Issued together with Decision No. 1505/QD-XHNV dated March 19, 2026, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

PART I: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE TRAINING PROGRAM

1. Some information about the training program

- Program name:

+ Vietnamese name: Linguistics

+ English name: Linguistics

- Name of the training program:

+ Vietnamese name: Linguistics

+ English name: Linguistics

- Training program code: 9229020

- 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 graduation certificate:

+ Vietnamese: Doctor of Linguistics

+ English: Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

2. Objectives of the training program

2.1. General Objectives

The doctoral program aims to train highly qualified individuals in the theory and application of linguistics, equipping them with the capacity for independent and creative research, the ability to develop new knowledge, discover natural and social principles and laws, solve new problems in science and technology, guide scientific research, and organize and implement professional activities; meeting the requirements of scientific and technological development, education, and international integration.

2.2. Specific Objectives

The program is designed to train high-quality human resources with:

- Specific Objective 1 (O1): In-depth knowledge of Linguistics, updated with modern scientific thinking methods and approaches, suitable to the socio-political realities of the country in the context of current regional and international opening and integration.

- Specific Objective 2 (O2): Hard skills (observation skills, data collection and processing skills, analysis and synthesis skills, presentation and document drafting skills, etc.) and soft skills (communication skills, teamwork skills, foreign language skills, information technology skills) related to professional activities and meeting job requirements.

- Specific Objective 3 (O3): The ability to independently research, teach, manage, and advise on linguistics at domestic and foreign research and training institutions, helping them become linguistics experts; possessing the skills to work independently or in teams under changing working conditions, taking personal and team responsibility in guiding, disseminating, and popularizing knowledge about linguistics.

3. Admission Information

3.1. Admission method: Selection based on professional qualifications according to the current regulations of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU).

3.2. Eligibility Criteria

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

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 the doctoral program. In cases where the applicant 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 current regulations.

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 peer-reviewed scientific conferences or seminars, 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 should 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 conducting the doctoral dissertation. The proposal may also suggest a research staff member to be the 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, French, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean) that align with the foreign language output standards of the training program, as evidenced 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 for Vietnam, valid for 2 years from the date of the exam to the date of application, issued by institutions accepted by the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

- Foreign applicants must have a minimum Vietnamese language proficiency level of 4 or higher according to the Vietnamese Language Proficiency Framework for Foreigners, or have graduated from a university (or equivalent qualification or higher) where the training program was taught in Vietnamese, and must meet the requirements for a second foreign language as stipulated by the training program (if any), except in the case of native speakers of the language used in the doctoral training program.

3.2.4. Other requirements

- Clean personal record, not currently serving a criminal sentence or subject to disciplinary action at the level of a warning or higher.

- I am healthy enough to study.

- I commit to fulfilling my financial obligations during the training period as stipulated by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

3.3. List of suitable fields of study

- Linguistics, Vietnamese language and culture, Vietnamese language, Comparative and contrastive linguistics; Applied linguistics

- 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 Hanoi National University 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 3-5 doctoral candidates/year).

- The detailed admission plan is implemented according to the Admission Regulations, the annual postgraduate admission guidelines 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 a scientific, theoretical, or practical problem, contributing to the development and formation of new theories and principles relevant to the field of Linguistics;

- The dissertation topic must be approved by the specialized subcommittee during the doctoral training admission process, and the head of the training unit must issue a decision assigning the topic and supervisor. The doctoral candidate must present the content and research plan to the specialized unit no later than 3 months after receiving the dissertation topic and report on the research results every 6 months during the dissertation period. The evaluation of the report is a condition for considering the proposal to defend the dissertation;

- The research results in the dissertation must be the result of the author's own work, primarily obtained during their training period. If using results or materials from others (tables, charts, formulas, graphs, etc., 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 presented;

- The dissertation must be a creative scientific research work by the doctoral candidate, making theoretical and practical contributions to the field of research or offering valuable new solutions for developing and increasing scientific knowledge in the field of Linguistics, creatively solving problems in linguistics or socio-economic practices;

- The dissertation should not exceed 300 A4 pages, excluding appendices, and should include a declaration from the doctoral candidate regarding the dissertation's content. At least 50% of the pages should present the doctoral 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 topic/dissertation, List of references, 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's 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.

- Demonstrates a deep understanding of specialized knowledge and research methods in addressing the specific research topic;

- The thesis results are valuable to the field of Linguistics, both in terms of scientific theory and practical management, creating sustainable values ​​through the activities of learners.

2. Research competency requirements

- Doctoral candidates who publish the research results of their dissertation in a specialized scientific journal as the main author (first name/corresponding author) will receive a total score of 2.0 or higher, calculated according to the maximum score stipulated by the State Council of Professors for each type of work (no score division when there are co-authors). International publications must be written in a foreign language; articles published in domestic specialized scientific journals included in the list stipulated by the State Council of Professors must have a minimum evaluation score of 0.75 points and must meet one of the following criteria:

+ Have at least one article published in a scientific journal listed in the Web of Science or Scopus database (hereinafter referred to as WoS/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.

+ 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. Learning outcomes:

3.1. Supplementary course knowledge (for doctoral candidates without a master's degree)

- PLO1: Systematize and master the fundamental, in-depth, and interdisciplinary knowledge of Linguistics; clearly understand the theoretical basis, methodology, and modern research approaches in the field.

- PLO2: Identify and analyze the core issues and contemporary research trends in linguistics and specialized areas, as well as issues concerning the relationship between language and other fields.

3.2 Knowledge of doctoral coursework, doctoral dissertations, and review essays.

- PLO3: Objectively evaluate some research issues in linguistics in general and in the specialized research direction related to the dissertation.

4. Skill-based learning outcomes:

- PLO4: Skillfully design and develop research projects and plans that conform to social and scientific research standards to address practical and theoretical problems in linguistics, including: linguistics, Vietnamese language, comparative linguistics, languages ​​and cultures of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian ethnic groups, and issues concerning the relationship between language and other fields.

- PLO5: Actively synthesize in-depth professional assessments based on a synthesis of theoretical and practical research results on issues related to linguistics, the Vietnamese language, comparative linguistics, the languages ​​and cultures of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian ethnic groups, and issues concerning the relationship between language and other fields... in scientific publications, academic exchanges, teaching, and policy consulting activities.

5. Regarding the level of autonomy and responsibility

- PLO6: Capable of proactively proposing, organizing, and effectively implementing in-depth research topics and projects of theoretical or applied nature related to linguistics, the Vietnamese language, comparative linguistics, the languages ​​and cultures of Vietnamese and Southeast Asian ethnic groups, and issues concerning the relationship between language and other fields... and is responsible for the results, academic standards, and research ethics.

- PLO7: Proactively draw conclusions, make assessments, and make decisions as an expert in the field of linguistics in general, contributing to knowledge orientation and policy advice in related fields.

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

Graduates of the PhD program in Linguistics can work in the following positions:

- Researchers with high qualifications in theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, and language research capabilities at research institutes both domestically and internationally; research management staff at these institutions.

- Highly qualified lecturers in theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, and related fields at universities and colleges both domestically and internationally; lecturers of Vietnamese, Literature, or Foreign Languages ​​at secondary schools; and management staff at these institutions.

- Experienced and highly qualified editors at publishing houses; editors and reporters at media organizations; document specialists at central and local government agencies; and management staff at these agencies.

- Highly qualified technicians with expertise in linguistics in fields such as information technology, cryptography, forensic science, speech rehabilitation medicine, etc.

- Linguistics experts in the fields of communication, marketing, translation and interpretation; policy consultants for training and research programs on language and culture; and management staff in these organizations.

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

Upon graduation, a PhD in Linguistics will be able to:

- Actively and effectively participate in research and teaching activities;

- Participate in practical political and social activities at the level of a linguistics expert.

- Possesses the full capacity to pursue further studies in Post-doctoral and Doctor of Science programs at foreign linguistics training institutions.

- Possesses the necessary skills and abilities to pursue equivalent programs in related or different fields.

PART III: TRAINING PROGRAM CONTENT

1. Summary of training program requirements

1.1. For doctoral students holding a master's degree

Total number of credits to be accumulated: 100 credits, including:

1.2. For doctoral students who do not yet have a master's degree.

Total number of credits to be accumulated: 134 credits, including:

2. Training program 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