals, productions and collaborative project work outside conventional lecture patterns, applicants should ask departments about weekly schedules, access to facilities and expectations surrounding evening or weekend activity.

Location & Surroundings

The university’s official and legal address is 40 Yaroslaviv Val Street in Kyiv. This central-city setting places students in Ukraine’s capital and within its wider theatre, film, television and cultural environment. The educational theatre’s main stage is also identified at Yaroslaviv Val, although teaching and creative activity may use additional university locations. Applicants should confirm the normal teaching site for their chosen program before arranging accommodation or calculating travel time. Kyiv offers access to cultural institutions and professional communities that are especially relevant to an arts student, but living in the city in 2026 also requires realistic planning around wartime conditions. The university pages reviewed do not provide a complete prospective-student guide to transport, everyday expenses, air-raid procedures or accessibility. Students should therefore consult current official Ukrainian and local guidance and ask the university about shelters, emergency communications, in-person teaching arrangements and contingency plans. Housing may be some distance from the principal academic address because the university’s own residence is under reconstruction and recent alternative placements used other institutions’ dormitories. International applicants should also assess entry, residence and insurance requirements separately from academic admission.

Costs & Career Outcomes

The university admits students both to state-funded places and to places financed by individuals or legal entities. It publishes separate official fee documents for entrants and continuing students, including a 2026–2027 schedule for new entrants. There is no single institution-wide tuition figure: charges depend on the program and other study conditions. Applicants should use the applicable 2026–2027 entrant document and confirm whether the quoted amount is annual, how payment is scheduled and whether later-year increases are possible. International applicants should also request the separate foreign-student fee information because domestic contract prices should not automatically be applied to them. Accommodation must be budgeted independently. The university residence is temporarily unavailable because of reconstruction, and the alternative dormitory arrangements described for 2025–2026 may not continue unchanged in 2026–2027. Students should obtain written confirmation of a place and current price before treating university-arranged housing as available. Other relevant costs may include materials, performance clothing, production expenses, equipment, transport between sites and day-to-day living in Kyiv; no reliable current totals for these items were published in the reviewed sources. Career preparation is closely aligned with the institution’s specialist fields. The university says graduates work across culture and the arts, while its curriculum and educational theatre connect study to acting, directing, production, technical screen work and arts scholarship. However, no verified placement rate, employer list, salary data or guaranteed professional pathway was found. Candidates should ask each program for recent graduate outcomes, internship arrangements, portfolio expectations and access to production facilities before comparing value.