Dual degree programs - a cutting-edge trend.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities)

Opportunity to access many professions

- Students pursuing a double degree have many advantages: They get to study a second major, especially for students who didn't get accepted into their first-choice major, giving them a chance to realize their dream; they develop interdisciplinary thinking thanks to additional knowledge and theoretical frameworks; they gain access to a wider range of training programs; and they receive two official bachelor's degrees almost simultaneously upon graduation…

In the context of increasingly multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary career paths, studying multiple subjects truly creates a significant advantage for graduates seeking to establish and start their own businesses. For example, journalism graduates will have an advantage if they add knowledge from political science, international studies, and other related fields; travel management graduates will have a greater chance of success if they have additional knowledge from history, cultural studies, and other related fields.
* In recent years, the boundary between “industry and profession” has become increasingly blurred; the trend of studying one industry and doing another is becoming more and more popular. Is this an opportunity for students to start a business after graduation?

- Previously, "fields of study" and "professions" existed in a close, organic relationship. According to traditional views, graduates from a particular "field of study" would typically work in that "profession," especially during the subsidy and post-subsidy periods, because it was related to the job codes and standards issued by the State. Today, the boundary between "fields of study" and "professions" is indeed blurring; the trend of "studying one field" and "working in another" is becoming increasingly common.

This is normal in a developed society – where mobility and competition in the labor market are very high, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution constantly creating new industries that did not exist in the past.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimated in 2016 that: “With today’s generation of primary school students, 65% will be working in jobs that do not yet exist.” Thus, in the near future, many trained professionals will be working in “professions” not currently included in the list of “fields” being taught and not yet existing today.

Therefore, training institutions need to quickly recognize the trends in "industry" and "occupation" to adjust the structure of their training programs accordingly, and to develop new interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary training programs that meet the human resource needs of Society 4.0. In this context, the wider implementation of dual degree programs is also considered a trend that aligns with the new demands for the workforce.

Flexibility in dual degree programs

* The trend of "dual" training is being chosen by universities and colleges. However, its implementation faces many challenges, even risks, requiring not only students but also lecturers and educational institutions to innovate their training activities.

- That's right! Dual degree training brings many opportunities, but also has potential risks if not implemented well. For students, studying an additional favorite subject means having to invest almost double the mental, physical, time, and financial resources..., so it requires not only determination and will but also the ability to organize learning and manage time...

Essentially, students who excel in dual degree programs are those who achieve career success because the 4-5 years of dual degree studies not only provide opportunities to enhance knowledge and acquire methods, but above all, offer life and learning experiences in a high-pressure environment.

For faculty and program administrators, organizing dual degree programs also presents many challenges. Teaching and evaluating students in dual degree programs requires both seriousness in their specialization and sensitivity in teaching, because the student body is very diverse, coming from many different "root" disciplines and different academic years... therefore, their thinking, methods, and psychology are often not uniform.

In addition, the study plan needs to be highly flexible to support students in excelling in both programs, avoiding scheduling conflicts and overload, which could negatively impact their learning.

* What advantages would students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have if they participated in a "dual degree" program, sir?

Students pursuing a double degree at the university have three advantages:

Firstly, the university has a team of highly qualified and experienced lecturers who are closely connected to social realities and strongly integrated internationally, thus ensuring the best possible training in general, and dual degree programs in particular. The university was also one of the first to organize dual degree programs: In the past 10 years, it has implemented 8 dual degree programs in the fields of tourism and travel service management, journalism, international studies, psychology, management science, literature, history, and oriental studies; since 2019, it has also launched a dual degree program in office management.

Secondly, the entire training program of the university has been built according to a modular structure consisting of 5 knowledge blocks (general knowledge, by field, by subject area, by group of subjects, by major), closely adhering to the training regulations of Hanoi National University and the practical situation, strengthening the interconnectedness of content between majors. Accordingly, majors within the same subject area have a general knowledge ratio of about 50%, while majors within the same group of subjects have a general knowledge ratio of nearly 70%. This is an extremely favorable condition for students pursuing a double degree because the number of credits/courses to be accumulated for the second degree will be significantly reduced (only 30-50%); ensuring program quality while saving students effort, time, and money.

Thirdly, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a member of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, so its students have the opportunity to pursue dual degrees at other member universities such as the University of Economics, the University of Foreign Languages, the University of Education, or the Faculty of Law… Conversely, students from those universities can also study dual degree programs at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. It can be said that, besides its position as a high-quality training center in Vietnam, the multidisciplinary nature of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular, and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi in general, is a great advantage for developing dual degree programs as well as forming new interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary training programs, meeting the needs of human resource training to adapt to the labor market of Society 4.0.