The 4.0 industrial revolution is gradually changing the structure of social professions. What is the position and role of the Social Sciences and Humanities group so that people are not "mechanized"? In particular, what criteria should candidates base on when choosing this group of majors to help parents and students make the right choice and study correctly?
People's Representative Newspaper had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi to partly resolve the problem of "What criteria should be used to choose the right major?".
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, Vice Principal of University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi
Many changes in the Social Sciences and Humanities
- Dear Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, in the current development trend, in the field of social sciences and humanities, which professions are considered to have great development potential?
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong:This is a question we have been pondering for many years. Social Sciences and Humanities are fields of study related to people and life, closely linked to the development of society and in some ways also traditional and specific.
I can confirm that these are social sectors that are in great need. Especially, in the context of technology, artificial intelligence development, robots, AI, and machines becoming more intelligent, people need a human heart more. The relationships between people and human values in modern society need to be strengthened and cared for, and studied more carefully, because human nature is still the sum of social relationships.
In fact, the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities have undergone many changes in recent times, closely following the development of society. Therefore, many new professions have emerged to serve the needs of the public and the market, always with high admission scores. For example, the fields of Journalism, Public Relations, and Korean Studies have recently had benchmark scores of up to 29.9 and 29.95 points.
Besides, traditional industries are also moving and changing on their own, not as academic as 20 years ago.
In general, the Social Sciences and Humanities sector contributes a lot to the sustainable development of the country, such as issues of ethics, ideology, politics, history, and culture. These are the pillars for us to develop society in a sustainable way.
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has had a very practical policy since 2022 when it, together with Hanoi National University, established a fund for 9 basic science majors including Literature, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Political Science, Anthropology, Vietnamese Studies, Linguistics, and Han Nom. These majors are funded by the school itself.
From this fund, students will receive scholarships worth 50 million VND/year/student. Of which, students do not have to pay all tuition fees, receive 2 million VND in living expenses each month and are supported with all costs when staying in the dormitory. In particular, students will have a professor to accompany and support them in their studies starting from the first year.
There will be a new major: Cinema, Popular Arts
- So with the traditional majors that the school has had training strengths for many years, what changes has the University of Social Sciences and Humanities made in training these majors to meet the current development trend, madam?
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong:With traditional fields of study, we are making very strong changes to capture the movement and development of social life.
For example, in the History department, we have a major in Urban History. Students majoring in this major are equipped with a diverse knowledge base about urban areas based on a solid knowledge base of history, geography, culture, society, etc.; along with updated knowledge about modern urban life, from livelihood issues to planning and development, supplemented with interdisciplinary research methods (such as Urban Anthropology, Urban Sociology, Urban Communications, etc.).
Learners with such equipped knowledge, in the future can serve as consultants, advisors, and make very practical contributions to current urban development and urban management agencies.
Or for traditional fields such as Linguistics, in addition to strengths and weaknesses in research and language assurance, the school has made adjustments, innovations, and applications. For example, expanding the scope of training in Computational Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, and Therapy Linguistics, helping students later meet many different requirements, not just limited to editing and publishing.
The same goes for Psychology, the school has majors that attract great attention from society, such as Social Psychology (including Psychology of gender, family, culture, ethnicity, religion, law), Business Administration Psychology, Clinical Psychology (including Psychotherapy of children, adolescents...), Counseling Psychology (including school, marriage, family).
Through these new orientations, the school hopes to provide students with more knowledge, specialized foundations, and skills to serve society.
Besides developing the above traditional fields of study, in the future, we will build new fields such as Cinema and Popular Arts, contributing to strengthening the public's social life in many aspects such as ethics, culture, society, and art in the best way.
Criteria for choosing a major should be based on each candidate's ability.
- For candidates who love Social Sciences and Humanities, can you give advice on how to choose the most suitable and best major to study?
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong:I would like to share with parents and students that there are currently many channels of consulting and providing information, helping candidates gain a deeper understanding of their majors, making it easier to choose a career.
However, candidates also need to filter and choose reliable channels. Based on accurate information from these reliable channels, candidates need to look back at themselves clearly, ask themselves if they have passion, strength, interest or ability, and qualities in that major.
So how to choose a reliable information channel? First of all, parents, teachers at the high school level, especially the mainstream press are the channels that provide the most accurate and honest information.
These sources of information help students and parents clearly see the social picture, as well as development needs and human resource requirements. Through consulting these sources of information, candidates need to make appropriate adjustments.
The advantage for students is that currently, the Regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training have allowed for multiple registrations. Candidates should choose the major that they are most passionate about and that best suits their passion to put on their first choice, because the policy of the Ministry of Education and Training gives us very good conditions to ensure the best opportunities for students.
In addition, I would like to share that this year, candidates have many paths to pursue their passion. For example, if you are passionate about journalism and want to pursue Journalism but were initially admitted to another major, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities now has a dual degree mechanism.
Students who complete the first year with good grades or higher are eligible to apply for a second major. After 5 years, graduates will have 2 regular degrees.
Students can study two majors in parallel such as Journalism with History, Journalism with Political Science, Journalism with Economics. Thus, when graduating, they will become journalists specializing in that field.
Many scholarships for students
- Currently, what policies does the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have to support students during their studies as well as future job opportunities?
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong:For the field of Social Sciences and Humanities, the systematic nature of the school's curriculum is like the "pistil". The most fundamental parts of Social Sciences and Humanities, the school's students learn and approach with a very strong interdisciplinary nature.
In addition, each “petal” is a major, a specialization, helping students equip themselves with in-depth knowledge. Thus, on that interdisciplinary foundation, students will have a solid foundation after graduation to be flexible and proactive in choosing a career.
At the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, we have many scholarships for students. In addition to scholarships for 9 basic science majors, each faculty has its own scholarships.
We are proud to have leading professors in the fields of social sciences and humanities. They have received State awards, Ho Chi Minh awards and many have used that funding to establish scholarships for students.
The school also has scholarships for Dinh Xuan Lam, Phan Huu Dat, and Tran Duc Thao, named after leading professors. The teachers' families always use their rewards to build the scholarship fund.
Students receiving this scholarship not only receive financial motivation and academic support, but also receive great motivation from leading professors in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities.
In addition, the school promotes more scholarships from businesses, such as scholarships from Samsung, BIDV, etc. Each faculty, based on its own relationships, promotes scholarships from the alumni association, which are built to award to its junior generations.
At the same time, we promote internship and practical opportunities for students. This is a key activity in the school's training process in conjunction with recruitment agencies. Not only domestic internships, we also coordinate with foreign training institutions to have Student exchange programs, credit recognition, as well as give students the opportunity to experience an international learning and working environment.
Accordingly, students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities do not just stop at receiving knowledge, they will have a general awareness of development in professional and social fields.
After two years of Covid-19, the school has now restarted scholarship programs, connecting more to open up opportunities for students.
- Some candidates love majors in the social sciences, but are hesitant to choose majors that are considered hot right now such as Economics and Information Technology, because they think that the social sciences have lower incomes and fewer opportunities. Do you have any advice for candidates in this situation?
Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong:I want to tell you that there are industries with a long tradition that are still meeting the sustainable development of the country. Job opportunities are not just short-term opportunities, but also a long-term development path.
Candidates themselves need to see what industry they are passionate about and interested in, and on that basis, equip themselves with specialized knowledge. When they become good experts in any field, they will certainly be appreciated and have a job position that satisfies their passion, as well as meets their material needs.
- Thank you, Associate Professor, Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong!
People's Representative Newspaper:How has the field of Social Sciences and Humanities "transformed" to meet social needs?
