As of the morning of August 1, 2026, applicants submitted 5,825 applications to the four higher education institutions representing the Kherson region.
The submission of applications for bachelor’s programs in 2026 ran from July 19 until 18:00 on August 1. During that time, applicants could submit up to ten applications, of which no more than five — for state-funded or regionally funded places with priority designation. After the end of document acceptance, higher education institutions process the submitted applications and form ranking lists. No later than August 6, applicants who are competing for budget-funded places must receive admission recommendations through EDEBO. By 18:00 on August 11 they must confirm their choice of place of study, and final admission to budget places will take place no later than August 13. After that, universities will begin issuing recommendations for admission on a contract (paid) basis.
MOST analyzed the open data of the “Vstup.OSVITA.UA” portal regarding Kherson State Agrarian-Economic University, Kherson State University, Kherson National Technical University and Kherson State Maritime Academy.
And compiled all the data for the four HEIs into a file.
For the calculations we combined all competitive offers within each specialty. In other words, we did not count budget and contract, full-time and part-time offers separately, but summed all applications submitted to a single specialty at a particular university.
For example, if a university opened several competitive offers in management, their figures were combined into one total result. Likewise, all educational programs of the Kherson State Maritime Academy that belong to the specialty “Maritime and Inland Water Transport” are accounted for together.
The dataset does not contain information about the number of applications with first priority. These data could not be collected automatically from EDEBO due to technical access limitations to the relevant lists.
Data on the number of first-priority applications were published by the rectors of KSU and HDAEU. According to Oleksandr Saivakovskyi, 424 first-priority applications were submitted to KSU, and according to Yurii Kyrylov — 650 first-priority applications to HDAEU.
The Agrarian-Economic University Received the Most Applications
Among the four institutions by total number of applications, Kherson State Agrarian-Economic University leads. Applicants submitted 2,043 applications to it.
Kherson State University received 1,496 applications.
Kherson National Technical University received 1,269 applications.
Kherson State Maritime Academy had 1,017 applications submitted to it.
Thus, the agrarian-economic university accounts for about 35% of all applications considered in the study. KSU’s share is almost 26%, KNTU — about 22%, the maritime academy — over 17%.
At the same time, the number of applications does not equal the number of applicants. One person can submit applications to several universities and to several specialties.
Most Popular Specialties Across All Four Universities
By number of applications, the undisputed leader is the specialty “Maritime and Inland Water Transport” at Kherson State Maritime Academy. Applicants submitted 1,017 applications across all competitive offers within this field.
Such a large lead is explained by the structure of the academy: almost its entire intake is concentrated around a single specialty, which includes various educational programs — navigation, operation of ship propulsion plants, electrical equipment and other directions of maritime specialist training.
If identical specialties are combined across all four universities, the ranking looks like this:
- Management — 329 applications;
- Psychology — 280;
- Agronomy — 274;
- Food Technologies — 197;
- Software Engineering — 191;
- Automotive Transport — 175;
- Therapy and Rehabilitation — 162;
- Secondary Education — 161;
- Philology — 148;
- Electrical Engineering — 144;
- Social Work and Counseling — 143;
- Construction and Civil Engineering — 136.
So, apart from maritime education, applicants are most interested in management, psychology, agrarian, food, IT and transport specialties.
At the same time, the popularity of certain fields is formed by several universities at once. For example, 151 applications for management were submitted to HDAEU, 125 to KNTU and 53 to KSU. In total that is 329 applications.
For psychology, KSU received 171 applications, and HDAEU — 109. KNTU currently has no applications for this specialty. The total figure is 280 applications.
What Applicants Choose at HDAEU
The most popular specialty at Kherson State Agrarian-Economic University was Agronomy — 274 applications.
It significantly surpasses all other directions of the institution. Second place is Management with 151 applications, third — Construction and Civil Engineering with 136 applications.
The top five also include:
- Psychology — 109 applications;
- Food Technologies — 101.
Nearly one hundred applications were received by Electrical Engineering — 100 and Geodesy and Land Management — 98.
Next are Ecology and Marketing — 84 applications each, Animal Husbandry — 83, Hotel and Restaurant Business and Catering — 82.
Statistics show that HDAEU attracts applicants not only with traditional agrarian directions. A significant part of demand is formed by management, psychology, construction, marketing and hotel and restaurant business.
At KSU, Psychology, Rehabilitation and Pedagogy Lead
At Kherson State University the most applications were submitted for Psychology — 171.
Second position is Therapy and Rehabilitation with 162 applications. Almost the same result is the large specialty “Secondary Education” — 161 applications. It includes various subject specializations and educational programs.
Philology at KSU received 113 applications.
There were 64 applications each for Primary Education and Social Work and Counseling. Special Education received 55 applications, Management — 53.
Software Engineering and Computer Science received 49 applications each. Medicine — 46, Law — 44.
Thus, the greatest demand at KSU is concentrated around psychology, health care, pedagogical education and philology.
At KNTU, Programming, Management and Automotive Fields Attract the Most Interest
The leader of the admission campaign at Kherson National Technical University was Software Engineering — 142 applications.
Management received 125 applications, Automotive Transport — 123.
Fourth place is Food Technologies — 96 applications. Design received 82 applications.
Also among popular directions are:
- Social Work and Counseling — 79 applications;
- Cybersecurity and Information Protection — 76;
- Light Industry Technologies — 73;
- Computer Science — 52;
- Computer Engineering — 46.
Despite the technical profile of the institution, the leaders include not only IT and engineering fields, but also management, social work and design.
At Kherson State Maritime Academy, Almost All Demand Is Focused on Maritime Education
At Kherson State Maritime Academy 1,017 applications were submitted for the specialty “Maritime and Inland Water Transport.”
Within this specialty the academy offers various programs related to navigation, management of sea vessels, ship technical systems and electrical equipment.
Two other specialties represented in the data — Automation, Computer-Integrated Technologies and Robotics, and Materials Science — did not receive any applications.
Lowest-Demand Specialties Across All Universities
Applicants submitted the fewest applications to arts, natural sciences and some narrowly specialized specialties.
Only one application among all four universities was received by Music Arts at KSU.
Two applications were submitted for Chemistry.
Ten applications were received for Fine Arts and Restoration.
Biology and Biochemistry at KSU, as well as Chemical Technologies and Engineering at KNTU, each have 13 applications.
Sixteen applications were received for:
- Geography and Regional Studies;
- Pharmacy;
- Applied Mechanics.
Seventeen applications were submitted for Performing Arts, 18 for Cultural Studies and Museology, 21 for Sociology.
Four specialties received no applications in the analyzed universities:
- Materials Science;
- Earth Sciences;
- Law Enforcement Activities;
- Educational Sciences.
At the same time, a zero indicator does not always mean a final absence of enrollment. Some offers may be intended for later admission waves, different admission bases or contract-based enrollment.
Specialties with the Least Demand at HDAEU
Kherson State Agrarian-Economic University has no specialties with zero applications.
The fewest applications were submitted for Vocational Education — 19.
Architecture and Urban Planning received 24 applications, Physical Culture and Sports — 32, Horticulture and Landscape Management — 36.
Forestry received 41 applications.
At the same time, even HDAEU’s least popular specialty has a higher figure than a number of directions at other universities.
KSU’s Outsiders
Kherson State University has the largest number of specialties with minimal or zero demand.
Music Arts received one application, Chemistry — two, Fine Arts and Restoration — ten.
Biology and Biochemistry received 13 applications, Geography and Regional Studies — 16, Pharmacy — also 16.
The following received no applications:
- Earth Sciences;
- Law Enforcement Activities;
- Public Administration and Administration;
- Economics and International Economic Relations;
- Educational Sciences.
Low figures are partly explained by the fact that KSU has the largest list of specialties and competitive offers among the four institutions. The total number of applications is distributed among a significantly larger number of directions.
KNTU’s Outsiders
At KNTU the fewest applications among specialties that have at least one applicant were for Chemical Technologies and Engineering — 13.
Applied Mechanics received 16 applications, Public Administration and Administration — 20, Information Systems and Technologies — 22, Accounting and Taxation — 23.
Materials Science and Psychology received no applications.
At the same time, Psychology has high overall demand in other universities. This may indicate not the unpopularity of the specialty in general, but a weaker interest specifically in KNTU’s offering.
Conclusions
The 2026 admission campaign shows that Kherson universities retain noticeable demand despite relocation, war and difficult working conditions. The four institutions together received 5,825 applications.
HDAEU collected the most applications, but the most popular single specialty was Maritime and Inland Water Transport at the Kherson State Maritime Academy.
If we exclude the unusually large maritime field, the most popular specialties among applicants are management, psychology, agronomy, food technologies, software engineering and automotive transport.
At the same time the data show significant inequality of demand. Some fields receive hundreds of applications, while others get one or two or none at all.
The situation looks especially difficult for some natural science and arts specialties. Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Biology, Music Arts and Cultural Studies remain at the bottom of the ranking.
However, a low number of applications does not always mean that a specialty is not needed by the region. On the contrary, some of these specialists may be critically important for the future restoration of Kherson region. Nevertheless, current admission statistics show that applicants mostly choose directions with clearer employment prospects or those with an already established university reputation.
A final assessment of the campaign results will be possible after the publication of admission recommendations. The number of applications shows interest, but does not answer how many applicants will actually choose a particular university and begin studying there.