What are the conditions for teachers in Vietnam to be awarded an honorary Doctorate?

What are the conditions for teachers in Vietnam to be awarded an honorary doctorate?

Pursuant to Article 4 of Decree 84/2020/ND-CP on awarding the honorary Doctorate title:

Awarding the honorary Doctorate title

1. Eligible individuals:

a) Educators and scientists;

b) Politicians and social activists.

2. Conditions for conferral:

a) A Vietnamese abroad or a foreigner who has made significant contributions to Vietnam's education and science, and is approved for conferral by a Vietnamese university that offers doctoral training for the subjects specified at point a, clause 1 of this Article;

b) A Vietnamese abroad or a foreigner who has made significant contributions to Vietnam's education and science, has international reputation, has made numerous contributions to the friendship, economic, and social development of Vietnam, and is approved for conferral by a Vietnamese university that offers doctoral training for the subjects specified at point b, clause 1 of this Article.

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Therefore, the conditions for educators to be awarded an honorary Doctorate are:

- Vietnamese abroad or foreigners who have made significant contributions to Vietnam's education and science.

- Approved for conferral by a Vietnamese university that offers doctoral training.

What are procedures for doctoral thesis assessment?

According to clause 3, Article 20 of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT, the procedures for doctoral thesis assessment are as follows:

Step 1: The Ministry of Education and Training notifies in writing the list of cases requiring thesis quality assessment based on the periodic reports from the training institutions;

Step 2: The training institution sends 03 sets of thesis quality assessment dossiers to the Ministry of Education and Training;

Step 3: The Ministry of Education and Training conducts the assessment and sends written notification of the results to the training institution within a maximum of 60 working days from the date of receipt of the complete dossier as prescribed.

The dossier includes:

- Doctoral thesis;

- Summary of the doctoral thesis;

- Copies of the research publications of the doctoral candidate.

What are the conditions for teachers in Vietnam to be awarded an honorary Doctorate?​ (Image from Internet)

How to handle the results of doctoral thesis assessment in Vietnam?

According to Article 21 of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT, handling the results of doctoral thesis assessment is as follows:

• The assessment results meet the requirements in the following cases:

- The training process dossier provided by the training institution contains sufficient evidence ensuring the admission process, training and management organization, and the thesis evaluation process as applicable to the doctoral candidate according to the regulations;

- The quality of the thesis is agreed upon by at least 02 out of 03 scientists who are professors or associate professors with a doctorate or science doctorate in a related field who understand the topic and the doctoral candidate’s research field.

• The assessment results do not meet the requirements in the following cases:

- The training process dossier provided by the training institution does not contain sufficient evidence ensuring compliance with the regulations on admission, training and management organization, and the thesis evaluation process according to the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT and the regulations of the training institution as applicable to the doctoral candidate;

- The quality of the thesis is not agreed upon by 02 out of 03 scientists in terms of expertise.

• For cases where the thesis quality assessment does not meet the requirements (i):

- The Ministry of Education and Training decides to establish a Thesis Assessment Council to review, evaluate, and decide on the thesis quality; authorize the training institution to organize a meeting of the Thesis Assessment Council with the supervision of a representative from the Ministry of Education and Training;

- The Thesis Assessment Council has 07 members, including at least 03 members who are not independent reviewers or members of the Thesis Evaluation Council; scientists who disagree with the thesis as prescribed at point b, clause 2, Article 21 of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT are automatic members of the Council;

- The standards and tasks of the members of the Thesis Assessment Council are as those of the members of the Thesis Evaluation Council of the training institution prescribed at clause 2, Article 16 of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT;

- The Thesis Assessment Council only meets when at least 06 members, including the chairman, secretary, and council members who disagree with the thesis, are present.

- The thesis does not meet the assessment requirements if 02 or more members of the Thesis Assessment Council present do not approve it.

In this case, the training institution organizes and presides over a dialogue between the Thesis Assessment Council and the Thesis Evaluation Council with the participation of a representative from the Ministry of Education and Training.

The minimum number of members present at the meeting from both Councils is 09, including the chairperson, reviewers, secretary, and members who disagree with the thesis from both Councils.

The thesis is not approved if 03 or more members present at the dialogue disapprove. The result of the dialogue is the final assessment result of the thesis quality.

• If the thesis quality remains unsatisfactory after executing the provision at (i), the training institution decides to implement the following options:

- If the doctoral candidate has not been awarded a doctorate, the training institution reevaluates the thesis if it has not been re-evaluated a second time within a maximum period of 06 months;

- If the doctoral candidate has been awarded a doctorate, the revocation of the degree is implemented according to current regulations and in these cases:

+ The training process dossier is found to contain serious violations or inaccuracies resulting in the awarded individual no longer fulfilling the admission criteria, recognition of the doctoral candidate status, or maintaining quality assurance conditions during their study and research at the training institution;

+ Plagiarism or improper citations in the thesis that, if removed, would result in the thesis not meeting the requirements of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT;

+ The doctoral candidate’s thesis is not approved by the Thesis Assessment Council as prescribed in point e, clause 4, Article 21 of the regulations on doctoral training and admission issued together with Circular 18/2021/TT-BGDDT.

• Within a maximum period of 60 working days from the date of receiving notification from the Ministry of Education and Training about the final inspection and assessment result or the date of the dialogue's outcome, the training institution must provide a written report to the Ministry of Education and Training on how the assessment results have been handled, along with accompanying evidence.