Introduction. The formation of students’ professional identity is an important prerequisite for successful career self-determination, professional self-realization, and sustainable career trajectories. Despite considerable scholarly attention to this issue, the risks of professional identity disruption in contemporary higher education remain insufficiently explored.
Aim. The study aims to identify the specific features of students’ professional identity formation and to systematize the risks of its disruption within the higher education environment.
Methods. The study employed a qualitative research design, including semi-structured interviews with university faculty members (n = 9), focus group discussions with students (n = 16), and an analysis of data from a pilot student survey (n = 496).
Results. The findings demonstrate that students’ professional identity is highly dynamic and may transform under the influence of both individual and institutional factors. The study identifies the phenomenon of imposed professional identity, associated with educational and career choices shaped by significant others and by a lack of reliable information about the profession. A “third-year crisis” was observed, manifested in the reconsideration of career choices, awareness of competency deficits, and a mismatch between students’ expectations and the realities of professional practice. The key risks of professional identity disruption were systematized, including structural imbalances in educational programs, information deficits, insufficient media literacy, distortions of professional values, and weak reflexive mechanisms of professional goal-setting.
Scientific novelty. The study proposes an interpretation of imposed professional identity as an independent risk factor in students’ professional self-determination. A typology of risks associated with professional identity disruption is developed, encompassing institutional, informational, and value-related factors.
Practical significance. The findings may be used to improve educational programs, enhance students’ practical training, strengthen mentoring practices, and support initiatives aimed at fostering young people’s professional self-determination.