This year, the external examination for admission to the master's degree in certain specialties will have three main innovations. Thus, the number of specialties where it is necessary to pass the test using the foreign language technology has increased from 16 to 32, in the fall there will be an additional session of the unified entrance exam (EVI) in a foreign language for entering a contract, and entrants who already have specialist or master's degrees will be able to enter for contract training not based on the results of external examinations, but based on the university's internal exams. This was reported in the Ministry of Education and Culture during a press briefing on the start of registration for the "Master's Examination Examination" on May 13, 2019.

"The Ministry of Education and Science has declared such a policy that in the future, the entrance exam for a master's degree in a foreign language should be done by means of external examinations for all specialties. At present, we are increasing the number of specialties covered by external examinations from year to year. If in 2018 we had 16 of these specialties, then this year they are expected to be 32", - noted Deputy Minister of Education and Science Yurii Rashkevich.

He explained that this year, the external examination for admission to the master's degree will be held in the specialties of the most conjunctural fields of knowledge.

"In particular, we are talking about the fields of knowledge "Humanities" (except for the specialty "Philology"), "Social and behavioral sciences", "Journalism", "Law", "Sphere of service", "International relations" - this was already in 2018. Today, such fields as "Culture and art" (except artistic specialties), "Theology", "Management and administration", "Information technologies", "Public management and administration" are added to these fields, the Deputy Minister said.

Yuriy Rashkevych emphasized that for the "Law" and "International Law" majors, all entrants must take not only the foreign language entrance exam, but also the professional entrance exam in law and general educational legal competencies in the form of an external examination.

"The experience of previous years proves that the ZNO tool for both the foreign language exam and the professional test is very effective. It allows for transparent admission, it really gives the best bachelor's graduates the opportunity to get state-sponsored places, and it enjoys support both among entrants and among higher education institutions," the Deputy Minister emphasized.

In 2019, for the first time, the so-called third session of EVI in a foreign language is foreseen.

"The dates have not yet been determined, they will be set by the Ukrainian Center for the Evaluation of the Quality of Education sometime at the end of August - it depends on the admission situation. However, the third session is currently planned for the fall of 2019. I would like to draw attention to the fact that only those entrants who are going to study on a contract will be able to take part in it. And this EVI session will be carried out at the expense of the entrants themselves," explained Oleg Sharov, Director General of the Directorate of Higher Education and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

It is assumed that the cost of passing the EVI test will be approximately the same as a trial external examination for admission to a bachelor's degree. However, the UTSOYAO will determine the exact amount a little later.

The third innovation concerns those applicants who already have a second degree of higher education - a specialist or master's degree.

"We are often asked whether applicants who have previously received a master's degree or a specialist's degree and now plan to enroll in a master's degree on a contract should be tested. I answer: starting this year, they can take an exam in a higher education institution instead of the EVI in a foreign language. Because this is actually the same second level of higher education. But this applies only to the foreign language exam, for admission to "Law" and "International Law" in any case, the results of the EVI and EFVV are required," said Oleg Sharov.