Vietnam: What are the standards for research student instructors during doctoral dissertation?

What are the standards for research student instructors during doctoral dissertation in Vietnam?

According to the regulations stipulated in Article 5 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT, primary instructors, secondary instructors and independent instructors of research students must meet the following standards:

- Comply with the standards of lecturers of doctoral programs as specified in Article 4 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT:

+ Being Vietnamese citizens or foreign citizens meeting the requirements in in Clause 1 Article 54 of the Law on Higher Education 2012 (amended by Clause 29 Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to Law on Higher Education 2018) and other related legal regulations;

+ Holding the title of professor or associate professor or Doctor of Science degree or doctorate in a specialization suitable for units of study and subjects (hereinafter collectively referred to as “units of study”) that they are in charge of;

+ Having foreign language and information technology qualifications for teaching, research and international exchange and cooperation concerning specialized areas that they are in charge of in the doctoral program.

* Additional requirements for persons without the title of professor or associate professor:

- They have taught undergraduate or master’s programs for at least 01 year (12 months) since they were awarded a doctorate;

- Within 05 years (60 months) before they are assigned to teach a doctoral program, they publish 02 scientific reports and/or articles in printed publications assigned at least 0,75 point by the State Council for Professorship as the first author or corresponding author; or 01 monograph distributed by Vietnamese and international publishers or 01 chapter of a reference book distributed by international publisher as the author or co-author (hereinafter collectively referred to as “main author”), and their publications must be related to the program’s specialization;

- For lecturers of arts programs, the requirements in Point b, Clause 2, Article 4 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT may be substituted by the title of “Nghệ sĩ Nhân dân” (“People’s Artists”) awarded by the State.

- Within 05 years (60 months) before issuance of the decision on recognition of research student instructor, the primary instructor, independent instructor or co-instructor (if the primary instructor and secondary instructor are not differentiated) must produce results for a research on a specialized area related to the topic of the dissertation that they will provide instructions for. To be specific:

+ The instructor is the main author of a scientific conference report/ scientific article published in a printed publication included in the Web of Science or Scopus List (hereinafter collectively referred to as “WoS/Scopus List”) or a chapter of a reference book distributed by a reputable international publisher, or an article published on a Vietnamese academic journal assigned at least 0,75 point by the State Council for Professorship, or a monograph distributed by a reputable Vietnamese or international publisher;

The publication must earn at least 4,0 points in total according to maximum score stipulated by the State Council for Professorship for each type of project (points shall not be distributed when there are co-authors); or

+ The instructor is the author or co-author of at least 01 result of a scientific or technological research or application registered and awarded a national or international patent; or at least 01 official award of a national or international competition recognized by the competent authority for the fields of arts, physical training and sports.

What are the standards for research student instructors during doctoral dissertation in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are the responsibilities of research student instructors during the doctoral program in Vietnam?

According to Clause 3, Article 6 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT, research student instructors have the following responsibilities:

- Approve course-wise and annual study and research plans of research students; provide instructions for, support, assess, supervise and expedite study and research carried out per approved plans by research students;

- Propose or give opinions on changes made to the study and research processes of research students;

- Propose examination of dissertations of research students at management units and dissertation defense at dissertation examination committees of training institutions;

- Perform other duties and exercise other powers according to training institution regulations.

Can research student instructors in Vietnam transfer to another training institution during the doctoral program?

Article 10 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT stipulates as follows:

Changes made during the course of a training program

1. Every research student and their instructor may propose change to the dissertation topic, addition of another instructor, change of instructor, change of management unit and transfer to another training institution to their training institution. These changes shall entail revision of the course-wise study and research plan to ensure that the training duration complies with regulations in Article 3 of this Regulation.

2. Research students will be forced to leave school in any of the following cases:

a) They fail to complete their programs within the time limits set out in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 3 of this Regulation;

b) They commit a grave violation against regulations on responsibilities of research students or regulations of law as concluded by a specialized council or competent authority;

c) They commit a violation against regulations of their training institutions that results in expulsion.

3. Training institution regulations shall provide for the following matters:

a) Change to dissertation topic, addition of another instructor or change of instructor, change of management unit and transfer to another training institution;

b) Reduction or extension of study and research time of research students; cases resulting in expulsion and expulsion procedures.

Thus, research student instructors can propose the training institution regarding the transfer to another institution during the course of a training program.