The massification of higher education in Ukraine is a fact, while financing the system is still an issue. External pressures from the central government and the market require changes in university governance. Europeanization of the educational system and adherence to the principles laid down by the Bologna Declaration add to already existing challenges faced by universities. This paper offers classification, typology, and portrayal of the higher education landscape in Ukraine, and elaborates on the complex intertwinement of state and higher education institutions. It considers universities as collegiums and bureaucracies, and suggests the university political system as a viable form of organizational structure for the task of reforming universities.