PART I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE TRAINING PROGRAM

1. Some information about the training program

- Program name:

+ Vietnamese name: Political Science

+ English name: Political Science

- Name of the training program:

+ Vietnamese name: Political Science

+ English name: Political Science

- Training program code: 9310201

- Language of instruction: Vietnamese

- Standard training duration: 3 years for those with a master's degree, 4 years for those with a bachelor's degree.

- Name of the degree awarded after graduation:

+ Vietnamese name: Doctor of Political Science

+ English title: Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science

2. Objectives of the training program

2.1. General Objectives

The Doctoral Program in Political Science aims to provide high-quality human resources at the expert level in Political Science, capable of independent research, meeting the needs of working in policy-making agencies of the Party and State; agencies within the political system; socio-economic organizations and enterprises; educational and research institutions; as well as central and local government agencies. Upon completion of the program, students will achieve the following core competencies: Interdisciplinary thinking and approach, problem-solving skills; ability to manage research or application programs and projects related to Political Science; critical thinking and the ability to create new knowledge; and the ability to design, advise on, and implement socio-political policies.

2.2. Specific Objectives

- Specific Objective 1 (O1): To provide high-quality human resources in political science with in-depth, advanced professional knowledge and interdisciplinary thinking, analytical, evaluative, and knowledge-creating skills to carry out research, management, planning, advisory, and policy consultation.

- Specific Objective 3 (O2): To provide high-quality human resources in political science, with the capacity for independent research, reasoning skills, and the ability to analyze interdisciplinary and specialized knowledge to identify and solve problems related to socio-political issues; and skills in connecting relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to implement research programs and projects related to political science.

- Specific Objective 3 (O3): To provide high-quality human resources in political science with a high degree of autonomy and responsibility: Adherence to laws and regulations; dedication to the community; professional and responsible work; academic integrity; and respect for intellectual property rights.

3. Admission Information

3.1. Admission methods

Admission is based on the evaluation of professional profiles in accordance with the regulations of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-Hanoi).

3.2. Eligibility Criteria

3.2.1. Requirements regarding diplomas, fields of study, and types of graduation

Applicants must have graduated with a Master's degree or a Bachelor's degree with a GPA of Excellent or higher in a relevant field, or have completed a qualification equivalent to Level 7 of the Vietnamese National Qualifications Framework in certain specialized fields relevant to Political Science. If a candidate requires supplementary studies, these must be completed before a decision is made to recognize them as a doctoral candidate.

Diplomas issued by foreign educational institutions must undergo recognition procedures in accordance with the current regulations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

3.2.2. Requirements for research competence and experience

Meet the entry requirements according to the training program standards issued by the Ministry of Education and Training and of the doctoral training program for which you are applying.

- Candidates must demonstrate research experience through a master's thesis from a research-oriented training program and published works as required by the training unit (if any). Specifically, candidates with an applied-oriented master's degree or a master's degree in a relevant field who have to complete supplementary courses, or candidates applying from a bachelor's degree, must be the author or co-author of at least one scientific publication. Scientific publications can be articles in specialized scientific journals or scientific reports published in the proceedings of national or international scientific conferences or seminars with peer review, with an ISBN related to the field or research topic, and recognized by the professorship/associate professorship council of the discipline/interdisciplinary field.

- The research proposal must clearly state the proposed topic, research field; reasons for choosing the research field and topic; a brief overview of the research situation in that field domestically and internationally; research objectives; some key research contents; research methods and expected results; reasons for choosing the training institution; implementation plan during the training period; the candidate's experience, knowledge, understanding, and preparation for undertaking the doctoral dissertation. The proposal must also include a proposed supervisor.

- A letter of recommendation from at least one scientist holding the title of professor, associate professor, or a doctorate in science or a PhD, who has collaborated professionally with the applicant and is knowledgeable in the field the applicant intends to research. The letter of recommendation must include comments and assessments of the applicant regarding:

+ Moral character, abilities and scientific research attitude, and professional qualifications of the applicant;

+ For scientists who meet the criteria for supervising doctoral students and agree to act as thesis supervisors, additional comments on the urgency and feasibility of the research topic and content should be included; and the ability to mobilize doctoral students for research topics and projects, as well as the available funding for the doctoral students' research activities (if any), should be clearly stated.

+ Other comments and levels of support and recommendations for the candidate to pursue doctoral studies.

3.2.3. Foreign language requirements

- Applicants who are Vietnamese citizens must meet the foreign language proficiency requirements (in one of the following languages: English, Russian, Chinese, French, or German) that align with the foreign language output standards of the training program. Foreign language proficiency must be demonstrated by one of the following diplomas or certificates:

+ A university degree or higher awarded by a foreign educational institution, a branch of a foreign educational institution in Vietnam, or a Vietnamese educational institution to a full-time student in a foreign language;

+ A university degree in a foreign language or foreign language pedagogy awarded by a Vietnamese educational institution;

+ Possess a foreign language certificate equivalent to level 4 according to the 6-level foreign language proficiency framework used in Vietnam, valid for 2 years from the date of the foreign language exam to the date of application, issued by institutions accepted by the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnam National University, Hanoi;

- Applicants who are foreign citizens and register for a doctoral program taught in Vietnamese must have a Vietnamese language certificate at least at level 4 or higher according to the Vietnamese Language Proficiency Framework for Foreigners, or have graduated from a university (or equivalent or higher) where the program is taught in Vietnamese, and must meet the requirements for a second foreign language as stipulated by the program (if any), except in the case of native speakers of the language used in the doctoral program.

3.2.4. Other requirements

- Must have a clean personal record and not be currently serving a criminal sentence or subject to disciplinary action at the level of a warning or higher.

- I am healthy enough to study.

- Commitment to fulfilling financial obligations during the training process as stipulated by the training institution.

3.3. Industry Categories

- This field is in the same group as Political Science.

- The field of study is defined in the training program standards issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

- For cases where there are no established training program standards for the corresponding field or group of disciplines, the specialized unit must have a scientific and practical basis, determined by the Scientific and Training Council of the specialized unit and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, to identify the discipline with the closest professional foundation to the training program and determine the corresponding supplementary courses (if needed); report to VNU before enrollment and be responsible for this professional evaluation.

3.4. Projected enrollment size:

- According to the quotas granted annually by Vietnam National University, Hanoi (expected to be 5-10 doctoral candidates/year).

- The admission plan follows the regulations and guidelines for postgraduate admissions of VNU, and the unit's admission plan approved by VNU (if any).

PART II. LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM

1. Requirements for the thesis

- The dissertation must be an independent scientific research work that makes a new contribution to solving the scientific, theoretical, or practical problem at hand, has value in developing and increasing scientific knowledge, and fully addresses the problem posed by the dissertation topic.

- The research results in the dissertation must be the author's own research product, primarily obtained during their training, and must not have been published in any other research works by others, ensuring academic integrity and compliance with current intellectual property laws. If using results or materials from others (tables, charts, formulas, graphs, and other materials), the author's consent must be obtained and clearly cited. If the dissertation is a scientific work or part of a scientific work of a group in which the author made a major contribution, documents showing the agreement of the members of that group for the author to use the collective results in writing the dissertation must be submitted.

- The dissertation must be written in Vietnamese, using Unicode characters, Times New Roman font, size 13, and no longer than 300 A4 pages (excluding appendices). It must include a declaration by the doctoral candidate regarding the content of the dissertation and at least 50% of the pages must present the candidate's own research results and arguments, following this structure: Introduction, Overview of the Research Problem, Content, Research Results, Conclusion and Recommendations, List of Published Works on the Research Results, Bibliography, and Appendices (if any). The dissertation abstract should not exceed 24 A5 pages, accurately reflecting the structure, layout, and content of the dissertation, and must include the full text of the dissertation conclusion. The dissertation information sheet should be approximately 3 to 5 pages (300 to 500 words) in both Vietnamese and English, presenting the basic content, new content, and most important contributions of the dissertation.

2. Research competency requirements

- During the doctoral training program, the doctoral candidate must publish the research results of their dissertation in a specialized scientific journal as the main author (titled author/corresponding author), achieving a total score of 2.0 or higher based on the maximum score stipulated by the State Council of Professors for each type of work (as the main author, no points are divided when there are co-authors). International publications must be written in a foreign language, and articles published in domestic specialized scientific journals must be on the list of journals for which the State Council of Professors has stipulated a minimum evaluation score of 0.75 points and must meet one of the following criteria:

+ Have at least one publication in a scientific journal listed in the Web of Science or Scopus database;

+ Possess one granted patent/utility model and at least one international article/report in one of the following publications: (i) a reference book chapter published by a reputable international publisher, or (ii) a monograph published by a reputable international publisher, or (iii) a report in the proceedings of a peer-reviewed international conference with an ISBN, or (iv) an article published in a peer-reviewed, reputable foreign scientific journal with an ISSN;

+ Have at least two international articles/reports in one of the following publications: (i) reference book chapters published by reputable international publishers, or (ii) monographs published by reputable international publishers, or (iii) reports in peer-reviewed international conference proceedings with ISBN, or (iv) articles published in peer-reviewed foreign professional scientific journals with ISSN.

3. Knowledge Output Standards

3.1. General knowledge (for PhD candidates without a Master's degree)

PLO 1: Analyze theoretical and practical issues in the professional field based on knowledge of philosophical worldview and methodology.

PLO 2: Analyze the nature of power, the state, contemporary political schools of thought, issues of national governance, public policy, and sustainable development management, in order to apply this knowledge to solving macro issues within the Vietnamese political system and the international context.

3.2. Knowledge of doctoral course modules, doctoral dissertations, and review essays

PLO 3: Assess the core, foundational knowledge in the field of political science.

PLO 4: Creating and developing new theories and knowledge related to the field of Political Science.

4. Skill Output Standards

PLO 5: Mastering scientific theories, methods, and tools for research in political science studies.

PLO 6: Synthesizing and supplementing specialized knowledge in Political Science.

PLO 7: Reasoning, analyzing political issues, and proposing creative and unique solutions.

PLO 8: Participate in domestic and international discussions in the field of Political Science or related research areas and publish research results in domestic and international professional journals.

5. Output standards regarding the level of autonomy and responsibility

PLO 9: Adapt, self-direct, and lead others.

PLO 10: Research manager, highly responsible for learning to develop professional knowledge, experience, and create new ideas and processes.

PLO 11: Independence in research and creation of new knowledge.

PLO 12: Expert Assessment and Decision-Making

6. Job positions that students can take on after graduation.

- Providing advice and consultation in agencies responsible for formulating the Party and State's guidelines and policies.

- Working in agencies and organizations within the political system, socio-economic organizations, and businesses.

- Working as a researcher or expert at political theory agencies and research institutes.

- Conduct research and teach Political Science within the Party school system, universities, colleges, and vocational high schools.

- Working as a news and political commentator for central and local newspapers and television stations.

- Editing and supervising the editing of political books at publishing houses.

7. Opportunities for further learning and professional development after graduation.

- Participate in research topics and projects of domestic and foreign agencies and organizations to apply the specialized knowledge acquired during the learning process.

- Conduct advanced and in-depth research on specialized issues at the regional and international levels.

- Connecting international research and teaching networks to exchange knowledge and address issues related to political science.

- Participate in research and study in postdoctoral programs.

PART III: TEACHING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS

1. Teaching methods

The teaching method is primarily organized in the form of exchange and discussion, in which doctoral candidates must read the material beforehand, prepare reports, present, and engage in interspersed debates, while the lecturer plays the role of guiding and standardizing knowledge. Each session revolves around a specific theoretical issue or case study related to the course and is linked to the PLO learning outcomes regarding knowledge, analytical skills, critical thinking, and levels of autonomy and responsibility.

2. Evaluation method:

5.2.1. Exams, tests, and assessments for the course module

- The organization of examinations, assessments, and the completion of the course module are the responsibility of the lecturer in charge of the module, in accordance with the regulations of the training unit. The assessment and grading of the course module in the doctoral training program follow the regulations on assessment and grading of course modules as stipulated in the undergraduate training regulations. A course module at the doctoral level is considered successful (a cumulative course module) when it receives a grade of C or higher.

- The organization of examinations, assessments, grading scales, minimum passing scores, and calculation of the cumulative average score for supplementary courses are carried out according to the Regulations on Master's Training at VNU Hanoi.

5.2.2. Evaluation of doctoral dissertations and review essays

- The evaluation of doctoral dissertations and review essays is conducted by scoring the doctoral candidate's presentation before an evaluation panel.

- The score for the doctoral thesis and review essay is the average of the scores given by the members of the evaluation subcommittee, rounded to one decimal place, and then converted into a letter grade according to the regulations for undergraduate training. A passing score for the doctoral thesis and review essay is a C+ or higher.

PART IV: TRAINING PROGRAM CONTENT

1. Summary of training program requirements

1.1. For PhD candidates with a master's degree:

Total number of credits to be accumulated: 90 credits, including:

1.2. For PhD candidates who do not yet have a master's degree:

Total number of credits to be accumulated: 121 credits, including:

2. Doctoral program curriculum framework

2.1. For PhD candidates with a master's degree

2.2. For PhD candidates who do not yet have a master's degree.

Note: One credit is equivalent to 50 hours of student-standard learning, including time spent observing lectures, guided learning, self-study, research, experiences, and participating in tests and assessments; for classroom teaching activities, one credit requires a minimum of 15 hours of lectures or 30 hours of practical work, experiments, and discussions, with one classroom hour counted as 50 minutes.

(1): Theory

(2): Practice, Experiment, Discussion

(3): Internship, Research, Self-study with assessment