After a brief career in the private sector as financial analyst and manager at Cigna and consultant at Booze Allen Hamilton, Kravchuk went back to school to earn a Master of Arts (1987) and PhD (1989) in political science from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
Between 1990 and 1993, Kravchuk was an assistant professor at the University of Hartford, and served as deputy budget director of the State of Connecticut between 1991 and 1992.
Between 1993 and 1996, Kravchuk worked part-time for the US Department of Treasury in mission to provide financial advice to the governments of Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
During his first stance at SPEA, Kravchuk authored three books on Ukrainian politics and economics, and joined David H. Rosenbloom as a co-author of his Public Administration textbook.
Between 2007 and 2012, Kravchuk was a full professor at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte and the chair of its department of political science and public administration.