Global interest in Ukrainian studies has grown significantly – research

Ukrainian language and culture are studied in 30 countries by more than 160 centers of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar studies. This is evidenced by a research conducted by the Ukrainian Institute.

These centers are mainly engaged in teaching and academic research in the fields of linguistics, history, culture, and religion. 82% of Ukrainian studies are affiliated with state educational institutions or research centers, and 13% are private.

The centers of Crimean Tatar studies are usually linguistic and Turkic in nature, and are often not integrated into the Ukrainian studies context. 

Ukrainian studies are hardly represented in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, and their functioning often suffers from a lack of resources, stable student interest, and support from Ukraine itself, which has forced some to close or limit their ambitions.

As for Ukrainian studies in other countries:

• In the United States of America, they consist of a total of about 20 university centers of Ukrainian studies;
• They are represented in eight universities in Canada in six southern provinces;
• In the United Kingdom, Ukrainian studies are few in number, but strong and concentrated in old university centers;
• In Southwestern Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal), Ukrainian studies are relatively underdeveloped even in countries with a significant Ukrainian diaspora (Portugal, for example, is completely absent), and regional and Slavic studies at universities and analytical centers are dominated by Russian studies;
• There are about 20 studios in Germany, and two active studios in Austria and Switzerland.

The study notes that after Russia’s full-scale invasion, interest in Ukrainian studies in foreign universities and analytical centers has increased dramatically. In many Western universities, the number of freshmen who have chosen to study Ukrainian has increased, new courses on Ukraine have been announced, and new centers have begun to open.

The full text of the study is available here.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Institute created an interactive map showing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar studios abroad. Now this map is also available in English.