The main objective of scientific and scientific-technical activity at the University is to acquire new scientific knowledge through fundamental, applied, and exploratory research; to utilize and implement scientific results into the educational process, production, and service sectors; to contribute to the quality training of specialists, researchers, and academic staff of the highest qualifications; to support, develop, and commercialize new technologies, materials, etc., to ensure innovative development of society and the national economy; to address complex tasks in the field of scientific and high-tech development; and to strengthen the national defense and security.

Karazin University holds leading positions among Ukrainian institutions of higher education and is a recognized leader in university science based on such indicators as academic reputation, quality of scientific and academic staff, quality of education, international recognition, global information presence, the volume of research funding (including extra-budgetary funds), grant funding for research implementation, the number of patents received, scientific publications in international scientometric databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, citations of these publications, and the number of students involved in scientific work.

Scientific, scientific-technical, and innovative activities of the University are carried out based on multi-channel funding, including state-budget scientific research projects, projects funded by the general fund of the state budget, projects of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, commissioned contract-based research, international projects funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and international grant-funded projects.

The primary source of funding for research at the University is the general fund of the state budget. All state-funded R&D projects align with the priority areas of science and technology development established by the Law of Ukraine “On Priority Areas of Science and Technology Development” and the list of thematic priority areas approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (Resolution No. 476, April 30, 2024) and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (Order No. 1104 from September 7, 2023, and amendments No. 1202 from October 4, 2023).

In 2024, the University received state funds to support research in priority areas: Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Category A); Technical Sciences (Category B).

In November 2024, pursuant to Orders No. 1485 (October 21, 2024) and No. 1675 (November 28, 2024) of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the state attestation of scientific institutions and higher education institutions regarding their scientific and scientific-technical activities began. The attestation covers seven scientific fields: Agricultural and Veterinary, Social Sciences, Security, Biomedical, Humanities and Arts, Engineering and Technology, and Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

According to Order No. 945 of June 27, 2025, by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University was assigned to Group A in the “Social Sciences” field. Applications in the “Biomedical,” “Humanities and Arts,” “Engineering and Technology,” and “Natural and Mathematical Sciences” fields are still undergoing expert review and document verification.

Research funded by domestic and international clients is one of the University’s key priorities.

A significant direction of R&D at the University includes the preservation of Ukraine’s national heritage objects. In 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine allocated UAH 800,000 to support five such objects, including the Herbarium, the Coherent Optical Image Processor of the Research Institute of Astronomy, the Complex for Remote Sensing of Near-Earth Space of the Radio Physics Observatory, the Collection of Rare Books of the Central Scientific Library, and the Drosophila Lines Collection of the Department of Genetics and Cytology.

In 2024, the University conducted five projects funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, with Karazin University as the main executor. Several international projects are carried out annually in cooperation with STCU, Horizon 2020, NATO, IAEA, CRDF, and under agreements with international research centers.

In March 2024, a team from the School of Physics and Technology (Philyp Kuznetsov, Bohdan Mazilin, Inna Afanasieva, and Maksym Malovytsia) received European Commission approval to implement the “EU-UA Nuclear Research and Education Capacity Building” (NURECAB) project within EURATOM WP 2023-2025 TOPIC IBA 3.

Additional projects include one with the Research Executive Agency (REA), titled “Fusilli” (2021–2024), led by Associate Professor O. S. Muradyan, and another with the Simons Foundation (USA) on “Fundamental and Applied Research in Physical Organic Chemistry” (2024–2025), led by Professor O. D. Roshal.

In 2024, the University carried out 35 departmental-themed R&D projects free of charge. All projects are registered with the Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technical Expertise and Information.

As of December 31, 2024, the University had 748 publications in Scopus for the year, with a total of 15,045 publications and a Hirsch index of 93. In Web of Science, 333 publications were registered in 2024. The total number of publications reached 14,853.

The leading contributors are from the Natural and Mathematical Sciences, especially in physics, nuclear physics, astronomy, materials science, engineering, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science. The share of publications in social sciences and humanities is steadily growing.

According to Orders of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 32 (January 15, 2018) and No. 1721 (December 10, 2024), the University had 40 scholarly periodicals in 2024, including 3 in Category A and 37 in Category B.

The East European Journal of Physics and the Biophysical Bulletin are also indexed in Scopus.

In 2024, the University published 165 monographs (including 105 book chapters), 46 issues of the University Bulletin, 45 collections of scientific papers, and 5,275 articles and conference abstracts, of which 2,079 appeared in foreign publications. The University organized 78 exhibitions and participated in 29 more, and held 147 conferences, including 64 international ones.

As of December 31, 2024, the University obtained 36 patents, 14 of which were registered to Karazin University (8 utility models, 5 inventions, and 1 joint patent with the Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University). Another 22 patents were obtained in collaboration with other institutions.