Developing a doctoral program in Anthropology

On May 23, 2012, the Department of Anthropology organized a seminar to discuss the doctoral program in Anthropology. Attendees included scientists, researchers, and lecturers from universities offering anthropology programs both domestically and internationally.The seminar aimed to discuss and provide feedback on the doctoral program in anthropology developed by the Department of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, with funding from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The program's goal is to train students to become professional anthropologists with the expertise to effectively undertake research, teaching, and related administrative and policy-making activities. At the seminar, Professor Luong Van Hi (University of Toronto, Canada) highly praised the doctoral program framework in Anthropology developed by the Department of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He suggested that to diversify the content of elective courses, the program should include both domestic and international visiting lecturers. He also emphasized that while coursework is crucial for any program, teaching methods are equally important. Furthermore, he stressed the need for abundant resources and learning materials, which are currently limited in Vietnam. Therefore, according to Professor Luong Van Hi, when developing a training program, it is necessary to consider teaching methods and the system of materials and learning resources. Agreeing with Professor Luong Van Hi's opinion, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Tiep (Faculty of Anthropology – University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) also stated that learning resources are a crucial issue in program development and suggested that the training program should link theory with practice and be suitable for the Vietnamese context. Other opinions suggested that the program should aim for interconnectedness in training, integration, and high development while being practical for Vietnam, in order to train anthropologists with a Vietnamese identity capable of integrating with the international anthropological community; focusing on compiling specialized topics and translating learning materials… The Department of Anthropology was established in 2004 under the Faculty of History, and in 2009 it began training Bachelor's degree students in Anthropology. In 2010, the Department of Anthropology became a department directly under the University. In 2011, the Department developed a master's program in Anthropology. This year, the Department continues to develop a doctoral program to train a generation of professional anthropology PhDs capable of teaching, researching, and practicing anthropology.