Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping every field - from technology, media, education to social governance. In this wave of transformation, Linguistics is not left out.
During a conversation with Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh - Head of the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, USSH Media had the opportunity to learn about the new major orientation "Language and AI", a pioneering initiative to help linguistics students access modern technology, develop interdisciplinary capacity and keep up with the changing labor market every day.
Let's listen to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh share about training philosophy, program content, career opportunities and the role of alumni in the sustainable development journey of the Faculty of Linguistics.
The Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi was established in 1996 on the basis of the Linguistics Department of the Faculty of Philology, Hanoi National University (1956-1996). The Faculty currently has 14 lecturers, including 04 Associate Professors, 07 PhDs, 03 Masters, and a team of collaborators spread across the country.
Up to now, the Faculty has trained more than 2,200 bachelors of Linguistics. Graduates from the Faculty of Linguistics are currently working in many universities, research centers, news agencies, cultural and educational agencies... throughout the country.
PV: What year does the Linguistics major start for students and how many majors does it include?
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh:The Linguistics Department provides specialized orientation for students from semester II, year 2 so that students can prepare to register for specialized courses in year 3.
Currently, for the undergraduate program, the Faculty is operating a training program in Linguistics with 04 majors: Linguistics, Vietnamese Linguistics for Foreigners, Linguistics Therapy, Language and AI, in which the two majors of Linguistics Therapy, Language and AI are new majors applied from the QH-2025-X course this year onwards.
In addition to general education knowledge, basic knowledge of the major and group of majors, before that, students were equipped with basic knowledge of linguistics from General knowledge of language, Phonetics, Vocabulary, Grammar to Semantics, Pragmatics, Applied Linguistics, ...
Linguistics students actively participate in student scientific research activities.
PV: Could you please share about the study content and career opportunities for students in each major?
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh: Graduates of the Faculty of Linguistics are able to work in many different fields both domestically and internationally.
Students will learn from the most basic knowledge of linguistics from General knowledge of language, Phonetics, Vocabulary, Grammar, Semantics, Pragmatics, Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Languages of Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam, Contrastive Linguistics, etc. to in-depth knowledge of language application in various fields such as Journalism, Language, Communication & Marketing, Psycholinguistics, Language and Publishing Editing, Literary Language, Language Education in Schools, Methods of Teaching Vietnamese as a Foreign Language, Lexicography, etc.
Graduates can apply to research institutes in linguistics, Vietnamese linguistics, culture, and educational institutions in and outside the country. Specific jobs are:
- Teaching linguistics, Vietnamese linguistics, Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture from high school to university level at training institutions in and outside the country; teaching Vietnamese language and literature in schools.
- Work as an editor at news agencies, publishing, radio and television.
- Responsible for tasks related to management, language administration, culture and communication in administrative, cultural, educational agencies and in businesses.
For the major of Speech Therapy, in addition to the basic knowledge of linguistics mentioned above, students will be equipped with in-depth knowledge of body anatomy, language development, psycholinguistics, language disorders and pathologies, clinical practice in language assessment, intervention and rehabilitation. Graduates can participate in work related to speech therapy in hospitals, intervention centers, special education facilities, etc.
For the Language and AI major, in addition to the basic knowledge of linguistics mentioned above, students will have access to in-depth knowledge of artificial intelligence, the operating mechanism of natural language processing (NLP) models, systems such as machine translation, chatbots, virtual assistants, recommendation systems, semantic search, etc.; familiarize themselves with popular AI tools and libraries such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Hugging Face, spaCy, NLTK, etc.; data labeling methods, prompt engineering, AI output quality assessment (AI content QA), language optimization in digital products and AI applications in a variety of other language-related fields.
Graduates have the opportunity to become researchers at institutes and centers on AI and language, natural language processing specialists, machine translation system improvement specialists, linguistic testers for chatbots, voicebots, assistants, language data analysts - communication - digital marketing, digital content creators,...
After graduation, students can continue to study at higher levels in linguistics or other social sciences and humanities at home or abroad.
PV: With the keyword AI, the major of Linguistics and AI is currently very new and attracts the attention of candidates applying for admission to the Linguistics major. Could you please tell us, in this major, what knowledge and skills will students be equipped with to meet the needs of the current labor market?
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh:During the 4 years of study, under the approach of Linguistics (not the approach of AI), students will be equipped with:
- Solid foundational knowledge of modern linguistics: phonetic structure - grammar - semantics - pragmatics of natural language, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, communication theory, applied linguistics, thereby understanding the profound nature of language processing by humans and machines.
- Technological capacity, interdisciplinary thinking: basic knowledge of artificial intelligence and the operating mechanism of natural language processing (NLP) models, systems such as machine translation, chatbots, virtual assistants, recommendation systems, semantic search, etc.; familiarity with popular AI tools and libraries such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Hugging Face, spaCy, NLTK, etc.
- Vocational skills related to the AI – data – digital media labor market: data labeling, prompt engineering, AI content QA, language optimization in digital products: chatbots, learning assistants, artificial voices, EdTech applications.
- Ability to self-study, research, and innovate in an interdisciplinary and international environment. Students will study related courses on data science, AI ethics, machine learning, or participate in research groups on language processing and digital culture.
Reporter: Sir, what fields are the former students of the Linguistics Department currently working in? How has the alumni network of the Faculty supported the students of the Faculty in their studies, research, internships, practical activities and job opportunities?
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh:The Faculty's alumni are currently working in many fields, such as:
- Education - training - research facilities: teaching at universities, language centers, speech therapy centers, research at institutes and research centers at home and abroad.
- Media - press: reporters for Dan Tri, Education and Times, Agriculture newspapers, etc.
- Editor - publisher: editor, translator of many major publishers such as Education Publishing House, VNU Publishing House, Kim Dong Publishing House, etc.
The Faculty of Linguistics is proud to have successful alumni in many different fields of work, who have made many contributions to the development of the country, domestic and international agencies and organizations, such as: Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky (Former member of the Central Executive Committee of the 12th Communist Party of Vietnam, currently Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council and Head of the Department of Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art); Major General Nguyen Hong Thai (Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People's Police Newspaper; Editor-in-Chief, Director of the People's Police Publishing House and Director of the Institute of Police History); Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhung, Deputy Director of the Department of Students, Ministry of Education and Training...
The Faculty's alumni network has always been fully supportive of the Faculty's students in their study, research, internship, practical activities and job opportunities.
Many alumni who are teaching or doing research at universities in and outside the country have participated in seminars, sharing academic knowledge, scientific research experiences, graduate studies, and studying abroad with students. Enterprises and organizations where alumni are working often prioritize recruiting interns, part-time and full-time staff from the Faculty of Linguistics.
Many successful alumni have returned to the school to share their career journeys, help students shape their personal development paths, etc.
Thank you very much, Teacher!
Admission contact information:
Training Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Hotline: 0862.155 299 (Business hours)
E-mail:tuyensinh@ussh.edu.vn
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