Vietnma: May a person without a master's degree pursue a doctoral degree?

May a person without a master's degree in Vietnam pursue a doctoral degree?

Under Article 7 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT stipulating the eligibility requirements:

Eligibility requirements

1. General requirements for applicants:

a) Hold a master's degree or bachelor's degree classified as good or higher in a suitable academic discipline or a qualification equivalent to level 7 of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework in some special academic disciplines suitable for the field of the target doctoral program;

b) Meet admission requirements of training program standards promulgated by the Ministry of Education and Training and of the target doctoral program;

c) Have research experience evidenced by a master’s thesis of a research-oriented training program; or a published scientific report or article; or working for at least 02 years (24 months) as a lecturer or researcher of a training institution or scientific and technological organization;

d) Have a draft research outline and draft course-wise study and research plan.

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According to the regulations, one of the eligibility requirements for applying for a doctoral program is to hold a master's degree or bachelor's degree classified as good or higher in a suitable academic discipline or a qualification equivalent to level 7 of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework in some special academic disciplines suitable for the field of the target doctoral program.

Thus, a person without a master's degree can still apply for a doctoral program if they hold a bachelor's degree classified as good or higher in a suitable academic discipline or a qualification equivalent to level 7 of the Vietnamese Qualifications Framework in some special academic disciplines suitable for the field of the target doctoral program.

May a person without a master's degree in Vietnam pursue a doctoral degree? (Image from the Internet)

What are the degrees and certificates serving as evidence for foreign language proficiency of Vietnamese citizens applying for a doctoral program?

Under Clause 2, Article 7 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT, Vietnamese applicants must meet foreign language requirements as evidenced by any of the following degrees and certificates:

- A bachelor’s degree or higher awarded by a foreign training institution, Vietnamese branch of a foreign training institution or Vietnamese training institution to learners of a full-time program taught in a foreign language;

- A bachelor’s degree in a foreign language awarded by a Vietnamese training institution;

- Any of the foreign language proficiency certificates mentioned in Appendix II of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT that is unexpired on the application date or any other foreign language proficiency certificate equivalent to level 4 of Vietnam's language proficiency framework announced by the Ministry of Education and Training.

What is the standard duration of a doctoral program in Vietnam?

Under Article 3 of the regulation on doctoral program admission and doctoral education issued with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT:

Training duration and mode of study

1. Standard duration of a doctoral program shall range from 03 years (36 months) to 04 years (48 months) as decided by the training institution and this duration must be sufficient for the majority of research students to complete the program; each research student shall have a course-wide study and research plan that takes place within the whole standard program duration and is approved together with the research student recognition decision (made using the form in Appendix I).

2. Every research student may complete their programs no more than 01 year (12 months) sooner or later than their course-wise study and research plan but the total training duration shall not be longer than 06 years (72 months) starting from the entry into force of the research student recognition decision to the time where procedures for submitting their dissertation to their training institution are completed (before independent defense and establishment of the dissertation examination committee of their training institution).

3. Doctoral programs shall be provided in the full-time mode of study; research students must spend sufficient study and research time at their training institutions according to the approved plans; the full-time mode of study requires registering for 30 credits per year.

Thus, doctoral programs shall be provided in the full-time mode of study, with the standard duration of a doctoral program ranging from 03 years (36 months) to 04 years (48 months) as decided by the training institution.