The history of the department dates back to 1978. Since its foundation, the department has been renamed several times. In 1996, it was renamed into the Department of Ukrainian and Russian Languages and Methods of Teaching Them as Foreign Languages and the Department of Ukrainian as a Foreign Language, in 1997 – into the Department of Ukrainian and Russian Languages as Foreign Languages. Since 2022, it has become the Department of Ukrainian Philology for Foreign Citizens.
Over the years, the department has been headed by Associate Professor S. Vorobiova, Assoc. Prof. N. Zaichenko, Assoc. Prof. N. Prysiazhniuk, and Assoc. Prof. N. Nikolaieva. Currently, the department is headed by PhD in Philology, Associate Professor S. Derba.
The academic staff of the department includes 22 lecturers: 1 doctor and 17 PhDs (including 11 associate professors), and 11 assistant professors.
Leading specialists of the Department carry out research activities within the various areas of studies, e.g. research of the Ukrainian vocabulary in the linguacultural aspects, problems of teaching methodology, the specificities of the language functioning in various spheres of communication, linguistic bases of description of the Ukrainian language for the purpose of teaching it to foreign audiences, etc.
Since 2001, the department’s academic staff has published 14 dictionaries, 95 manuals for foreign students, methodological guidelines and recommendations, and more than 500 research articles.
The Department welcomes foreign students from China, Japan, Korea, Turkmenistan, Iran, the USA, the UK, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and other countries.
The Department trains graduates in the speciality 035 ‘Linguistic Studies’ in the following educational programmes: Bachelor of Ukrainian Language and Translation (for Foreigners)’, Master of Ukrainian Language and Literature (for Foreigners)’. We provide classes in Ukrainian as a foreign language at the Institute of International Relations, the Institute of Law, the Institute of Biology and Medicine, the Institute of Geology, the Preparatory Department for Foreign Citizens, the Faculties of History, Mechanics and Mathematics, Economics, Philosophy and other departments of the University.
Since its inception, the department has trained thousands of translators, teachers of Ukrainian and Russian, and specialists in the methodology of teaching Ukrainian and Russian as foreign languages. Graduates of different years teach at universities in many countries, work in diplomatic missions, EU institutions, including the European Commission, and international organisations. Some of the department’s famous graduates are: Y. Sergeyev – Ukrainian diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN (2007-2015); I. Dolhov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Georgia; O. Pavlichenko – Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union; V. Yatsenkivskyi – Ukrainian diplomat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania; V. Nalyvaichenko – Ukrainian politician, statesman, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (2006-2010), Ahn Cheol-woo – First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Liu Hong – Director of the Confucius Institute, Dr. Bülent Hünerli – Professor at Kirklareli University (Turkey), etc.
The Department of Ukrainian Philology for Foreign Citizens and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv have gained worldwide authority in educational and scientific circles.
Among people who worked at the department over the years are:
- Abbakuvoma Halyna
- Shcherbak Olena
- Nataliia Kushnir
- Viktoriia Liubchevska-Sokur
- Alla Maksymenko
- Lesia Malikova
- Valentyna Nevoit
- Valentyn Perekheida
- Oksana Samusenko