Four KSE University Programs Ranked Among Ukraine’s Best by Forbes Ukraine

Forbes Ukraine has published a special Forbes University issue featuring a ranking of the country’s 50 best university faculties. Four KSE University bachelor’s programs made the list across the STEM, IT, and economics categories.

The Forbes ranking takes into account the academic performance of incoming students, research output, infrastructure, resources available to educational programs, university spending per student, and the results of an employer survey.

Applied Mathematics — #2 among STEM faculties

The KSE University Faculty of Mathematics is building an academic environment that brings together Ukrainian researchers and scholars with international experience. Its faculty includes academics with experience at the University of California, University of Oxford, University of Amsterdam, SISSA, Sorbonne University, and Ukrainian research institutions.

The Faculty receives funding from the Simons Foundation, one of the leading philanthropic organizations supporting mathematics and the basic sciences. KSE is also expanding its cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Economics and Big Data — #2 among economics faculties

Forbes highlighted the program’s accreditation by ZEvA (Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency, Germany) and its first graduating class in 2025, whose members began working at Genesis, KSE Institute, and the National Bank of Ukraine while still studying.

The program combines microeconomics and macroeconomics with statistics and big data analysis tools, including Python, SQL, and machine learning. Starting from the second year, part of the curriculum is taught in English.

Students can participate in academic mobility programs at Brown University, Bocconi University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, ITAM, and other universities, as well as pursue a dual degree with the University of Houston. Guest lecturers have included Nobel laureates Roger Myerson and Paul Milgrom.

Software Engineering and Business Analysis — #4 among IT faculties

Forbes ranked the program among the country’s top four IT faculties. Key factors include partnerships with the technology industry — Google, Genesis, SoftServe, AWS Academy, EPAM, and Cloudflare — as well as a high admissions threshold: in 2025, the minimum admission score among state-funded students was 182.

The program graduated its first cohort last year. The Faculty of Computer Science, where the program is based, operates five research labs and produced 14 academic papers during the 2024–2025 academic year.

Cybersecurity — #7 among IT faculties

Forbes highlighted the program’s network of industry partners, including Google, Genesis, SoftServe, Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine, AWS Academy, and EPAM.

Students focus on applying AI to automate security systems, model threats, and make decisions based on big data analysis.

In the Forbes University issue, KSE University Rector Tymofiy Brik writes that university development begins with changing the educational model itself:

“Students change through education. If we want education to change the world for the better, we need to change education itself.”

For KSE University, this means education built around data, science, technology, industry partnerships, and responsible management.

“Universities need to think in terms of business models. Their mission is to create public value: more high-quality education, more talented professionals, more innovation. But for this machine to work, it needs a continuous and professional process for attracting and managing substantial resources. Our Foundation seeks long-term partners, our research institute helps secure grants and contracts in Ukraine and abroad, and the University delivers educational and research projects. All of this is supported by financial modelling, audits, and regular reporting to the Board of Directors,” Tymofiy Brik told Forbes.

The full ranking is published in the print edition of the Forbes University special issue.