In late May and early June 2013, the faculties of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities organized the defense of graduation theses for students of the 2009-X cohort. The following is a brief account of the recent graduation thesis defenses.
Department of Oriental Studies: defending graduation thesis in Japanese.
On June 4th, the Faculty of Oriental Studies held thesis defenses for 69 students from 5 majors: Indian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Korean Studies, Chinese Studies, and Japanese Studies. Most theses received good grades with average scores above 9, and some outstanding theses achieved perfect scores.
This year, the Department of Oriental Studies has one thesis defended in Japanese by student Vu Thi Diem (Japanese Studies major). This is the only thesis defended in a foreign language this year in the Department and was highly praised by the examination board for its topic, content, and the quality of its Japanese writing. The thesis received the maximum score: 10 points.
Associate Professor Dr. Le Dinh Chinh (Head of the Department of Oriental Studies) commented: In general, the quality of this year's graduation theses is better than last year, with many new topics and high practical application.
Department of Anthropology: Emphasizes field research in graduation theses.
Field surveys are a key element that the Anthropology Department's grading committee highly values in this year's student graduation theses. This is a new feature and also a mandatory requirement, compelling students to closely follow real-world data to obtain accurate research results.
Thirteen students were selected to defend their graduation theses in the Department. The average grade for the graduation theses was 9.5, with seven students achieving a perfect score of 10.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam (Head of the Anthropology Department), this year the number of students participating in the graduation thesis defense is higher than in previous years, and the quality of the theses is ensured. In particular, many student research groups have been formed during the thesis writing process.
Psychology Department: Research topics linked to practical issues.
32 students from the Psychology Department successfully defended their graduation theses. The overall quality of the theses was assessed as relatively good by the examination board, with a minimum passing score of 9.0. The percentage of scores of 9 and 10 was higher than last year.
MSc. Nguyen Van Luot (Deputy Head of the Psychology Department) said: “The strength of this year's graduation theses is that they have many new topics, closely related to reality, and have a good approach. I also highly appreciate the students' presentation skills and confidence during the defense process.”
Sociology Department: the largest number of students defending their graduation theses.
The graduation thesis defense ceremony for the Faculty of Sociology took place over two days, May 26th and June 5th. The Social Work major had 43 graduation theses, while the Sociology major had 42. The lowest thesis score was 8.4, and the highest was 9.8.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa (Head of the Sociology Department) stated: “The quality of theses this year is better than last year, the topics are also diverse, addressing many pressing social issues that the public is concerned about. Some topics are quite impressive, such as:Awareness of littering attitudes among urban residents of Hanoi citygood"The role of Buddhism in social work""
After the defense, students must revise their graduation thesis according to the committee's feedback on both content and format to meet the standards. All graduation theses will be digitized as reference materials for subsequent courses.
Faculty of Tourism Studies: The graduation thesis is meticulously prepared.
The graduation thesis defense ceremony of the Faculty of Tourism Studies took place on May 28th with 15 theses, divided into thematic groups: Economics, Culture, and Hotel Management. The number of theses this year was only one-third of that in previous years. However, the quality of the theses was very good due to the students' thorough preparation.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Thuy (Deputy Head of the Faculty of Tourism Studies) said: “This year's students' topics mainly revolve around issues of: unique tourism products combined with folk games for high school students. Some very new topics were highly appreciated by the evaluation committee, such as:Creative tourism; New trends in creative online marketing."...The highest score was 9.8 and the lowest was 9.1."
Department of Linguistics: defending graduation thesis in English.
The Faculty of Linguistics is the only faculty at the University that requires students to defend their graduation thesis in English. The Vice Dean, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh, stated: “Defending the thesis in English is a mandatory requirement for students in the Faculty of Linguistics. Each student must submit two copies of their thesis, one in Vietnamese and one in English. During the defense before the committee, students can choose either Vietnamese or English. However, students who defend in English receive higher scores and are evaluated more favorably.”
While the general requirement for all students graduating from the university is an IELTS score of 4.0, Linguistics students must achieve an IELTS score of 6.0. This year, one-third of the students defended their graduation theses in English. The total number of students defending their theses this year in the Faculty is 44, three times more than last year. There are also cases where students have not been able to defend their theses because the quality of their English theses does not meet the Faculty's requirements.
Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh commented that the quality of students this year is significantly better than in previous years, with thesis topics possessing both theoretical and practical value. There were 5 perfect scores of 10 in the recent thesis defense.
Philosophy Department: New Issues Received Focus
On May 28th, the Philosophy Department held its graduation thesis defense ceremony for students, with 32 theses divided into 4 subcommittees. Twelve of the 32 students defending their theses were from the high-quality Philosophy program. Three students from the high-quality Philosophy program received a perfect score of 10.
Dr. Tran Thi Hanh (Deputy Head of the Philosophy Department) stated: “The quality of this year's theses is quite good due to thorough research and investigation of the topics. This year's topics are quite diverse, spread across all fields, and divided into six main specializations: Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, Scientific Socialism, History of Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Religion. The evaluation criteria for this year's theses are quite strict, aiming to objectively assess students' abilities in both foundational knowledge and presentation skills. Some topics were highly rated by the judging panel, such as:"A preliminary exploration of Vietnamese business culture in the era of integration"good"The self-governance of traditional Vietnamese villages in relation to the current new rural development"Especially the topic "Friedrich Nietsche's perspective in his work "Thus Spoke Zenthusa""It made a strong impression on the judging panel."
Department of Archival Studies and Office Management: a highly practical topic
In the recent thesis defense session, the Department of Archival Studies and Office Management had 26 students participating out of a total of 76 students from the QH-2009X cohort.
There were two outstanding theses that attracted the audience's attention:Job descriptions for positions at the University of Social Sciences and Humanitiesand ""Organizing office workspace"These are two highly practical and applicable topics that can be fully implemented in the Faculty and the University. Both theses received a perfect score of 10.
Commenting on the quality of this year's theses, Professor Le Tuan Hung (Deputy Head of the Faculty) said: “This year's thesis topics are more diverse than in previous years. In addition to traditional topics on document management and office administration, many theses have approached new topics such as: workplace culture, ISO standards, and office space organization. The new topics are all very relevant, practical, and highly applicable.”
Political Science Department: The policy is to not prioritize grades.
This year, the Department of Political Science had 27 students out of a total of 44 students from the QH-2009X cohort defending their graduation theses. The theses this year were generally of high quality, with practical and topical issues. While no theses received a perfect score, the average score was quite high: 9 points.
According to MSc. Dang Anh Dung (Training Assistant): “The Faculty prioritizes evaluating the quality of theses more realistically, so the scores may not be high. The committee not only assesses the content of the thesis but also pays attention to other skills such as writing ability, argumentation, presentation, and critical thinking. The focus is not on scores; some theses may only receive a 7.8 but still meet the Faculty's standards and requirements. Although there are no perfect scores, the average score is quite high, with the highest being 9.7.”
There are topics that are impressive because of their topicality as well as the content they address, such as:"Disputes in the South China Sea from a geopolitical perspective"(Nguyen Ba Phuc) or “"The challenges faced by Vietnamese women participating in political life in the current period"(Pham Thi Nhung)
Faculty of International Studies: 01 Graduation Thesis defended in English
The graduation thesis defense ceremony of the Faculty of International Studies took place on May 6th, with 23 theses, including one in English. This year's student topics focused on several traditional themes such as: integration policies of countries, relations between countries, foreign policy, and global issues. The specific research topics included quite topical issues: the accession of countries to the WTO, the resolution of conflicts between countries, territorial and resource disputes, the rise of China, and disputes in the South China Sea…