
The predecessor of the Faculty was the Department of Ethnology - Archaeology established in 1960 at the Faculty of History, Hanoi University; in 1967 it became the Department of Ethnology; in 2004 it became the Department of Anthropology. In 2010, the Department of Anthropology separated from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and in 2015 it developed into the Faculty of Anthropology.

The Faculty of Anthropology is home to many famous teachers and scientists such as: Associate Professor Vuong Hoang Tuyen, Mr. Hoang Hoa Toan, Professor Phan Huu Dat, Professor Hoang Nam, Associate Professor Hoang Luong, Associate Professor Le Sy Giao, Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam... Currently, the Faculty has 17 lecturers, including 6 Associate Professors, 5 PhDs, 04 PhD students, nearly 80% of the teaching staff were trained at foreign universities.

The Faculty is a center for domestic and international Anthropology exchange and connection, has organized and implemented many cooperative research activities, training students and postgraduates. Since 1960, Soviet Ethnologist Bushugin has come to support the development of programs and teaching of Ethnology. During the renovation period, many universities and international organizations, Anthropologists from many continents have come to the Faculty to cooperate, coordinate the implementation of research activities, Anthropology training and international publication. This convergence, exchange and connection have created a foundation for the Faculty to create and spread Anthropological knowledge for 6 decades.

Over the past 10 years, the faculty has chaired and implemented 37 research topics and projects, published more than 50 international publications, 22 reference books and monographs. This achievement not only makes the Faculty a unit with outstanding achievements in scientific research, international cooperation and publication, but also contributes to the world of Anthropology with original research works, participating in discussions of a number of academic issues in international scientific forums.


Regarding training, from 1971 to present, the Faculty has trained more than 1,500 bachelors, masters and doctors, many of whom have become leaders, managers and key experts of research institutes, universities, Party and State agencies.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Suu - Head of the Faculty of Anthropology affirmed: "60 years of tradition is not only the past but also a great asset of the present and the future. That is the journey of building and developing for the Faculty of Anthropology to firmly affirm its position, standing and identity as one of the Anthropology centers in Vietnam named on the world Anthropology map".

In the new development stage, the Faculty of Anthropology clearly defines its national, regional and global vision; with a spirit of dedication, innovation and connection, it will further improve the quality of scientific research, expand international cooperation, provide high-quality teaching, and effectively apply Anthropological knowledge to solve practical problems of contemporary social life.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, acknowledged the contributions of the Faculty of Anthropology to the development of the University and the country: The Faculty has a team of lecturers with scientific standing, a wide network of cooperative relationships, participating in implementing research programs at home and abroad. The Faculty is also one of the units with a steady rate of graduate students and doctoral students studying abroad every year. In addition, the team of collaborators and visiting professors is large; the number of permanent staff participating in the activities of the Faculty is very stable. In particular, with a good position in training and a good network of international relationships, the Faculty's achievements in publishing domestic and international publications are very outstanding.

The school hopes that in the coming time, international cooperation will continue to be a bright spot of the Faculty. The staff of the Faculty will continue to be focused on developing both in quality and quantity. The Faculty will maintain its own identity as an academic in training, while proactively attaching itself to new development trends; bringing academic knowledge, which is the strength of the unit, into key social research programs, participating in policy consulting for the Party and the State; affirming its pioneering position in Anthropological research at the international level.

Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam - President of the Vietnam Association of Ethnology and Anthropology shared memories and paid tribute to the early generation of teachers and ethnologists such as Professor Dang Nghiem Van, Professor Phan Huu Dat, Professor Nguyen Duong Minh, Professor Nguyen Quoc Loc... The teachers not only imparted knowledge but also instilled passion and love for this field of study and profession to their students through their own scientific example. Through a long development journey from the Department of Ethnology to the Faculty of Anthropology, despite many difficulties, the Faculty has always steadfastly moved forward. The Department of Ethnology is the only department teaching and researching Ethnology in the North and is the unit that helps build Ethnology training units in many universities in the South. Although it is only a department, the position of the unit in terms of science is very large, including the team of talented scientists and teachers who have built the reputation and foundation for the Faculty of Anthropology today.

Professor Vu Duong Ninh - President of the Association of Former Teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, former student of the first course of the Faculty of History shared his memories of the early days of studying and researching History and Ethnology at Hanoi National University. The lectures in class and field experiences gave him solid foundational and practical knowledge of Ethnology, which greatly helped his future career of researching and teaching History. He affirmed the important role of the subject in the development of society and expected the Faculty to become a center for high-quality research and training in Anthropology in the world.

During the celebration, the Faculty also announced the establishment of the Nguyen Van Huyen Fund named after the first Ethnologist of Vietnam. The family of the late Professor Nguyen Van Huyen donated 150 million to the Faculty to establish this fund.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huy - representative of the family, founders of the Nguyen Van Huyen Fund shared: The Fund will award annual prizes to students and PhD students who have good research ideas, good quality and high feasibility. The Fund will contribute to supporting and encouraging young Anthropologists, students and PhD students of the Faculty to engage in scientific careers with a serious spirit, conduct excellent research during the thesis process, aiming to become anthropologists with good expertise, contributing to the development of the country.

The Faculty of Anthropology received the emulation flag from the Minister of Education and Training for its achievements in the emulation movement for innovation in teaching and learning in the 2018-2019 school year.

The Faculty also awarded 15 scholarships of Phan Huu Dat Award for the 2019-2020 school year to 13 students, 01 HVCH, 01 PhD student.

| Within the framework of activities celebrating 60 years of tradition, on December 15-16, 2020, the Faculty of Anthropology organized a series of scientific activities: publishing 2 booksEthnic Studies in Vietnam - Culture and Developmentand Anthropology - the science of human beings; photo exhibitions reflecting the milestones and achievements in the 60-year development of the Faculty; organizing student scientific research conferences, scientific research conferences of HVCH and PhD students; international seminarsAnthropology and Development in Contemporary Vietnam. |
| Professor Nguyen Van Huyen was the first ethnologist in our country to be formally trained in modern anthropological research methods in France. He left behind many pioneering works for Vietnamese ethnology and anthropology. His life and scientific and educational career are a shining example in the golden generation of intellectuals who devoted their lives to the country's independence in the 20th century.Singing and responding of young Vietnamese men and womenHis work published in Paris in 1934 is a masterpiece, a model approach to the comprehensive study of language and folk culture in Vietnamese social life.Introduction to the study of stilt houses in Southeast Asiapublished in the same year was the first work to open up the regional approach of Anthropology, that is, the Southeast Asian region. These works and other works on the Gióng Festival, the Yên Sở Village Festival, the formation of villages in the Northern Delta, the map of the distribution of village tutelary gods, the rural life and the lives of poor farmers, the Tay Nom script, the Tay wedding singing, the Mother Goddess religion... have become the solid foundations of Vietnamese ethnology right from its inception. |
Author:Thanh Ha, Quoc Toan, Thinh An