Alumni of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy played a formative role in the intellectual and church life of Ukraine and Russia in 17th and 18th centuries.

As well, Theophan Prokopovich as a rector of the Kyiv-Mogila Academy elaborated upon and implemented Peter the Great's reform of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The newly formed 'collegium', then located in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was given the Polish name 'Mohylańska' (Latin: Collegium Kijovense Mohileanum), in honour of Petro Mohyla, a key figure in bringing about the institution's foundation and proponent of modern Western educational standards at the academy.

In 1658 under the terms of the Treaty of Hadiach the Collegium obtained the status of an 'academy', similar to the Kraków Academy – at that time the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's premier university.

In 1694 the Collegium was also recognised as an academy by the Moscow Tsardom Tsar Ivan V; this was later reaffirmed by his brother and successor, Peter the Great.

[14] Subsequently, during the 17th and 18th centuries the academy was known for its education of the Russian and Ukrainian political and intellectual elites; it was highly acclaimed throughout Eastern Europe and accepted students of all classes and backgrounds from the territories of modern-day Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece.

Due to the exceptional quality of the language program many of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy's students continued their education abroad, which at the time meant many of them were required to convert from the Orthodox faith to Roman Catholicism.

By sending so many of its graduates abroad the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy played a vital role in facilitating the transfer of knowledge eastwards cross Europe and popularising the Renaissance both in Ukraine and Russia.

[11][12] By the late 18th century Kyiv and its surrounding lands had become part of the Russian Empire and in 1817 Tsar Alexander I of Russia made the decision to close the academy.

During this time, admission to the Academy was open only to children of the existing clergy and key positions were held mostly by alumni of the Saint Petersburg Seminary.

[16] With the passing years the need for a new, modern, institution of the higher education in Kyiv became apparent and the Tsar's ministers began to consider the establishment of such a school.

With the success of the October Revolution of 1917 and subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union, atheism became the only state sanctioned belief system and the church (along with its associated organs) were repressed.

Shortly thereafter the authorities of the newly proclaimed Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ordered the closure of the Kyiv Theological Academy; its library was later plundered and the main church of the school, the Bogoyavlenskiy Cathedral, was demolished with explosives in 1935.

This was made possible through the efforts of Vyacheslav Bryukhovetsky, a high-profile Ukrainian academic, who later became the first president of the 'National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy' (NaUKMA).

On 24 August 1992, the first anniversary of Ukraine's independence, the first cohort of students matriculated at NaUKMA, and by June 1995 the first six graduates of the reborn Kyiv-Mohyla Academy had received their degrees.

The NaUKMA widely got to be known for being the first university of which students and professors (among the other parties of the Orange Revolution in Kyiv) openly protested against the massive electoral selection fraud during the Ukrainian presidential election in 2004.

Based on its location on the territory of the ancient Mohyla Academy, NaUKMA claims to be the oldest institution of higher education in Kyiv and all of Ukraine.

However this is disputed on the grounds that NaUKMA has formally existed as a modern university (with a different focus and structure) only since 1991, without any clear continuity during a long break of 174 years in its history.

[26] Fall and spring terms include an extra week of independent study which is aimed to assist students needing to catch up with their coursework and prepare for exams.

[6] The university offers business courses in English to the general public, in partnership with Grant MacEwan College of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

[38] Further, students are rewarded scholarship money for their social activities, thus awards are given to those who make the greatest contribution to the revival of NaUKMA or to those who excel in the promotion of Ukrainian language and culture.

Admission tests are considered challenging and cover a broader range of subjects than the typical entrance examinations held at the majority of other universities in Ukraine.

[47] In 2007, both the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, a weekly national newspaper ranked NaUKMA in third place among the Ukrainian universities.

[87] Many faculty members hold permanent positions at the research institutes of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine and NaUKMA students are allowed to use its facilities for scientific and educational purposes.

[89] Further, several international cultural organizations such as the Goethe-Institute, British Council and, American Library are located on campus premises and are open to the public.

Every year on 15 October the school celebrates Academy day and NaUKMA students wash the monument of the noted Kyiv-Mohyla alumnus philosopher Hryhorii Skovoroda.

Lastly, it is a tradition to open each academic year with a welcome event for the new students, followed by a lecture by a renowned scientist, who is given an honorary professorship at the University.

[112] To note the importance of the university in Ukraine's history, a postage stamp dedicated to Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and its revival was issued in 1992.

[114] After 1819, when the university was turned into a purely religious institution, it still upheld its international reputation and has been an alma mater for the Moldavian poet Alexei Mateevici and metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church Visarion Puiu.

Alumni of NaUKMA are employed by national and international companies, research and governmental institutions and many graduates continue their studies abroad.