Enrollment Patterns of Internationally Mobile Students from Ukraine at Universities in Linguistically Similar EU Countries

Enrollment Patterns of Internationally Mobile Students from Ukraine at Universities in Linguistically Similar EU Countries.In 2021, Ukrainians represented the third-largest group of international students in the EU.The number of Ukrainian students studying abroad grew notably from 2013-2014, with a significant rise after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Since 2014, Ukrainian students have favored Slavic EU countries.We use multiple regression with university-level administrative data to analyze their choices with regard to geographic locations and fields of study in the three countries with the highest shares of Ukrainian students and a high level of linguistic similarity (Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic).We observe higher shares of Ukrainian students at universities close to Ukraine's border or in capital cities.Limited proficiency in the language of study may explain the tendency to choose technical fields of study and avoid highly selective programs.